Attendance
Daily attendance and participation are vital for your success in this course. It is your responsibility to come to every class prepared and to participate in class activities. You will need to sign in either before or after class, not while I am lecturing. You are considered absent if you are more than fifteen minutes late (without an appropriate reason).
Also, in accordance with English Department policies, you will receive an automatic F if you miss 25 percent of class time, (5 classes). However, in case of illnesses or other personal reasons (this includes work conflicts, court dates, etc.) you are permitted three excused absences. Should you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out what was assigned for the next class period.
Electronics
I will be using the course website as our central communication point. Here, I will post homework, reading, and other course related information, including a list of your blogs. You will be looking at each other’s work from time to time as well. As for your final grades, they will be posted on Blackboard. You will also submit your final paper to Blackboard. In other words, we’ll be working with the digital medium, but don’t panic. Bumps in the road are always anticipated.
During class, computers and phones should not be a distraction to others, yourself, or the teacher. However, I strongly encourage you to use laptops and other digital devices within the class.
*Each class, I will ask for a few volunteer note-takers. At the end of the class, these individuals will email their notes to me; by the end of the week I will upload all of the notes to this website. That way, the entire class has notes, but isn’t forced to concentrate on note-taking. The volunteers should not always be the same people; being a note-taker certainly helps your participation grade.
Late Work
Late class-work and homework will not be accepted. Please note, if you miss a reading quiz, you will not be able to make it up (unless you have an acceptable reason).
For the paper, in the case of an emergency, you must notify me as soon as possible as well as attach a documented reason for the assignment’s tardiness. If you discuss the situation with me beforehand, I may make an exception. If I do make an exception for your paper, the grade will drop by a letter for every day that it is late.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the act of identifying another’s writing or ideas as one’s own. It is considered by the university and academia to be considered theft. Any writing you produce in this class should be either your own ideas/writing or properly cited using MLA. Writing for this class will teach one how to use sources in an appropriate manner. If a student is caught plagiarizing, he or she will fail the assignment. A second act of plagiarism results in failure of the class. Plagiarism will be reported to the English Department and the Honor Council.
Students with Special Needs
In accordance with ODU policy, any students with disabilities who are taking this course and may need disability-related classroom accommodations are encouraged to soon make an appointment with Disability Services, 1525 Webb Center, 683.4655, disability@odu.edu. There, you can register for support services if you have not already done so. If you already have a letter of accommodation, it must be provided to me before classroom accommodations will be allowed.