Course Requirements

A primary emphasis in the Clarkson Seminar is discussion of texts and ideas, so much of the course's success depends on your preparation for class and willingness to advance and defend your own analysis of the assigned works. You should come to class ready to take part in (and occasionally lead) our exchange of ideas.

Since it is impossible to participate effectively if you are not here, attendance is required. You are entitled to two cuts without penalty, but further absence will lower your grade. If you miss a class, you are still responsible for assigned readings and materials discussed in class.

You need to consult the course web page before preparing for each day’s class; it will contain informational updates, writing assignments, and reading questions for the assigned readings. You should download the reading questions, in fact, since we will be using them to start each day’s discussion.

Beyond those three general rules, these are the specific course requirements:

1. Three essays will be assigned as homework through the course of the semester. These will average 3-4 double-spaced pages, and they will be assigned on the daily course preparation pages online. There will be both individual and collaborative assignments, but all essays are to be word processed, spell checked, carefully proofread, and printed on a legible printer in 12-pitch Times New Roman type. Each paper must also be uploaded in electronic form to turnitin.com, a site that will check your paper for duplication in its database. Revision is highly recommended during the composition process; papers may be submitted by email for comments and feedback up to two days before the due date. Students are also urged to bring drafts in to get feedback in person. Together these papers account for 50% of your final grade.

2. On two of the assigned papers, you will be required to bring a completed draft of the paper to the class before the due date. These drafts will be the subject of a peer review workshop. Successful participation in the workshops, both as reader and writer, accounts for 10% of the final grade.

3. As a follow up to one of your papers, you will use it as a foundation for a 5-minute presentation of your ideas to the class. The format is flexible, but your aim should be for a professional tone and clear content. This will contribute 10% to your final grade.

4. Informal in-class writing and short quizzes on the readings and lecture will be frequent and will serve to document your understanding of the assigned readings and your writing progress; this will provide 20% of your grade.

5. Thoughtful class preparation and participation (willingness to enter the group discussion and participation in classroom activities) will form the basis for the grade in this category, which will be 10% of your final course grade.

The grading scale for the class is as follows:

Plagiarism
Plagiarism is representing as one's own the words and/or ideas of another, whether the author is a classmate, a professional writer or an anonymous source on the Web. If you plagiarize a paper, you will fail the course. If you are in doubt about plagiarism, ask. That's what office hours and e-mail are for. Remember, ignorance is not a valid excuse for dishonesty.