Gonzalez – Thornton

Policies and Expectations 

Written work:

a. All work, except personal class notes, must be written in ink or typewritten. Papers written in pencil will not be accepted. Staple, clip, or fold papers to hold pages together.

b. Work submitted late earns no higher than C+. Illness, backed up by an excuse from the infirmary (for day students, too), is the only ground for extension. Infrequently we may grant extensions for other reasons if approached 24 hours ahead of the deadline, but do not count on our saying yes. The purpose of deadlines is to assure that all students are treated fairly, and that the instructors can meet their own deadlines.

c. It is your responsibility to keep up with assignments and classroom work missed due to any absence.

d. Some major essays may be rewritten for a higher grade.  You must receive our prior approval if you wish to rewrite. Bring your paper to us with a plan of action and we will discuss it.  With rewrites, your grade either goes up or remains the same if no improvement has occurred. Rewritten work must be accompanied by all previous versions.

e. You are expected to be familiar with assigned texts from day to day. This includes bringing to class texts, notebooks, and other materials from which reading or written assignments are due that day.  As part of this, you are expected to write Reading Responses to all assigned reading.  Go to How to Write Responses to Assigned Readings for details.

Classroom:

a. Attendance: You are expected to attend every class.

b. Lateness: If you are late to class three times, you will be charged one absence point. When you are late, it is your responsibility to see us after class time to explain why you were late, and to make sure we have removed your name from the absence list for that day.

c. Participation: Class participation (respectful listening as well as speaking) is a significant part of your grade.

d. Please come to class equipped with everything you will need (tissues included) to insure you will not have to get up and leave the room before group breaks.

e. It is distracting, disruptive, and ill mannered to get up and leave the room during discussions. No one may leave the room while someone else is speaking. Always ask permission. Emergencies, of course, are excepted, but please excuse yourself. We will give a short break halfway through the class to go to the bathroom or get a drink of water (remind us if we forget).

f. Extra Help Office hours by appointment. See us before or after class to set up a time. SWIS is often the fastest way to reach us.

g. Note on Civility:  Please review the “Statement of Personal Commitment” on page 62 of the School Handbook, especially the following:

“All members of the community, whether on campus or off campus, are expected to demonstrate respect, civility, and honesty…It is expected that classrooms will be places where ideas can be freely exchanged…”

 Evaluation Criteria

1. Demonstrating command of the material (content and versatility of use).

2. Demonstrating awareness of the larger picture the material is part of (context).

3. Providing effective organization and clarity (presentation).

4. Exercising insight, creativity, imagination, and persuasiveness (engagement).

Scales:

A range (93-100 points) — work that fulfills the four criteria above and stands clearly out from and above other good papers, reflecting extraordinary understanding and command of the material, creative and imaginative use of the material, and the capacity to apply it or utilize it in new settings or with new problems. N.B. this does not mean simply “getting all the answers right” as on a math test;  it means that your work is literally “out-standing” relative to all other honors level papers.

B range (83-90 points) — work that indicates fulfillment of the four criteria listed above and contains a spark or two of promise that it could become ‘A’ work. Work that deserves to be honored.

C range (73-80 points) — work that indicates a satisfactory representation of the material in spite of some errors, and in spite of less than complete commitment to the task (meaning, you could have tried harder).  Work that contains mechanical errors that substantially hinder clarity, persuasiveness, or presentation. 

D range (63-70 points) — work that indicates evidence of some recollection of material, but, otherwise contains serious deficiencies in knowledge, comprehension, effort, communication, or the ability to apply or use the material in new settings.

F range (below 59 points) — work that fails to show that you understood what was asked of you, fails to show that you were in command of the material you were asked to work with, fails to show that you can communicate satisfactorily about it, and otherwise fails to demonstrate adequately the knowledge or skills being examined.

Note On Academic Integrity

1.  Review the material on “Academic Integrity” in the School Handbook, especially the paragraph on “Plagiarism.” Documentation (footnoting) is your most effective safeguard against charges of plagiarism (more: see NMH History and Social Science Writing Handbook). Train yourself never to cut and paste material from computer files, with the exception of the occasional direct quotation (which should always be surrounded by quotation marks and footnoted). Material you take from other sources and paraphrase (render in your own words) must also be footnoted. A good benchmark to use is to insert a footnote after every quotation and insert at least one footnote per paragraph.

2.  Use only web material from universities, published journals, and other sources that have undergone rigorous editing or peer review and that are widely recognized in academic circles for quality scholarship and authority.   You may not use Wikipedia as a cited source in any papers submitted in this course (more on this in class).  A final reason to be careful about documentation (footnoting and bibliography) is that it authenticates your evidence and lends authority to your paper: i.e. it proves that you did not just make up your evidence; you got it from expert sources. The more expert those sources are, the more authority, weight, and persuasiveness your own paper will carry.

3.  NMH believes strongly in the following statement about academic integrity, and effective with the start of the 2010-2011 school year, we have adopted the following policy regarding academic integrity on papers, quizzes, tests, and other major assessments:  

Academic Integrity Statement (from the NMH Student Handbook): 

 Northfield Mount Hermon is an educational community committed to cultivating high standards and accountability. Ethical behavior is expected of every community member in all aspects of school life, including academic endeavors.  A critical part of academic excellence is ethical use of information, which includes honest representation of a student’s work. Students and faculty are expected to demonstrate the principles and practices of academic integrity, as well as to understand what constitutes academic fraud.  

Students will write the following statement on every paper, quiz or test to confirm their academic integrity on that assessment. This will serve to remind students about the importance of doing and claiming their work as their own. This statement serves as a declaration of pride in having done one’s own work and submitting it as such. The statement is:  

“On my honor, I have neither given nor received unauthorized aid during this assessment.” 

The student will write this statement and sign his or her name.