The Fine Print

English 105 -- Technical Communication

Eric Sonstroem

Attendance and Lateness Policies:

Treat this class like a job: Don't be late, and don't be excessively absent. You may take two "personal" days for any reason. Each additional absence will reduce your grade by one-third of a letter grade. Your grade will also be affected by chronic lateness. All work is due at the date and time specified on the syllabus. All late work will receive a zero, no excuses, no exceptions. The same standard for lateness--that is, lateness is unacceptable--applies in the business world and in tech comm. Although you may miss a deadline and receive a zero for the assignment, you must complete and submit all work in order to pass this course. There will be unannounced reading quizzes at the beginning of some class sessions. Attendance at Peer Editing sessions is required. Failure to submit a suitable draft on the Peer Editing day will result in a letter-grade penalty on the final version of the document.

Early in the course, I will schedule a few progress report meetings with you to handle one-on-one issues with course material and to guide your work toward your final project. Failure to meet with me at the conference time you sign up for will count as an absence.

Document presentation:

Most written work will be submitted to me electronically. If you are turning in actual paper to me, please print in a normal font on normal, 8 1/2 by 11 inch, white paper.  Your name, my name, the course number, and the date should appear at the top of every assignment. Assignments of more than one page must be stapled. All assignments are due at the start of the class in question. You cannot use "personal" days as a way of getting an unauthorized extension.

Honor Code and Plagiarism:

Please refer to your Student Handbook (Tiger Lore) for a complete statement of the University Honor Code, an essential element in the academic integrity of our campus community.  If I believe you to be in violation of the University Honor Code I will refer the matter to the Office of Student Life.  Penalties for violating the Honor Code can include suspension from the University.  In other words, if you plagiarize in this class, I will probably catch you, and you will probably end up in serious trouble.

Plagiarism is the attempt to pass off someone else's text or ideas as your own. If you copy or paraphrase from any outside source, even another student, and fail to formally acknowledge this in your text, you are guilty of plagiarism. If someone else writes a paper for you, or even part of a paper for you, you are guilty of plagiarism. If you are found guilty of plagiarism, you will receive an F for the assignment, an F for the course, and a letter will be sent to your dean. There are no exceptions.