Writing Standards/Grading

Written work in this course will be graded for style and content, with an emphasis on the strength of a logical argument, the clarity of the prose, and the grammatical correctness of the composition.

I will grade all major assignments using letter grades and +/-. Please use the Chicago Manual of Style format for documenting all formal writing.

To arrive at a grade for the blogging, I will read and grade both of your Initial postings and two responses during the semester. You will be responsible, however, for posting each time blogging is assigned.

Grading distribution:

• Participation/Attendance = 10%
• Blogging = 20%
• Unit Papers = 30% (10% each)
• Project Proposal = 5%
• Bibliography = 10%
• Edited Collection = 25%

Sharing of Resources and Notes

During the course of the semester, we will use Zotero to share our notes and resources that are not directly linked from this syllabus. Zotero is a research management tool that works with the Firefox web browser. You can collect, tag and annotate resources from the web (library catalogs, websites, journal databases). You’ll recognize the folder interface because it is very similar to iTunes.

I have created a group for the course, and I will issue invitations to each of you. Then, together we can collaborate through the semester. In addition to making folders for each of our units, I will make a folder for each individual student, so that you can collect materials for your edited collections. You will have to sign up for an account at the Zotero site, and then download and install the lastest version of the plugin for Firefox. This is a really easy process, and we will review it in class.

Communicating with Sharon Leon

Email is good.  So is twitter (sleonchnm).

IM is fine, if used judiciously (sleonchnm@aol). Please respect the fact that I have an additional fulltime job, and if my away message says I’m in a meeting, I probably am. Otherwise, I will respond when I can.

The phone number listed on this site is my office phone at George Mason University. When I am not en route to and from Georgetown or in class, I’m usually there from 9:30 to 5:30 or 6:00. Feel free to call.

Credit for Late Work

All assignments must be completed to receive credit for the course. Late work will be accepted, however, each day the assignment is overdue, it will be assess a +/-. So, if an A paper is two days overdue, it will receive a B+.

Honor Code/Plagiarism

All students are bound by the Honor Code and the University standards regarding academic integriy and plagiarism. If you are not familiar with these standards, please refresh your memory by reading them. Attendance at the second meeting of this course constitutes assent to the policies contained in this syllabus.

Attendance

Please come to class and be prepared to participate.

There are a variety of legitimate reasons why students may be unable to attend class. Please discuss these reasons with me prior to the class meeting time.

Students who miss more than two class periods will have their final grade reduced by one whole letter grade. Thus, if the student were to earn an A, he or she would receive a B for the semester.

Cell Phones/Text Messaging

Cell phones and text messengers are everywhere. Please be respectful of your classmates and our discussions by turning off your ringers, and refraining from answering phones or engaging in text messaging during class.

Unless, of course, you’re asking h-bot a question…..

Accommodations for Disabilities

All reasonable accommodations will be made for students with documented disabilities. However, to initiate the accommodation process, those students will have to make arrangements with the Academic Resource Center.