Rhetoric and Composition

Assignment                                                           % of Grade

IMPORTANT: For freshmen or transfer students entering Midwestern in the fall of 2011 or later, a grade of C or higher in ENGL 1113 is a prerequisite for enrolling in ENGL 1123, and a grade of C or higher in ENGL 1123  is required for graduation from Midwestern.

This class will not use the plus/minus grading system. In this class, the following numerical equivalents for final grades are used: A = 100-90%; B = 89-80%; C = 79-70%; D = 69-60%; F = 59-0%.

According to MSU’s Undergraduate Catalogue, “letter grades have the following significance:

• A indicates excellent work
• B indicates good work
• C indicates satisfactory work
• D indicates passing work
• F indicates failing work” (73).

Consequently, essays that meet the basic requirements earn a C, not an A or B.  If you wish to earn As and Bs, you will have to work harder to produce better than satisfactory, or average, writing.

All assignments are to be typed and formatted—and outside sources documented—according to MLA style; additionally, all must be submitted in your project portfolio.  I will return assignments that do not comply with these requirements.

 By enrolling in this class, the student expressly grants MSU a “limited right” in all intellectual property created by the student for the purpose of this course.  The “limited right” shall include but shall not be limited to the right to reproduce the student’s work product in order to verify originality and authenticity, and for educational purposes.

Note: You may not submit a paper for a grade in this class that already has been (or will be) submitted for a grade in another course, unless you obtain the explicit written permission of me and the other instructor involved in advance.

Late assignments, defined as work not submitted by the start of class on the designated due date, will be accepted, but they will lose 10% off the final grade.  Additionally, no late work will be accepted more than 48 hours after the original deadline.

My policy is very simple and straightforward: if you have more than 9 absences excused or not, you fail the class.  Please note, however, that this is not an invitation to miss three full weeks of class—class time will provide the instruction you need to meet the objectives of this course and to learn how to develop as a rhetor and a writer.  When you miss class meetings, you miss out on the instruction for which you pay tuition.  In the unfortunate event that you accrue 10 or more absences before the last day to withdraw, you have the responsibility of withdrawing from the class.  Please don’t feel you have to explain or justify any absences to me; I respect your privacy, but you must accept the consequences.  If you miss class, you miss any writing assignment or group work done during that period, and you miss any announcements regarding future assignments.  Notify me in advance if you will not be able to make class; you may leave an email message.  If you must miss class on a due date for an assignment, email it as an attachment or it will lose points.  Consider it your responsibility to be here, prepared for class, or you will not do as well as you wish, nor gain as much as you could.

Lateness:   I expect you to be on time. If you are repeatedly late to class, I will simply begin marking you absent.  Please let me know if extenuating circumstances prevent you from arriving promptly.

General Courtesy:  Please turn off cell phones or put them on vibrate. Resist the temptation to text during class; texting not only interferes with your ability to learn but also distracts your peers.  Show respect to your classmates by listening to them when they speak.  If you need to get a drink of water or blow your nose or use the restroom, simply leave as quietly as possible; you don't need my permission or a hall pass, but please make an effort to avoid disrupting class.