Academic and Writing Standards

These standards and instructions apply to all written work in any of my classes unless I specifically indicate otherwise in class.

Attendance | Plagiarism and Cheating | Writing


        For the time that you attend Edinboro University your primary job is being a student.  To get the most out of what we offer you must commit yourself.  If you cannot, you are wasting your (or your parents') money and, more important, your time.
        The first thing that you must commit to is a professional approach to your work.  The guidance below is designed to point you in that direction.
        Please purchase and read Thinking and Writing: A Guide for College Students or some other writing and study guide.

ATTENDANCE

Please be aware of the  University attendance policy .  As I indicated above, your job while you are here is to be a student and your work place is the classroom.  There is a direct correlation between not attending class and doing poorly.

I take attendance in all my classes, generally using a seating chart.  I do this for two reasons:

  1. I want to attach your name to your face, and,
  2. I want to be able to throw your lack of attendance back in your face if you come to talk to me about a poor grade (if that is a contributing factor).
While I do not directly take points off for missing class, your attendance record can become an issue with borderline grades, or if class participation is part of the grade.

Although I expect you to be in class everyday there are clearly some times when you need to be somewhere else.  This is not high school and you are an adult; you must make you own decisions.  On these occasions it is simply good manners to let me know you won't be in class, or why you missed class.  I do not want excuses from you, verbal or written, but I do expect a clear, succinct reason for your absence.

Also understand that I consider it fairly rude to come into the classroom late (particularly if you walk boldly across the room between me and the class without excusing yourself), and that I consider it the height of rudeness to leave early without an explanation prior to class.

"We have no printed rules. We have but one rule and that is that every student must be a gentleman."
-- Robert E. Lee, President, Washington University, 1865-1870

PLAGIARISM AND CHEATING

Please understand the University policy on plagiarism.  Plagiarism includes cheating or copying on exams as well as using material from other people's work in any form in your written work without crediting that person as the source for the quoted material.

This does not mean that you cannot discuss assignments with others outside of class, use writing labs, talk to student or faculty mentors, (come talk to me!), etc.  It does not mean that you cannot quote the work of other scholars in your work.  It means that you must acknowledge that work in an appropriate way.

In your chosen field there is an accepted way that your future profession uses to cite intellectual sources.  It is imperative that you find out what that method is, acquire a style guide that explains how to cite material appropriately, and learn to us that style.  I will accept any of the following styles of citation in your written work:

Chicago Manual of Style
Modern Languages Association Style
American Psychological Association Style

I expect footnotes or endnotes and bibliographies or works cited pages on all written work in any of my classes unless I specifically indicate otherwise in class.

Cheating. After recent experiences I feel compelled to be more explicit about my policy on cheating. I am absolutely convinced that most people--and this certainly includes Edinboro students--are honest. Cheating does go on, however, at this University. If you cheat the chances are very good that I will catch you. If I catch you I reserve the right to make any one of the following decisions:

I reserve the right to require you to repeat work in whatever fashion I determine, if I believe that you have possibly cheated on an assignment or an exam. Failure to repeat the work in the required time period will result in an "F" in the course.

I reserve the right to identify students who cheat to the class as a whole. As Voltaire said with regard to Admiral Byng: "pour encourager les autres."

Writing

It is a fact of life that most of you do not write very well. It is also a fact of life that you will be required to do a great deal more writing in your chosen career than you currently think you will have to do. The only way to solve this problem is to write and to have your writing vigorously critiqued. Outlined below are the standards I expect you to meet in your written work.

First the mechanics . . .

Always keep a copy of your work. Assume that I will somehow lose your paper.

Format: Please adhere to the format requirements. They exist for specific reasons. Unless otherwise instructed in class all written work turned in should look like this: 

To achieve a B on written work you must answer the required question or explain your assigned subject completely and your work must not have any significant grammatical mistakes. To achieve an A you must have no significant mistakes and demonstrate a particularly thoughtful approach to your answer and use sources other than your course text(s) (unless I specifically tell you otherwise).

Now the substance . . . .

Good, clear, clean writing is fairly simple.  We just make it difficult.

1.  Have something to say.  Understand the writing requirement and have the information available to answer the specific questions posed by the requirement.

2.  Say what you want to say.
 

            Example:  "This paper will explore the relationship between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson and how that relationship affected the development of the early federal government."

            Example:  "The relationship between Alexander Hamilton and Thomas Jefferson personified the fundamental political equation that has remained at the center of American politics since the 1790's."
 


This old saying explains it all . . . .

"Tell 'em what you're goin' to tell 'em.  Tell 'em, and then tell 'em what you told 'em."

And when it's all done . . . .

Proofread!!!

Proofread your work after you type it or print it.  If your work is not important enough for you to read, why should I?  A few pen-and-ink corrections on your work are entirely acceptable.

Opinions

The old phrase is "everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion." That's baloney--or worse. A person is not "entitled" to wrong opinion. But I really don't care what your opinion is. Opinions are good only for two things: discussing the relative merits of sports teams or potential significant others at the Hotel Bar. Don't tell me your opinion.

I do, however, care very much about what you think and why. There is no such thing as an opinion paper in my classes. Give me analysis; give me explanations. Tell me why! That is not "opinion"; it is reasoned assessment, or intelligent analysis.

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