COURSE GUIDELINES
Instructions for Writing:
Papers should be succinct and clear with good grammar, typewritten (double-spaced), with a 12-point readable font, numbered pages and standard margins. I will assume that you have had opportunity to use a spell-checker, and the Writing Center as needed. I will grade the quality of your writing accordingly!
With regard to style, you should write in clear, straightforward prose as taught in, e.g., Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. Often, less is more. Formal academic style is assumed — i.e., your paper should be free from contractions, etc. You may use first-person, especially to avoid passive verbs, but do so sparingly. You are required to cite sources in a consistent manner, following an appropriate style guide for your program (in most cases for Bible/theology, a blend of SBL abbreviations with Chicago/Turabian). I will penalize papers that exceed assigned word counts by more than 10%! On formulating and evaluating arguments, you may find Anthony Weston, A Rulebook for Arguments, to be helpful. Note also librarian Lisa Richmond’s Supra, etc.: A Guide to Scholarly Abbreviations (available at Buswell).
You must submit papers as follows or else suffer a full letter-grade penalty: follow instructions carefully! Along with a paper copy in class, you shall email your paper as an attached file, in either .doc or .pdf (or, if absolutely necessary, .rtf) format. If foreign-language fonts are involved, you are responsible to get them to me in a way that is properly readable. Both the file name and the email subject line shall read: three digit course #; followed by one space; “Paper”; followed by one space; the assignment #; followed by one space; "Student"; and then your student ID #: thus "656 Paper 1 Student 00001" would be an example. Unless you are a PhD student, the title page similarly shall contain your ID #, not your name. In all cases your title page should provide the word count including footnotes as well as the style guide(s) used.
Late Work:
Late assignments will be reduced by 1 full letter grade (10 points) for each calendar day late (Sundays don't count, so Sunday reception equals Monday reception). You may never receive a verbal exception, so — unless you are providing a signed note from medical or psychological personnel — don’t ask! Instead, if you wish to claim extenuating circumstances, please submit an extra cover sheet with the explanation when you turn in the assignment. The circumstances must not be simply bad planning or stress or extracurricular activities (unless you are required to be away from campus on the actual due date). If you have multiple assignments due around the same time, plan ahead! Work is due at the start of class; assignments that arrive during class are considered to be a day late. Please do not expect to make up an exam without a very good reason: e.g., if you oversleep, it’s your loss; welcome to the world of adulthood.
Cheating and Plagiarism:
Cheating is the use of someone else’s work, when you ought to have done the work personally. This includes submitting answers to test questions derived by some means other than permitted by the instructor, as well as turning in written assignments composed (in whole or in part) by someone else. Plagiarism is the use of ideas and information (not commonly known) from a specific source without giving credit to that source by allusion, footnoting, or bibliography. Simply changing the wording of a statement does not exempt you from acknowledging its source, if it is outside general knowledge (a possible rule of thumb: if you see the same idea mentioned by 2 or 3 authors, it may be general knowledge unless associated with a particular person). It is better to quote directly than to use a strong paraphrase that changes wording only slightly. Ask yourself if you would be embarrassed if an author read your paper: would he or she feel slighted about some contribution they have made? Cheating and plagiarism are forms of lying and stealing.
For help with writing in general, check out http://owl.english.purdue.edu, and on plagiarism in particular see http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/index.html, especially regarding Plagiarism and Quoting Sources.
Either cheating or plagiarism will result in an automatic “F” for the assignment, and further disciplinary action may be taken depending on the severity of the offense. Ignorance and good intentions are not adequate excuses; they do not remove the charge of plagiarism entirely.
Knowingly assisting another student’s dishonesty counts the same as cheating for yourself!
Language and Style:
Wheaton College is a gospel-centered community; for both Christian and professional reasons in general, you should not use language willfully excluding others. Thus, in references to human beings you ought to be gender-inclusive in ways that are possible in accordance with good style:
(1) You should alternate between employing “she” and “he,” and/or use "they," as generic pronouns;
(2) You should certainly refrain from obvious provocations such as “all men are ...” when “all people” will convey your meaning more clearly ... and so on.
Attendance and Decorum:
Our goal of growing into a vibrant Christian learning community draws us toward thinking of others besides ourselves. This means, at minimum: (1) making every possible effort to arrive on time; (2) making a special effort to avoid clothing (or lack of it) which might fit personal standards but nevertheless distract or offend others; and (3) resisting the temptation to pack up early or otherwise make distracting noise (including conversations while classmates are talking) — and yes, this means turning off your cell phones!
Attendance is a basic expectation. Once unexcused absences exceed 10% of class sessions, your final grade declines; past a certain point, failing the class for lack of attendance is a possibility. Significantly tardy arrival counts as 1/2 of an unexcused absence. Excused absences involve (i) illness; (ii) family emergencies; and (iii) official, necessary college activities during class time. Please do not expect to be excused for interesting family trips, valuable yet not required extracurricular activities, etc.
Attendance without some form of participatory attention does not count. You shall offer questions and comments appropriate to the nature of class material and your personality; do not confuse quantity with quality. Yet, if we are to be a learning community, you cannot be solely a passive consumer.
You must check your Wheaton College email regularly (or forward it to your preferred address).