Course Policies

Class participation is critical to the progress of our class as a whole and to the development of each of you as a writer. Therefore, it is a requirement of EN 103 that you come to every class meeting having completed that day's reading(s) and writing assignments, prepared to contribute to class discussion and share your writing. Good class participations depends more on the quality of your comments than on the quantity of your remarks in class. "Participation" (in-class activities, conferences, and tutoring) counts as 10% of your final grade.

You are expected to attend one tutoring session per week in the Lanzit Center (302 PMH) with a Writing Center Tutor; these sessions are in addition to any other tutoring work you may be doing (tutoring in the Ladd Hall Writing Center, HEOP, Student Academic Services). Your tutors will give you work at the sessions that you and the tutor can only do during the sessions. You and the tutor will fill out a brief report of the work you have covered during these sessions. EN 103 tutoring hours will be established the first week of classes.

Attendance is mandatory. After four absences, you will automatically receive an "F" in the course. Lateness disrupts our classroom writing community, so please arrive promptly. Similarly, leaving the room during class is also discourteous to me and your classmates. Please avoid it. The Withdrawal Deadline for the Fall semester is Friday, November 16, 2007. If you are absent from class, please contact one of your classmates or me to find out what work you missed so that you are up to date when you return to class.

Grading

All course work--graded and ungraded--must be completed by the beginning of class on the due date listed on the course syllaweb. I do not accept late papers. If you have failed to complete an assignment by the due date, it will receive a zero (0). However, you must complete all course work to pass the course; therefore, you still must hand in work even if you missed the deadline. I will continue to provide commentary on late work.

I follow the description of letter grades as presented in the Skidmore College Catalog, Academic Standards and Review :

     A+, A Distinguished work
     A-, B+, B Superior work
     B-, C+, C Satisfactory work
     C-, D+, D Passing, poor-quality work
     F Failure, no credit earned

Final Grades are based upon the following:

Writing Course Placement After EN 103

Upon successfully completing EN 103, students typically register for EN 105: Writing Seminar II the next semester. The English Department provides preregistration privileges to EN 103 students to assure they receive the section of EN 105 they want. Upon recommendation of your instructor or based on your own interest, you may also register for a writing-intensive course to complete the Expository Writing Requirement. However, preregistration is not available for these courses.

If you are an especially strong EN 103 students, with the approval of your EN 103 instructor, you can petition to have your work in EN 103 fulfill the College writing requirement. If you receive your instructor's endorsement, you will submit a portfolio of your EN 103 writing to a subcommittee of the English Department's Expository Writing Committee. This portfolio includes your argumentative essay, one other EN 103 paper, and a cover letter. A cover page from your instructor also accompanies your portfolio. Two members of the subcommittee will evaluate your portfolio to determine whether your EN 103 work fulfills the Expository Writing Requirement.