Leslie D. Hannah

Department of English

University of Oklahoma

English 1113    English 1213    English 2413

Policy Statements

Plagiarism

Syllabus Acknowledgement

Writing Center

MLA Citation Help

OU English

OU Home Page

Extra Credit

The policies outlined on this page are common to all of the classes I teach.

Always bring paper and either a pencil or pen for note-taking. Students will also need at least two computer disks; these are for the storage and transport of computer generated essays and homework; always backup every assignment. With every computer generated essay, students will deliver to the instructor one hard copy and one 3.5 computer disc (PC format) that contains the essay.  A good college level dictionary (not a pocket sized one) and a thesaurus are also extremely helpful for successful reading and writing.

Each student must provide the instructor with a letter-sized manila folder; this is for the instructor’s retention of graded assignments. Students are also required to have a 3-ring binder for a personal portfolio of the class assignments. In the portfolio, students should retain class handouts, graded assignments, notes, peer workshopped rough drafts, and any additional materials the students feel worthy of retention. These should be ordered chronologically.

Any student caught cheating on a quiz or test or plagiarizing another's work will receive an "F" for that assignment and may fail the course. The OU Student Code allows for severe punishment for those caught cheating. See the OU Student handbook for clarifications on academic honesty and considerations.

Plagiarism is a serious criminal offense and is subject to prosecution. Plagiarism is presenting another person's words or ideas as your own, either accidentally or intentionally. To avoid plagiarism, document all direct quotations, every opinion, judgment, insight, or idea of someone else that you summarize or paraphrase. This includes graphs, charts, and statistics. Read carefully the syllabus addendum on plagiarism.

This is America; you have the right to express yourself freely—even in your essays. I will not censor any material in any essay; however, please keep in mind that your essays will be peer critiqued and some things are better left unsaid. Please be considerate of your classmates when choosing a topic, point-of-view, and wording.

A variety of techniques will be used to "deliver the message" and allow for practice of the skills required to master this class. Lecture, group discussion, reading and writing exercises, take-home assignments, in-class assignments, tests and quizzes, and laboratory work will compose the bulk of delivery methods. The instructor will discuss materials from the textbook, plus provide the ever-popular occasional handout. Anything discussed in the course of knowledge-seeking during class time is fodder for the tests/quizzes and group discussions.

Grades will be determined by quizzes/tests, in-class work, essays, and other writings. Each quiz/test and assignment will be graded on a 100% scale. If for some reason you miss a quiz you may be allowed to make up the quiz, provided that you first justify your being allowed to make it up. Each unexcused day that passes without the quiz being made up will deduct 5% from the possible score. Example: 3 unexcused days pass = 15% deduction, so answering every question correctly will result in only 85%. This same policy holds true for all assignments, even essays and major tests. For the purpose of this policy, a day will be a 24 hour period, not a scheduled class meeting. Weekends and holidays are also included.

The instructor reserves the right to give "pop" quizzes if he feels that assigned readings are not being read, is feeling exceptionally mean, is just having a bad day, he had a bad ball tournament, or is out of Jack Daniel’s or cigars.

In addition to the quizzes and in-class work, each student will compose a variety of formal essays on assigned topics in the appropriate style. See the specific page for your class for further information.

I have a unique addition—actually, it is a subtraction—when it comes to essays. Nowhere in your essays do I want to see these words: you, a lot (especially alot), and pretty, unless they are being used in dialogue or direct quotes. I will make my reasons clear during lecture.

Scholarly attitude shall be worth a percentage of the overall semester grade. This includes, but is not limited to attendance, classroom demeanor, class preparedness, participation in group and class discussions, consideration of varied—often times differing—opinions, and the portfolio assignment specific to your class.

I do not grade A, B, C, D, or F until the end of the semester, at which time I will assess the overall semester grade by the total percentage of points students have accumulated.  The grade weighting scale varies from class to class.  See the page for your specific class for further information.

Final grades will be determined on a percentage scale of the total points possible for the semester. I do not curve. Extra credit opportunities may arise during the semester. Final grades will be determined from the following percentage scale: A = 100-90, B = 89-80, C = 79-70, D = 69-60, F = 59 and below.

In every writing assignment, whether it be take-home or in-class, I look for grammar and mechanics (spelling, punctuation, syntax, word choice, etc.) I also consider heavily the content of the essay.  Does the student display a good working knowledge of the subject matter? Does the student work with that knowledge and shape it into a strong thesis with good support? Does the student reason with the text (when applicable) or deliver a good story that allows the reader to "feel" rather than simply hear?

Take-home essays are to be computer generated or word processed in a 12 point font, Times New Roman, Times, Courier, or similar basic font. I want no handwritten materials (except for in-class writings), nor any "old-fashioned ones from a typewriter." Do not give me an essay with Whiteout anywhere on it. With today’s technology Whiteout is obsolete. I do not expect perfect papers every time, just ones that are not eaten up with laziness or procrastination.

Always proofread, or better yet have another person proofread your papers. Do not use the excuse, "That’s what the computer said to do." Computers do not tell us what to do---we tell them what to do.  Spell check and grammar check are wonderful tools, but they cannot read for content, only recognized patterns. They are no substitute for a human proofreader—namely yourself.

I do not give "trick" questions on any of my tests or quizzes; however, all of my questions might seem "tricky" if you do not read both the instructions and the questions very carefully. Keep forever in mind the old standard, "When all else fails, read the instructions."

We are in Oklahoma where the weather can be quite tricky at times. With this in mind, if the Norman Public Schools are closed because of weather and the University is not, attendance will not be taken. I will be here (if I can) and the day will be used for catch-up or coffee, but please use your good sense; only you know your ability to drive in bad weather. An education is a wonderful thing, but it is not worth risking your life over. This is my policy, not the University's.  Your other instructors may not have such a policy.

Religious Holiday Notice

It is the policy of the University of Oklahoma to excuse absences of students that result from religious observances and to provide without penalty for the rescheduling of examination and additional required class work that may fall on religious holidays.

The University of Oklahoma complies with section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. Students with disabilities who need accommodations should make their request in the following ways:

Talk with the instructor after class or during office hours about your disability or special needs related to work in class.

AND

Complete the Services to Students With Disabilities Intake/Referral Form provided in the Office of Services to Students With Disabilities (unless this has already been completed).

This is an environment of higher learning; technically, we are all adults here, and though it seems such an entry as this should not be required in a college level syllabus, believe it or not, situations have, in the past, arisen that demand its inclusion.

If you carry a cellular phone or electronic paging device, please turn them off during class time or leave them elsewhere. I will allow the communications devices to be operational only under certain circumstances; for example: you are a hostage negotiator, you are the head of some government, you are an undercover agent hot on the trail of a foreign spy, you are waiting for a hot tip at the race track that you are willing to share with me, or if you have a family emergency or situation that dictates you need to remain in contact. Otherwise, please be an adult and leave these annoyances inactive.

Do not even bring to my classroom a Walkman style portable stereo device of any kind nor any handheld video or game devices. The classroom is no place for these electronic leeches. If you are that addicted to these devices, drop out of my class.