INTRODUCTION to COLLEGE
The Syllabus!
How many major writing projects will you be required to write in this course? How many total points make up your final grade? What’s the name of the text we’re going to use in class? Will I ever accept late work? Where can you find the answers to these questions? In the syllabus! This course’s syllabus is posted in Blackboard. You can download the syllabus and always have this information handy, or at least you always know where to find this information.
During the first week, you will also learn your instructor’s expectations, and you will also introduce yourself to your instructor. Every assignment you complete, or don’t complete, provides your instructor with information about you, as a student. An experienced instructor will often recognize students who will struggle to succeed in a course based on their performance in the first few weeks of class.
Signs You May be Struggling or in Danger of Failing the Class
- You don’t show up on the first day of class or any day during the first week.
- You don’t complete AND turn in the first homework assignment
- You miss more than one class in the first three weeks.
- You miss several (or more than several) homework assignments in the first three weeks.
- You’re late for multiple classes the first few weeks.
- You are frequently on your phone (for reasons unrelated to class work)
- You don’t have your text by the second week.
- You arrive without your text, a notebook, writing implement, and a USB device.
Success (and How to Earn It)
Regardless of your writing skill, you should be able to earn a good grade if you can do the following things:
- Attend Class
- Pay attention
- Do the work
1a. Attend Class: Attendance
You’re allowed to miss two weeks of class in this course (that's six absences for a MWF course or four absences for a TTH course). This doesn’t mean that you should miss two weeks of class. Instead, two weeks is the MAXIMUM time that you may miss the course. Any further absences (full or partial) will result in a total loss of professionalism points. This means your final grade will be limited to a D or an F, and the F will be more likely.
Any absence for any reason counts as part of the two weeks that you’re allowed.
*If you’re more than fifteen minutes late or leave early, this will count as a partial absence. This can also cause you to incur the professionalism penalty.
1b. Attend Class: Lateness
It’s not enough to arrive to class; you need to be in the classroom by the time class starts. When you walk in late, you disrupt the class and you may miss information that’s covered at the beginning of the class.
*The attendance and tardy policies may seem strict or unreasonable. However, consider them practice for your professional careers. You’ll find few professional workplaces where missing two weeks will be ignored.
2. Paying Attention
Learning is not a passive experience; arriving to class on time is only the first step. When you’re in class, you should be IN class. This means you should listen to your instructor, take notes, and engage with tasks assigned by your instructor. You shouldn’t be completing another course’s work. After all, you’re paying to be in class, and you can do your course work for free on your own time. During class time, we’ll discuss writing strategies you can use in our Major Writing Projects and strategies for successful writing in a variety of situations. If you use the course time wisely, you’ll find your writing tasks and work load manageable.
Additionally, you must be ready to respond if called upon during class. Class discussion requires YOU to speak. Responding to my questions, asking questions of your own, and contributing to class discussions demonstrate that you’re an attentive student.
3. Doing the Course Work: The Rest of Professionalism
Showing up to class on time and being attentive are the minimum expectations. But even that isn’t enough to succeed in class. First Year Composition classes will almost always have homework. In college, you should plan on spending an average of 2 hours a week, PER class on homework assignments. In this class late work is not accepted, so you must complete each assignment by class time. If you’re confused by an assignment, send your instructor an email. If you don’t do this (or don’t have time to do this), complete the assignment to the best of your ability. If you do happen to perform an assignment incorrectly due to misunderstanding the prompt, you won’t lose many points, as long as you’ve done a reasonable amount of work. Doing nothing because you’re confused is not acceptable.
MLA Format: Assignment Submission
All homework and Major Writing Projects, unless otherwise specified, must use MLA format. Here’s how to set up a word file in MLA format:
- The margins should all be one inch.
- The font should be twelve point.
- The spacing should be double-spaced.
- Go to the “Paragraph” tab and set the “Spacing Before” and “Spacing After” to “0” as Word often adds additional spacing after you press the “enter” key which isn’t required.
- Insert a page number in the top right corner of your page. When you insert the page number, type in your last name. Be sure it’s the same font as your text.
- The heading should be four lines: Your name, my name, the course, and the date.