Steve Rayburn
Hue House 208
244-8579 – office phone
srayburn@uni.uiuc.edu
Subfreshman English Policies
Behavior: Respect is the key. Respect yourself, respect your classmates, respect your teacher, respect the property. In return, you may expect my respect. Any act of disrespect will have consequences commensurate with the offense.
Attendance: I expect you to be in class, of course, and in class on time. Tardiness shows a lack of respect for your classmates, yourself and me. For every three tardies in a quarter I will subtract a point from your participation grade.
For excused absences, any work due on the day missed will be due upon your return. Any work assigned during your absence will be due the number of days after your return equal to the days missed. (ex: 2 days absent = two days after return, work is due) For unexcused absences, work due during the unexcused absence receives a zero (0).
Academic integrity: Academic honesty is essential. Giving or receiving undue help on homework, quizzes or essays is unacceptable. Plagiarism is unacceptable. Cite any sources used, however little. Any cheating on any assignment will earn that assignment a zero. Egregious examples will be referred to the administration for appropriate action. I will put a note in the file of any student found cheating on any level.
Please note the qualifying “undue” above. Learning is not confined to the classroom nor to the teacher-student exchange. Collaborative learning is to be expected. Exchange of ideas, open discussion of assignments both in and out of class, critical examination of a classmate’s work are all to be encouraged. I trust, then, that you are all intelligent and sophisticated enough to know when you are crossing the line between “helping” and “cheating.” If you have a doubt about where that line lies, ask.
Homework: I will try to keep homework to the thirty-minute average Uni endorses. If I am failing, please let me know. Otherwise, I expect any assignment – written or read – to be ready when the class starts on the day the assignment is due. Late work will be docked five points per day late beginning at the end of the period the work is due.
Pop quizzes are possible following any reading assignment.
Much of class time will involve discussion. Please be prepared enough to participate actively. Sharing ideas, insights and questions together benefits us all and enlivens the class. Participation will be part of your grade.
In-class writing: Knowing that you all have plenty of homework, I have shaped the class so that we often have time IN CLASS for writing. This time is not intended as conversation hour. I realize that the setting is uncomfortable/unusual for many of you, but that is part of the objective – to have you writing under duress and on impromptu topics.
Grading: Each assignment is assigned a point value. More important assignments – tests, essays – will obviously be worth more points. Lesser assignments – quizzes, Daily Grammar Practice, etc. – will be worth fewer points. Your grade will be figured by simple division: points earned divided by points possible. By keeping track of each assignment, you should have a fairly accurate idea of your present grade
A participation grade will be based on daily work – five points per week, one point per day. Writing time, discussion responses, being “on task,” tardies (see above), etc. will affect the Participation Grade. Stay with “The Program” and this grade will take care of itself. Otherwise, points will be lost.
Grade Scale: The following percentage will be used for grades:
A = 100 – 92
C = 82 – 74
D = 73 – 65
F = 64 – 0
Organization: Everyone usually has a favorite type of notebook, paper, writing utensil, etc. I require you keep your English material – paper, notes, handouts, quizzes, essays, etc. – in a loose-leaf, one inch binder. Keep all material together and in chronological order so study and review will be easier. (See “Notebook” handout.)
I will usually hand out a detailed syllabus for each unit. You are responsible for the assignments listed and any assignments added in class.
Take each assignment seriously! Do your best work!
Writing: Any work for in-class assignments MUST be clearly written on loose-leaf paper (no “hanging chads”!) and be in dark ink or legible lead.
All writing assignments outside of class must be typed (or “processed,” as the current jargon would have it) with standard margins, Times (10 or 12 pt.) or Courier (10 pt.) font. Multiple pages should be stapled in the upper left-hand corner.
In Subbie English we will emphasize the fundamentals of composition. Always plan on doing a draft, letting it “ferment” a few days, then revising. I will be more than happy to comment on your drafts if you bring them in to me a few days ahead.
Keep copies of all your writing, including drafts of essays, in your notebook. At times, I may require the draft as part of the graded material. I will encourage you to submit works to various contests and other venues for seeing your work in print.
School Policies: You will be responsible for adhering to all the school policies as included in the Student Handbook. Pay particular attention to the Honor Code.
Web site: Within a week I will have my web site updated. On the site, you will find the current syllabus, weekly homework assignments, copies of most handouts, extra-credit contests and more. The address is www.uni.uiuc.edu/~srayburn.