Course Policies
Professor
Dr. David A. Davis
Office: 118 Groover Hall
Email: davis_da@mercer.edu
Phone: (478) 538-6471
Office Hours: MF 10-11 & 1-2 and by appointment
Preceptors
Jaclyn Crumbley and Cameron Kunzelman
Course Objectives
First-Year Seminar develops the critical thinking and written argumentation skills essential to a liberal arts education. This semester we will read about, talk about, write about, and argue about the memory of the Civil Rights Movement. This course has a set of ambitious goals:
- To study the writing process, effective writing traits, modes of writing, and argument construction.
- To develop essential skills in research and interpretation.
- To become socially-conscious and self-aware critical thinkers.
Course Requirements & Grading Policies
To be successful in this class, you must be present, you must be involved, you must be prepared, and you must write well.
Because this is a workshop course, you can expect to discuss, write, and critique in class frequently. Participation will be 10% of your final grade. Your participation grade includes preparing out-of-class assignments, contributing to the class discussion, and approaching in-class assignments with an enthusiastic attitude. To emphasize the importance of having paper drafts for workshops, coming to workshop unprepared will result in a twenty point deduction from your participation grade.
You must attend class. Attendance counts for 15% of your grade based on this scale:
Absence |
0 |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
Grade |
100 |
98 |
95 |
90 |
85 |
75 |
65 |
50 |
20 |
automatic failure |
Entering class after attendance has been taken will count as a tardy, and three tardies will count as an absence. Missing class for a verifiable family emergency, participation in a university-sanctioned athletic event, or observing religious holidays will not result in a deduction from your attendance grade, but you must inform me about your absence.
I will give a brief quiz at the beginning of most classes. Quizzes will be 15% of your final grade. You may replace three missed quizzes by writing a two hundred word synopsis of the material covered in the quiz. The synopsis will be due to my email by 6:00 pm in the day of the second class after the quiz.
The majority of your grade will come from several written assignments: three medium-length papers worth 10% each, an annotated bibliography worth 10%, and a collaborative project worth 20%. You must submit your papers to my email by 6:00 pm on the date indicated. Except in cases of dire medical or family emergency, which will require documentation, late papers will receive a grade of “F.”
Cumulatively, writing assignments will constitute 60% of your grade and attendance, participation, and quizzes will constitute the remaining 40%. You will receive a letter grade for this class ranging from “A” to “F” including pluses with the exception of “A+” or “D+,” in accordance with university policy.
Papers will be submitted to my email, davis_da@mercer.edu, by 6:00 pm on the due date. I will grade the paper electronically in Microsoft Word and return it with embedded comments. Papers will be returned to the initiating address, so be sure to send the paper from your own email account.
You may rewrite and resubmit a written assignment after it has been graded. Revised papers should be submitted at the beginning of the class meeting immediately after original papers have been returned. Revised papers should be accompanied by a self-critical analysis that explains how the paper has been improved. In cases of revision, the revised grade will be added to the original grade and averaged into the overall paper grade. Keep in mind that revising means more than correcting minor errors. In fact, a cursory revision could result in a lower grade. Papers submitted after the due date will automatically receive an F, but they may be revised to improve the final grade.
This semester we will be using computers and draft-sharing software to enhance in-class writing assignments and draft workshops. However, this class requires no special technological expertise, and I only expect you to be able to use some standard programs for word processing, sending and receiving email, and using the internet. If you feel uncomfortable using any of these types of programs, talk to me.
Never use your computer or phone for non-academic purposes in class. Texting, surfing, gaming, or emailing during class time will result in a serious deduction from your participation grade. You will also be asked to leave the classroom, and you will receive an unexcused absence for the class.
Mercer students have a long, proud tradition of honorable conduct, and I expect all students in this class to continue that tradition. Cheating, plagiarism, or other acts of academic misconduct will result in prosecution from the honor court, who may censure, suspend, or expel a guilty student. If you ever have any concerns about plagiarism, please consult me, and I will be happy to discuss your situation confidentially.
Students with a documented disability should inform me at the close of the first class meeting or as soon as possible. If you are not registered with Disability Services, I will refer you to the Student Support Services office for consultation regarding documentation of your disability and eligibility for accommodations under the ADA/504. In order to receive accommodations, eligible students must provide each instructor with a Faculty Accommodation Form from Disability Services. Students must return the completed and signed form to the Disability Services office on the 3rd floor of the Connell Student Center. Students with a documented disability who do not wish to use accommodations are strongly encouraged to register with Disability Services and complete a Faculty Accommodation Form each semester. For further information please contact Disability Services at 301-2778 or visit the website at http://www.mercer.edu/stu_support/swd.htm.
In an ongoing effort to improve the quality of instruction, each student enrolled in this course is required to complete an end-of-semester course evaluation, to be administered electronically during the last week of class. Students failing to submit the evaluation by the last day of finals will be assigned the grade of “Incomplete,” which will automatically turn into an “F” if the evaluation is not submitted by the midterm of the very next semester.
As a final note, I realize that you are busy and that unexpected crises sometimes arise, but as a general rule I do not give extensions on any assignments. I also do not excuse absences. If you have a major emergency or extended illness, you should contact Associate Dean Ed Weintraut to intervene on your behalf. I do not ever give extra credit assignments.