Goblin from Arthur Rackham illustrations for Rosetti's Goblin Market

Spring 2006: ENC 5236: Advanced Business Writing for Accounting, CLASSROOM GUIDELINES AND POLICIES:

Students with Disabilities

The University of Florida complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act. Students requesting accommodation should contact the Students with Disabilities Office, Peabody 202. That office will provide documentation to the student who must then provide this documentation to the instructor when requesting accommodation.

If you have a learning disability, hardship, or other special dispensation that has been approved by the Office of Student Affairs, please meet with me to discuss your requirements as early in the term as possible.

Attendance: Absences

Because we must cover so much material in each class of summer term, you should plan to attend every class session. Especially, please plan to attend every session during the final week of the term! During the first part of the semester, however, you may miss up to three classes without penalty EXCEPT that you will lose credit for whatever in-class work or quizzes you miss. An absence during the final weeks (or any absence over the allowed three) will reduce your overall grade points by 50 points (½ of a grade).

PLEASE NOTE:

Assigned Work Deadlines

You must submit assigned work on the specified due date even if you are absent and even if you are taking one of your allowed absences. I do not accept late work.

Tardiness

Of course, you should come to class on time. If you do arrive late, please come in as quietly as possible and begin work quickly. (After class, YOU must make sure that I change my attendance record to reflect that you attended after all.) If you are more than 15 minutes late, it will count as an absence for the entire class session. In such a case, however, you may enter the class and receive credit for in-class work that you complete during the remaining class time.

Classroom Courtesy and Classroom Disruptions

You should know that, on occasion, this class might discuss controversial topics. Our academic coursework requires that we study how to use language to argue persuasively and logically, and consistent classroom innocuousness does not further such an objective. Thus, the classroom should provide a venue in which to openly discuss volatile issues. With this in mind, you may feel free to express dissenting opinions, but please adhere to standard courtesy guidelines. In particular, if you disagree with the instructor or with classmates, please express your disagreement through calm, reasoned discussion rather than through emotional or "knee-jerk" responses. (On occasion, I may opt to "reign-in" discussions for reasons of time and/or focus.)

My expectations for classroom courtesy follow informal social and professional standards. Thus, as you would in any professional environment, please turn off all cell phones, pagers, beepers, and other intrusive electronic devices prior to the start of class. Additionally, since we will spend some of our classroom time on in-class writing or other work, your conduct should never interfere with your classmates' ability to work productively. Otherwise, you may leave your seat when appropriate, ask questions at any time, and converse quietly with others regarding coursework (unless I have expressly asked you not to do so.)

Although I have never yet imposed this penalty, I do reserve the right to penalize (by a grade reduction of 1/2 of a letter grade) repeated or flagrant tardiness, instances of significant classroom disruption, or other significant classroom discourtesy. (Note that my judgment determines these offenses.)

UNIVERSITY POLICIES REGARDING PLAGIARISM AND ACADEMIC DISHONESTY:

If a student "plagiarizes" all or any part of any assignment, I will award him or her a failing grade on the assignment. Additionally, University policy suggests that, as a MINIMUM, instructors should impose a course grade penalty and report any incident of academic dishonesty to the Office of the Dean of Students. You should know that your work might be tested for its ?originality? against a wide variety of databases by anti-plagiarism guardian sites to which the University subscribes, and negative reports from such sites constitute PROOF of plagiarism. Other forms of academic dishonesty will also result in a failing grade on the assignment as a minimum penalty. Examples include cheating on a quiz or citing phony sources or quotations to include in your assignments.

Remember, you are responsible for understanding the University's definitions of plagiarism and academic dishonesty, which include the following:

The University of Florida considers any form of "academic dishonesty" a serious violation of University standards. You should know that, in verifiable instances, plagiarism might result in your expulsion from the University. Make sure you understand UF standards. See the UFL Academic Honesty Guidelines for more details.

GRADING:

Grades will derive from several writing assignments in addition to peer-review work and in-class participation. The points will be tabulated on a 1,000 point scale. (See Assignment Summary below.) You should be able to calculate your own grade with reasonable accuracy throughout the term, based on the graded assignments and their relative weights toward the final course grade.

ASSIGNMENTS:

Discussion Boards
Class participation & in-class writing
Reassurance Letter
Communication Audit
Response Letter
Memo to Client's File
Graphic-Text Project
Final Collaborative Project
-- 150 points
-- 150 points
-- 100 points
-- 100 points
-- 100 points
-- 100 points
-- 100 points
-- 200 points

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