1350-1650 words
You will write 3 papers over the course of the semester. Each will be revised from an outline and 1350-1650 words long. It will also be argumentative and evidence-based (but not research).
· You will receive feedback on the outlines, but only the papers will be graded.
· Each outline should consist of a thesis, topic sentences, and evidence, briefly sketched–with the exception that outlines for papers #2 and #3 should also include a full introduction. The topic sentences should be claims that support the thesis, not descriptive statements that point to what the body paragraphs will cover. (In other words, you should put together an outline only once you’ve worked out the paper’s argument.)
· If a paper is shorter or longer than required, the grade will be reduced by 5 points.
· Late outlines and papers will be accepted only in cases of serious emergency. Otherwise, if an assignment (an outline or a paper) is late, the grade for the paper will be reduced by 5 points. No assignment will be accepted more than two weeks past the original deadline.
· A virtual token can extend any assignment deadline by 48 hours. (See “Virtual Tokens” below.)
· If you do not turn in an outline, the grade for the corresponding paper will be reduced by 10 points. If you turn in only an outline but not the corresponding paper, the grade for the paper will be an F.
· All the papers will be based on original close readings. Do not use any sources that aren’t on the syllabus. If you do, the grade will be reduced by 10 points. If you use outside sources without citing them, the paper is plagiarized (see “Academic Integrity” below).
· The paper prompts will be posted in the Paper Prompts folder on Blackboard (in Course Content) as well as emailed to you. You must not change prompts between a paper’s outline and its final draft. If you do, the grade will be reduced by 10 points.
· All citations should follow MLA guidelines. (If you are not familiar with the guidelines, please see the Writing-Related Handouts folder on Blackboard / Course Content.)
· The outlines and papers will be submitted on Blackboard, as Google Docs or Microsoft Word documents. (No PDFs, please.)