English 110: Course Requirements

Sample Class Handout

• We know only a little about Truth and our limits as mortals
• Mistakes are good.
• Simple is good, but it's hard to be simple.
• Patience is good.
• Suffering can be good.
• Good things happen to aggressive, persistent, noisy, nosey, relentless, thoughtful, tenacious, conscientious, independent, conspicuous, irreverent, iconoclastic, caustic, irritating, strong, self-righteous, funny, crude, demanding, and worthwhile people.
• Good students leave their muddy footprints all over the sidewalk.
  2. Attendance. Come to class.

  After five (5) absences, I will subtract 25 points for every day you miss. If you are an athlete (or anyone else who has to travel to meets, conventions, or group happenings connected with Whitman programs), MAKE ARRANGEMENTS WITH ME IN ADVANCE. (Note: being an athlete does not automatically entitle you to special privileges or extra absences simply because you are "excused.")
  3. Good Will. If you think you need to ask for extensions or "good will," ask early. I will give no extensions and offer no good will at the last minute.
  4. Readings. You don't have to buy a textbook this semester. During the semester, I'll give you things to read and you may have to go to the library sometime during the semester.
  5. Assignments. You will write two warm-up papers, fifteen one-page papers, and six four-page papers. I will throw out the three lowest scores on your one- page papers and the lowest score on one of the first four 4-page papers. YOU MUST DO THE FIFTH and SIXTH (LAST) FOUR-PAGE PAPERS.
  The last two papers you write will be worth two times the points of your other papers. If your lowest score is on a double-point paper, I will throw out one-half of your double score. Your warm-up papers won't count unless they help you.
  Big Quizzes. We will have two big (fifty-point) quizzes. I'll pass out study sheets later. (See class calendar.) These quizzes should be no sweat--though you shouldn't take them too lightly.
  Spelling, Sentence-Structure. If you are a crummy speller or have severe writing problems, you'll have to do extra work.
  6. Grades. Each paper will have its own criteria. I will type these on each assignment. Each four-page paper will be worth 100 points (95 points plus 5 points for a rough draft the period before it's due). One-page papers will be worth 25 points. At the end of the semester, I will add up your scores and divide by the total points possible.
  

  90-100 = A; 80-89 = B; 70-79 = C; 60-69 = D
  LATE PAPERS. I will penalize late one-page papers five points. I will penalize late four-page papers five points for the first day late; after that, I will subtract ten (10) points. I WILL NOT ACCEPT A PAPER MORE THAN ONE WEEK LATE.
  
  All papers will be due at the
  beginning
  of class. If you come in late, your paper will be late.
  Rewrites for one-page papers. You may rewrite two of your one-page papers if the initial score on those papers was 15 or less. You must turn in these rewrites with your graded originals--WITHIN SEVEN DAYS after you have gotten them back for the first time.
  
  Rewrites for four-page papers. You may rewrite one of your first four four-page papers if the original score on that paper was 75 or less. (You cannot re-write either double-point paper.)
  You can turn this rewrite in up to two weeks after you get back your paper for the first time or before the last Monday of the semester (whichever comes first), and ALWAYS INCLUDE THE ORIGINAL PAPER WITH YOUR REWRITE. You can rewrite late papers for no more points than the original paper was worth at the time you turned it in. (If, for instance, you lost five points because your original paper was a day late, your re-write can only be worth 95 points.)
  8. Deadlines. See your course calendar. (You'll get this in a couple of days after the dust settles.
  9. Office Hours. I run the Writing Center (Olin 223) and ought to be around most of the day some place in Olin. I will have scheduled office hours (TTh @ 10:00; MWFright after class), but if you need to meet other times, phone me at 5699 or e-mail me (hashimiy@whitman.edu).
  10. Other Stuff. I will not accept any hand-written papers unless you have an A-1, 3-star excuse. (If you can't type, learn how.)
  
  Always back-up your computer work. Never use just one floppy disk. Never take your disks through the electronic gate at the library. Never sweat on your disk. Never lean your disk against your stereo or clamp it to the refrigerator with a magnet. I will not be responsible for losing the only copy of your paper. Also, save all your graded papers until the end of the semester. You may need them if for some reason I happen to make an error in my grade book. Never slip a paper under my door. Always hand papers to me in person. Unless you see your paper in my hands, consider it lost. Never let someone else deliver your papers to me. If you do, I will lose it. Never mail a paper to me or put one in campus mail. Never put a paper on my desk and expect me to find it.
  
  Plan ahead.
  
  Get a three-ring binder for important class handouts. (There's a 3-hole punch in the Writing Center.) If you are short of cash, get a binder at the Goodwill or St. Vincent de Paul's for sixty cents.
  
  If you think you will have trouble, make sure you talk to me. If you have special needs, learning disabilities, private concerns, make an appointment to see me.
  
  I don't mind looking at your papers before you turn them in. I also don't mind talking about your ideas before you begin to write. You can (and should) make use of the tutors in the Writing Center. I pay them to help students and when they've got nothing to do, they eat chocolates and twaddle their thumbs.
  
  If you have questions about what I am doing or why I am doing it, come see me. If you don't really like a particular assignment, come negotiate. My assignments don't look like the kind most of you are used to, but I'm not just weird, and I have reasons for what I do in class.
  

  ---

  Got questions?
  Hashimoto's Homepage