Worksheet Submissions

PSC160-INT

The weekly Worksheet submissions constitute the very heart of this course. Your performance on these sheets will constitute 20 percent of your overall grade and test questions will be derived from the information addressed in them. Usually, student scores on homework assignments are excellent predictors of performance on the tests. My expectations with regard to these Worksheets are not phenomenally high, but they are very exact and completely inflexible. The sooner you understand, retain and habitually address these expectations, the better. You do not want the items discussed below to become a burden or hindrance to you in this course. It is difficult enough as is. If, however, you are not careful, a burden and a hindrance is exactly what they will become.

Technical Issues

1. Do your own work

The homework assignments are to be the product of your individual effort. They are not collaborative projects and should not involve “teamwork” of any type. If you are caught copying the work of a fellow or former students, or there is overwhelming evidence that you are collaborating with fellow or former students, I will inform you of your violation, explain the basis of my decision and fail you from the course at that point.

2. Send your work to the right place

Homework assignments should be submitted to the following address: PSC160INT@aol.com

- For the subject line, simply type your last name.

- Please do not type anything other than your last name.

- Do not send multiple copies of the same assignment. I will only accept one submission per week.

3. Do not send attachments

Do not send me e-mail attachments. I will never, ever download anything you send to me. Do your work in a word processing environment and simply highlight, copy and paste your work into your e-mail environment. If, when you do so, a margin is thrown off here and there, or words and lines are oddly indented, that is no problem for me. Feel free to ignore it because I will. If you send me an attachment (despite this clear warning), I will simply delete your message altogether (without opening it) and instruct you, once again, to follow the guidelines of the course. If, in the communication process, you do not see my response for a day or two and, as a consequence, you submit the relevant assignment past the weekly deadline, I will not accept it.

4. Submit both the Questions and Answers

Submit both the questions in the weekly Worksheets and their associated answers. If you send me just the answers (despite this clear warning), I will simply delete your message altogether and instruct you, once again, to follow the guidelines of the course. If, in the communication process, you do not see my response for a day or two and, as a consequence, you submit the relevant assignment past the weekly deadline, I will not accept it.

Form

5. Extended answers

Some of the weekly Worksheets will contain questions that will appear in bold print. Here are my expectations for these questions: In these circumstances, you should expect to carefully explain or discuss material in the text. You should do so in the form of complete sentences. One sentence will never, ever suffice for such questions. Indeed, if you are so stubborn as to even attempt to answer one of these questions in a single sentence, and I see it in advance, I do not even read the sentence. I mark it wrong and move on. Per usual, you will also want to make good use of the text in these situations (see comments above).

6. Do not a. a.

Do not abbreviate anything in your answers. And, yes, I mean anything. If I see an abbreviation in an answer in advance, I will not even bother to read the answer. When you abbreviate, you are, in effect, freeing me from the potentially tiresome task of grading another of many responses. I very quickly mark the answer wrong and move on. If you do not have the time to write your answers without abbreviating, then there is a very good chance that you probably do not have the time required to complete this course successfully.

7. Do not draw (or simulate) lists in your answers

Do not draw lists in your answers. In other words, do not ever use numbered or lettered lists, or lists that are characterized by check marks, dashes, bullets or some other such thing. Write in sentence form if you want credit for your answers.

You should also refrain from satisfying the unquenchable desire to write in the strictly prohibited list form by stringing together run-on sentences from hell with the clumsy use of semi-colons. Take your time. Think things out. Use Mr. Period between your separate and distinct sentences and everything will work out fine.

8. Fill-in-the-blank questions

Your response (answer) to fill-in-the-blank questions should (1) include only that information which would intelligently complete the sentence were it in fact where the blank appears and (2) appear separate and distinct from - or outside of - the question itself. That is, do NOT write the answer in the blank. Write the answer after, or outside, of the question or below it.

Substance / Content

9. Spell check your submissions

I do not consider myself the best proof reader in the world so, in my view, if your weekly submissions contain typographical errors, the odds are you are really operating with very little care and concern. When answers contain typos, you lose the point associated with that answer.

10. Proof read your submissions

This is not an English class, but it is a college course. If you cannot write at a college level it is my duty to call it to your attention. Don’t simply spell check your submissions and send them. Take time to look them over afterward. Make sure what you have written is clear and makes good sense. Make sure you have your singulars and plurals correct and that your subjects and verbs match. If the question involves a fill in the blank situation, make sure the answer you provide completes the sentence in an intelligent manner. Again, your writing should give the distinct impression that you put significant care and concern into what you produced.

11. Use the text smartly

Make full use of the text in your Worksheets. If the question asks for reasons for this or that and the text gives three such reasons, take the time to identify all three. If you are asked for examples of this or that, and the text identifies two, take the time to recognize both of them in your answer. If the text gives a full explanation for something, you should be certain to refrain from the appearance of attempting to write the very shortest explanation possible. You should not write as though you are speeding by on a train and writing on a piece of paper passing outside by the window. Be aware of the fact that, in some instances, I will grade you on what you do not write.

DO NOT, however, mindlessly quote from the text (including the glossary). This is not a stenography class. If you write four words in any answer which appear in the exact same order in the text, and I catch it, I will mark your answer wrong. Do not – in any circumstance – use extended quotes from the text, including the glossary. If I even see quotation marks around more than four words, I will mark your answer incorrect and move on

12. Answer the question!

Each question appears in the order that the material appears in the text. While some questions certainly require you to read more carefully than others, all of the questions are remarkably straightforward. None of them (not a single one) is “tricky” in any sense of the English language. If you sense an ambiguity, try being less suspicious and more trusting. If you still sense ambiguity, send me a quick e-mail and ask me for further explanation.

What you DON’T want to do is sense ambiguity in a question and then respond with an ambiguous answer, or multiple answers to cover what you think are all of the possible bases. I mark such answer incorrect, so it is best to save that sort of effort for some other enterprise.

Again, if you are not certain what direction a question is pointing you, ASK!

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