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Eng 99,
1108, & 1114
FAQs
(Frequently Asked
Questions) |
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This page has a list of frequently asked
questions - the questions I most often am asked. Simply use the
list of questions below to see if something like your question is there.
If it is (or there is something related to it), simply click on the
question.
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WHAT ARE THE QUESTIONS?
(Click on your question.)
1.
HOW DO I KNOW I’M GETTING
CREDIT FOR PAPERS & ATTENDANCE?
2. WHERE IS MY HOMEWORK--DO I GET IT BACK?
3a.-3c. I HAVE QUESTIONS
ABOUT D2L/DISCUSSION-BOARD CLASSES.
4. CAN I CONTACT YOU IN
OTHER WAYS THAN BY EMAIL?
5. IF I HAVEN’T DONE SOMETHING ON TIME, CAN I
STILL GET CREDIT FOR IT?
6. IS HOMEWORK DIFFERENT FROM
DISCUSSION-BOARD CLASS?
7.
HOW DO I GET FEEDBACK ON MY WRITING?
8. IF I HAVEN’T BEEN GETTING WEEKLY EMAILS
FROM YOU, SHOULD I BE WORRIED?
9. HOW SHOULD I ORGANIZE SUBTITLES
WHEN WRITING MY WEEKLY HOMEWORK?
10.
WHY DON'T YOU WRITE COMMENTS ON EVERY DRAFT?
11.
ISN'T WRITING KIND OF A WASTE OF TIME FOR SOME OF US?
12.
WHY DO WE HAVE TO DO ALL OF THIS ONLINE STUFF?
13.
WHAT IS "PROPER" BEHAVIOR IN COLLEGE?
14.
CAN I GET A LOT OF INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION FOR MY WRITING?
15.
HOW SHOULD I WRITE MY DRAFTS 1, 2, 3, AND 4 PAPERS?
16.
HOW DO I GET THE HOME PAGE WHEN "www.Richard.Jewell.net" IS
DOWN?
17.
WHERE IS THE "COURSE PACKET" WITH THE DRAFT 1-4 COVER SHEETS?
WHAT ARE THE ANSWERS?
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1.
HOW DO I KNOW I’M GETTING CREDIT FOR PAPERS AND
ATTENDANCE?
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Simply look at the "Attendance" or "Weekly Papers"
credit sheet when it is passed around in class. I don't pass the "Weekly
Papers" sheet around every time, so if you want to see it, just ask that it be
passed around, and I'll be glad to do so. You also can come up before or
after class to see either or both sheets.
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2.
WHERE IS MY HOMEWORK - DO I GET IT BACK?
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Yes.
I always try to return your homework to you with credit marked on it. I usually return your homework during class.
If I don't, usually that means I don't have it done, yet. If you come late
and want to know whether I returned homework, just ask me after class so that
you can collect it then. And if you miss a class when homework may have
been returned, simply ask for it at the next class.
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3. I HAVE QUESTIONS ABOUT D2L/DISCUSSION-BOARD CLASSES.
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Starting:
First, if the IHCC Class Schedule and the website for the course say you do not
have D2L discussion boards, then there are no online discussion boards and no
use of D2L at all for this course. However, if you DO have D2L discussion
boards, see below.
3a. MOST QUESTIONS are on the discussion
boards in "FAQs":
Please go to this Web site's "Discussion Boards" page (in the yellow bar at the
top of all pages in this site) and, in there, click on the direct link to the
class discussion board. Once you're in the discussion boards, look in the "FAQs" section (look for the
FAQs link in the left-hand column, near the top). In addition, here are
some basic, starting FAQs about discussion board class.
3b. HOW DO I GET TO THE CLASS DISCUSSION BOARD AND
START?
Simply click on the "D2L" link in the
navigation bar at the top of all the web pages in this web site.
3c. HOW COME I CAN SEE THE DISCUSSION BOARDS BUT I
CAN'T WRITE A MESSAGE? HOW DO I JOIN THE CLASS discussion board?
See the starting directions either in this
Web site's "D2L" page or in the discussion boards themselves.
Read the directions. You'll find that you can see the discussion board without being a
member, but to write on the discussion board, you have to go through two joining processes.
The first is to join MSN and get a free MSN account. (If you already have
a hotmail or MSN.com account, then that is your MSN account.) The second
joining process is to become a member of our own class's discussion boards.
The directions on the discussion boards will tell you how. Usually this
information is covered during the first week of the semester in class (as are
many other basic directions in class, so it is important to attend class
regularly especially during the first eight or nine weeks)..
3d. ARE DISCUSSION BOARDS REQUIRED?
If the course materials say they are part of the
course, then yes, they are required. They are part of
your attendance grade. To see more details about how discussionboard classes
fit into your attendance grade, click on "Attendance" in the yellow bar at the
top of any of these course web pages.
3e. HOW CAN I MAKE UP MISSED DISCUSSION BOARDS?
You can still do them. To
find out how, go to the class discussion
boards, find the left-hand column of links and weeks, and look for "FAQs" at the
top of that column. Then click on the link and find the question there.
You also can make up missed discussion boards just as you could any missed class
on campus - by doing attendance make ups. To find out how to do attendance
make ups, click on "Attendance" in the yellow bar at the top of any of the web
pages in this course web site; then click on "Make ups."
3f. OTHER QUESTIONS are in the discussion boards in "FAQs":
As "3a." above says, for most questions about the discussion boards, please click in the
yellow bar at the top of these web pages on "Discussion Boards" and, once in the
discussion boards, click on "FAQs" in the top of the left column.
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4. CAN I CONTACT YOU IN OTHER WAYS THAN BY EMAIL?
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Certainly! You can call me
at home 9 am to 7:00 pm (612-870-7024) or drop by my office at school during my
office hours. You also can drop off homework at my home, if necessary, or
even meet me at a coffeehouse in my home area of Minneapolis (Loring
Park/Uptown) when I won't be at school for several days. For more
information, click here to go my instructor Web site with contact info in it:
http://Richard.Jewell.net/contact.htm.
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5. IF I HAVEN’T DONE SOMETHING ON TIME, CAN I STILL GET CREDIT FOR
IT? WHEN ARE THINGS DUE?
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Yes and no. Here's how:
The Photo & Info Sheet and the "Class Journals":
I'd like these as soon as possible, but I'm easy on this one--I'll take them any
time and still give you credit.
Physical Classes and Online Classes:
A class miss is a class miss. However, there
are multiple ways to make up class attendance misses: click in the yellow bar at
the top of any of these course web pages on "Attendance" and go to "Make Up and
Extra Credit." In addition, concerning discussion board classes, I do allow
people to do them late. For directions on how to do this, see the "FAQs"
page right on the discussion boards.
Wed./Thurs. Homework: It's
always due at the last class of the week. This means it is due by Wednesday
for M.W. classes--or Thursday for Tu.Th. classes--before or at the beginning of class.
(If you're in a M.W.F. class, then it's due Friday.)
Note that it is due before or at the
beginning of class. You may not do it during class. If you don't turn it
in at the beginning of class, then I cannot accept it. However, if you
aren't in class, then you may turn it in with no penalty the next time you come
to class. (However, please write a note on the top explaining which class
days you were absent, so I will know why you are turning it in late.) If
it is otherwise late, then you may turn it in as extra credit for actual time
spent on it, and it will count as other extra credit work does.
You also are welcome to drop off homework under
my B-136 office door if you want to get it off your hands (or if you have a
Draft 1, 2, 3, or 4 that you'd like me to look at as soon as possible).
Remember, though, that I'm often on campus only two or three days a week and
only until 4 or 5 pm, so I may not get anything dropped off after 4 pm on a Wed.
until the following Monday.)
You also may, if you really badly need to get a
paper to me, bring it to my condo in Minneapolis. Directions are in "Contact
Richard." You're welcome to drop
it off by 9 p.m. directly to me (in 410 Groveland), or to drop it off any other
time, day or night, to the 24-hour security guard in the next door building (400
Groveland) and ask him or her to write the time (and also ask him to send me a
message that I have something from a student in the front office). If you
do give it to the front security office, it also is wise to drop me an email or
phone call telling me you have done so, as the front office sometimes forgets to
tell me.
I'll allow a little more latitude in accepting
homework the first few weeks if you honestly are confused about what is due
when, explain why to me, and get it to me as quickly as possible. [And for
hard and fast deadlines, as occur in Week 7 and in the final few weeks of the
course, I also allow exceptions for an immediate emergency, like a car wreck
driving to my house (which actually happened to one of my students
once!).]
Drafts 1, 2, 3, & 4:
Draft 1's must be on time, as are other homework papers described above.
However, Draft 2's, 3's, and 4's can be turned in as you can get them to
me--though you would be wise to follow the recommended deadlines for them.
However, as we get near the end of the class, there are absolute deadlines for
the Draft 4's, and later for the final Draft 3 that you do, as shown in the "Course Packet's" "Schedule of Assignments."
FULLY ONLINE COURSE homework:
It's due by midnight on the day specified in the
schedule (usually Thursday). I will, however, take it up to a week
late, but no later! (I'll allow even more latitude in the first few weeks
if you honestly are confused about what is due when, explain why to me, and get
it to me as quickly as possible.) Once the Thurs. homework assignment is
past this one-week grace period (one week late), it
cannot be made up. However, you may still turn it in for extra credit for
the actual time spent on it.
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6.
IS HOMEWORK DIFFERENT FROM DISCUSSION BOARDS?
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You bet. Here's how:
Your weekly papers and readings are homework.
It is always due at the beginning of class on Wednesdays (for Mon.-Wed. day
classes or Wed. night classes) or Thursdays (for Tues.-Thurs. day classes or
Thurs. night classes). Homework is entirely different from discussion board
(discussion board) messages. Discussion board messages (also due Wednesdays
or Thursdays, depending on which day you have class), are class attendance
- a classroom activity - not homework.
Homework assignments are explained in the "Writing
of Papers" web page. And discussion-board attendance is explained in the
"Attendance" web page and the "D2L" web page.
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7.
HOW DO I GET FEEDBACK ON MY WRITING?
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There are many ways:
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Read Your Checklists:
when you do something wrong on your drafts of papers, I make a check mark
on a list of things. If you've done especially well, I write "good"
or "well done" or something similar. You always get "X's" if you
have completed the work sufficiently.
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Ask Questions in Class:
there often are chances in class to ask me general questions.
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Ask Questions
Before/After Class: I try to be
available for at least five or ten minutes before or after each class for
individual questions.
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Ask Questions on Each
Draft: if you have one or more
questions that you'd like answered about your draft of a paper, simply
write them at the top of the first page, where I can easily see them.
I'll be glad to try to answer them.
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Ask Questions While in
Groups: we often do some kind of
group activity, and during this time, you're welcome to come up to me and
ask me questions.
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Attend a Planned
Consultation: I cancel about nine
classes so that people can have individual consultations with me more than
once, and though they are optional, that is an excellent time to ask me
questions about your writing, especially if you bring me a full draft.
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Visit Me during Office
Hours: I have office hours so
that people can walk in to see me, and I am sometimes able to see people
during non-office-hour times, too, by appointment.
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Read Comments I Make on
Your Papers: I do take the time to write some
comments on your papers once I know which drafts will become your graded
papers. I do this after I have graded them, so that you might have a
chance to revise them for a better grade.
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Visit the Writing Center:
this is a great way to get tutoring assistance: we have some of the best
trained, most educated, and best paid writing tutors in the entire state,
here.
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Use Internet Tutoring:
you also can use the Writing Center by emailing them your drafts.
Turn-around time is two-three days.
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8.
IF I HAVEN’T BEEN GETTING WEEKLY EMAILS FROM YOU, SHOULD I
BE WORRIED?
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IN-PERSON CLASS: Nope--not if you're coming to class regularly each
week and you see me there. I announce things of importance in class.
However, I do sometimes email important information, so if you're not getting
any emails at all from me, you better ask whether I have made a class email list
(a list with everyone's email address on it, used for emailing the whole class
at the same time) and, if so, whether you are on it.
ONLINE-ONLY CLASS: If the course is fully or mostly
online--no regular weekly classes at school--then I generally send an email each
week, at the very beginning of the week. If you are not getting
these emails, email me right away! You need to see these emails to track
what is going on in the class.
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9.
HOW SHOULD I ORGANIZE THE SUBTITLES WHEN WRITING MY WEEKLY
HOMEWORK? |
Basics of Subtitles
Use a separate sheet for each type of paper (e.g.,
one sheet for a Journal, another sheet for Study Questions, etc.) If
subtitles are also required, they are usually 1-4 words long, underlined, and
placed even with the left margin of your writing: e.g., see the subtitles in
this set of answers to the question.
Few Subtitles Needed
In some of the papers, subtitles are not required--such as when you're writing
about the textbook readings when bullet points or paragraphs are, instead,
easier and are allowed.
However, if subtitles are required, it is either because that type of paper requires subtitles
(in which case you should see the chapter in CollegeWriting.info to see
how to do subtitles for that type of paper) OR you are writing one of your Draft
1, 2, 3, or 4 papers, in which case you should look at your "Course Packet" for
directions on how to add subtitles to a particular draft.
The only other use of multiple subtitles is when
you write the required journal early in the term that describes the ten
different sections of this Web site. In that case, just use the names of
the ten sections as they appear in the ten boxes on the home page of this Web
site.
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10. WHY DON'T YOU WRITE COMMENTS ON EVERY DRAFT?
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I do not write extensive comments on every draft I
receive because I get 400-600 drafts of papers and other homework in just one
course alone--as many as 2000 per semester in all my classes together.
(This does not count virtual discussion-board messages, which amount to another
1500 or so separate messages per semester for all my classes, total.) In
addition, many students don't need comments because they already know what to
do, or they read the comments and soon forget them, or they don't care.
If I were to write extensive comments on each draft for every student, I would
have much less time for looking at other drafts, and I could allow only a small
number of the drafts and options I now offer to students. I prefer that
students ask for more feedback by asking me questions, writing questions on
their drafts (see "6" above), and/or coming to see me (or going to the Writing
Center) for help. I also use checklists to save me a lot of time writing
typical responses (for example, "place your main argument in your intro") that I
used to write by hand, over and over, on people's papers. In these ways, I
can serve more people in many more ways in the time I am given.
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11. ISN'T WRITING KIND OF A WASTE OF TIME FOR
SOME OF US?
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Whoa. If you were already in your
profession, you probably wouldn't ask this. Multitudes of studies and
surveys show (and just anyone in your future profession!) that in the great
majority of professionals spend 40-80% of their total work time just on writing.
It may be emails, notes, or group writing, or it may be something more formal.
But it is all writing. In addition, many instructors at Inver Hills
Community College require good writing skills and assign serious papers.
The professors at IHCC support two required writing classes for most students
precisely because the great majority of IHCC instructors want their
students to be able to write well in IHCC classes. In addition, those same
instructors want students to be able to write well in their future or current
professions.
Finally, writing is a strong, obvious, clear form
of thinking. If you learn to write well, you will be able to think more
logically and thoughtfully so that you may be a better person, problem solver
(at work and in personal situations), and citizen of our country and world.
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12.
WHY DO WE HAVE TO DO ALL OF THIS ONLINE STUFF?
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For starters, having online textbooks saves you all kinds of money.
Second, if you are taking a section of this course
that has online D2L discussion boards, you don't have to take this
section. There are
other sections/courses without it. However, if it's schedule for your
class, then it is a very important part
of this particular class. The IHCC course schedule clearly mentions
that for this section of comp, you need to be able to handle basic online
emailing and Web use, and it also states that 1/3 of our class time will be
online, using a discussion board. I don't expect you to be vastly
experienced in these, just able to use a keyboard and a computer and willing to
learn. Besides, most professional jobs (and even many "blue-collar" and
"pink-collar" jobs) now require good computer skills, so you'll probably gain
quite a bit just by learning to operate the computer. Remember that you
have seven-day-a-week access to me through email and my home phone, and do ask
me for help when you need it.
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13.
WHAT IS "PROPER" BEHAVIOR IN COLLEGE?
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"Proper" behavior differs slightly from teacher to
teacher. What is common for all college classrooms is that you should be
respectful of the instructor and each other, demonstrate a willingness to learn
and to listen to competing viewpoints, and consider college an adult environment
requiring adult behavior.
In addition, in my classes, I like people to be helpful, kind, creative, and
caring toward each other (and to me) because we work together quite a bit.
I also want people to feel they have the right to disagree respectfully with
each other: this is a basic, important part of college life. The right to
disagree respectfully--and to speak our opinions in an atmosphere where we know
others will respectfully listen to us--is of utmost importance for learning from
each other and discovering a variety of viewpoints. This is what college
is about, and what being a citizen of the nation and the world: agreeing to
respectfully disagree at times, so that we might learn and grow. I ask
that you do so in a kind, caring, creative, and supportive way with others in
our class.
All of this means, too, that anger, whining, hurtfulness, spitefulness, and
other negative emotions and acts are no more appropriate in college than in a
professional workplace; acting on or using such negative behavior in or out of
class to instructors, staff, or other students is very inappropriate and
prevents a good atmosphere for good intellectual, personal, and academic growth.
Partying is a whole additional issue. There is nothing wrong at all with
having a good time, and people in the first year or two of college in particular
tend to work hard at having a good time. This is fine, but in general, it
is better to keep partying to the weekends and vacation weeks. Fifteen
credits per semester of college is the equivalent of a full-time, 40-50 hrs./wk.
professional job, one in which you are expected to act as responsibly as
would any manager or business owner. It requires alertness, intelligence,
and focus. Excessive tiredness, hangovers, and others aftereffects
of partying therefore are inappropriate, as well, which is why it helps to keep
partying a weekend- and vacation-only event.
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14. CAN I GET A LOT OF INDIVIDUAL ATTENTION FOR MY WRITING?
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You certainly can. I can give you some
individual attention. Sometimes I am free at the end of a class; you also
can come see me anytime during my officially scheduled office hours (if I am not
with another student). If you want, you may schedule a specific time
during my office hours to meet with me so that you know for sure that I can meet
with you (before any walk-ins). If you can't see me during my office
hours, sometimes I am able to schedule other times to meet with you. And
there is always the telephone (it's okay to call me at my home) and email.
See "Contact
Richard."
If you would like a lot of attention, you can go
to the Writing Center for students. You can do this in addition to, or
instead of, seeing me in my office. The Writing Center is a place on the
second floor of the Library building where several instructors and several "peer
tutors" (students with excellent English skills) regularly sit and work with
students who need help with papers in any subject. Tutoring by email
through the Writing Center also is available, if you allow several days of
turnaround time. To contact the Writing Center or the Peer Tutoring
Center, click here on
IHCC Writing Center.
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15. HOW SHOULD I WRITE MY DRAFTS 1, 2, 3, AND 4 PAPERS?
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The directions for writing your Drafts 1, 2, 3,
and 4 Papers are not on the Web. Instead, they are in your "Course
Packet" which you bought from the bookstore as a required text. To see
the directions, simply look at the Table of Contents on the front of the
"Course Packet's" cover and then go to the type of paper you are assigned to
do. The sheet in the "Course Packet" will tell you how to write the
paper. The directions are spelled out clearly on each sheet.
Additional help, directions, and practice will be given during class time.
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16. HOW DO I GET THE HOME PAGE WHEN "www.Richard.Jewell.net" IS
DOWN?
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It is safer to go directly to the course Web
site, if possible. You can do this most easily by bookmarking.
If you have your own computer, you can click on "Bookmarks" (sometimes
called "Favorites") when you are at the course Web site, and then add the
site. (Directions about how to bookmark are on this course Web site:
on the home page: you may click either there or here on "How
To Use This Site.")
However, if you use school computers, they
won't keep bookmarks. So, instead, you can simply write the course
home page Web address down and stick it in your billfold for emergencies.
The easy way to get the Web address is to go to the course home page.
Then look for the Web address (it should say "umn.edu" at the end) in one of
the little top windows, and write it down; or, you can copy and paste it
onto an MS Word blank sheet and print out the sheet.
And if for some reason "Richard.Jewell.net"
is not working, you can instead go to an alternative site:
www.umn.edu/home/jewel001..
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To see the most recent course packet, simply click
here: "Course
Packet." Or click on "Course Packet"
in the left-hand column.
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