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The following books are not required reading for the course and you do not need to buy them, but you are strongly encouraged to read them:
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From time-to-time, you will be directed to information sheets, charts, and articles that will supplement the textbooks and PowerPoint slides from class. These materials will be made available via the Documents page on the course web site. To comply with fair use requirements, some of them will be available only by logging into a secure server. You are expected to read and absorb the contents of these additional documents.
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Prior to 2005, this course was called Physics/Global Studies 180. The web site of the current course provides links to Physics 180 web pages that contain valuable resources from previous semesters. Please feel free to use these, but please be aware that some of this information is now out-of-date.
Writing assignments will be posted to the Writing Assignments page on Saturday. Please make sure you print this information and bring it to your Monday Writing Laboratory.
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A large number of documents on topics covered in the course are available on a wide variety of governmental and non-governmental web sites. The quality and accuracy of these documents varies greatly. You should consult the course staff for guidance if you have any doubts. A Documents page is accessible from many of the course web pages. It provides links to some of the best and most useful external web sites and documents. Occasionally, a reading assignment will require you to go to a specified online document. You are encouraged to bring other useful web sites you uncover to the attention of the course instructor and staff.
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| Monday |
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| Tuesday |
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Class Meetings will be used for lectures, demonstrations, and discussions of the basic course material. A few guest lectures by individuals with expertise in the subject matter of Physics 280 will be given during the semester. Frequently, a few minutes of class time will be used to discuss current events related to the course. During these discussions you are encouraged to call attention to recent current events or news reports and to ask questions about them.
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In the Writing Labs you will be given one-on-one help with your writing assignments. These meeting will be used to discuss all assignments with you. They are designed to help you think about the writing process and familiarize yourself with the mechanics of writing. Among other things, we will discuss and analyze examples of good writing. Your graded essays will be handed back to you in your Writing Lab and your TA will discuss common errors and solutions.
TAs will not read drafts of your writing in the Writing Labs, but they will discuss marked essays. They will also discuss with you your ideas and the organization and structure of your essays before or after you have written them.
The Writing Labs are not a substitute for the class sessions. The Writing labs will not cover material covered in lecture.
As an extra incentive to attend the writing labs, extra credit is given for attendance. The total value of the extra credit (for perfect attendance all semester) amounts to 5% of the total maximum score from all writing assignments. The maximum score from all writing assignments is just the combination of the required essays and the research paper. So be sure to attend your writing lab! See Course Grade for all the details on grading.
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We will not tolerate plagiarism or cheating. Article 1, Part 4 (previously Rule 33) of the Student Code specifies in detail what is considered plagiarism and cheating. Ignorance of the provisions of Article 1, Part 4 does not excuse violations of it.
All papers submitted in this course are scanned by plagiarism-detecting software.
The plagiarism-detecting software will compare your paper with an international database that includes all papers submitted in Physics/Global Studies 280 during this semester and previous semesters as well as a very large collection of other writings (books, articles, essays, papers, etc.) by professional authors and students at UIUC and elsewhere.
Do not assume that you know what is and is not plagiarism or cheating. Many students who have committed serious violations of Article 1, Part 4 have done so because they failed to study it and were not clear about what is and is not allowed, even though Article 1, Part 4 was assigned reading in the writing course that they used to satisfy the prerequisite for this course. For this reason Article 1, Part 4 is the first required reading assignment in Physics/Global Studies 280. You are personally responsible for reading carefully and understanding Article 1, Part 4.
Article 1, Part 4 may be found at:
Supplementary information is available at:
As your essays are only a few pages in length, including a quotation longer than a few lines would be inappropriate.
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Physics/Global Studies 280 is an Advanced Writing course. Such a course requires writing with revision. Consequently two versions are required for all writing assignments, except Extra Credit Essays.
For the second version to be graded, the marked first version must be stapled to it.
Both versions of each writing assignment are considered equally important. Consequently your scores on the first and second versions of each essay will count equally toward your overall course score.
The first version (not the first draft!) of each writing assignment should be a polished paper that represents your very best effort. The graded first version will usually be returned to you at the next Writing Lab meeting after the paper was due. If you do not pick up your essay in class, you may pick it up from Linda Thorman in 337 Loomis.
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The second, final version of each writing assignment should be an improved version that corrects any errors in the first version and addresses all of the comments, criticisms, and suggestions made by the course staff in response to the first version. As noted above, second version of your assignment must have the marked first version stapled to it; if it does not, the second version will not be graded.
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Try analyzing one of the handouts posted on the course web site using the approach outlined here. Analyze its structure as well as its content, using the questions listed above and any others you think are relevant.
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The goal is to make rapid progress in correcting bad writing habits and eliminating recurring errors. If you study carefully the marks on your paper, keep your own list of the errors you have frequently made, consult with the course instructor or teaching assistants, and check carefully your subsequent essays to make sure you have not repeated an error, it is very unlikely that you will make the same mistake twice.
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| Spelling and sentence grammar | |
| Which-that error | wt |
| Paragraph structure and content | |
| Weak or no topical sentence | ts |
| Unnecessary sentence | us |
| Paragraph lacks focus | plf |
| Style and content | |
| Acronym undefined | au |
| Word choice is too colloquial | col |
| Inappropriate for intended audience | aud |
| Assignment not addressed | ana |
| Grasp of subject matter | |
| Conceptual error | ce |
| Factual error | fe |
| 95-100 | A+ | Excellent |
| 90-94 | A | Very good |
| 85-89 | A- | Good |
| 80-84 | B+ | Well written, but can be improved |
| 75-79 | B | Can be significantly improved |
| 70-74 | B- | Fair |
| 65-69 | C+ | Many problems; significant rewriting is required |
| 60-64 | C | Major problems; extensive rewriting is required |
| 55-59 | C- | Very serious problems; very extensive rewriting is required |
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| Writing Assignment | Code | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Required Essay 1, Version 1 | RE1v1 | 1 page |
| Required Essay 1, Version 2 | RE1v2 | 1 page |
| Required Essay 2, Version 1 | RE2v1 | 2 pages |
| Required Essay 2, Version 2 | RE2v2 | 2 pages |
| Required Essay 3, Version 1 | RE3v1 | 3 pages |
| Required Essay 3, Version 2 | RE3v2 | 3 pages |
| Required Essay 4, Version 1 | RE4v1 | 4 pages |
| Required Essay 4, Version 2 | RE4v2 | 4 pages |
The first two essays will emphasize writing skills at the paragraph level and will provide you with an opportunity to obtain guidance and detailed feedback from the course staff. You will then progress to the third and fourth essays and the research paper. This process is designed to give you a clear understanding of what is expected and to identify major problems early on so that you can avoid them in later assignments. The result should be a steady improvement in your writing skills.
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You have the option of submitting up to two Extra Credit Essay Opportunities (ECEOs) during the course of the semester. To receive credit for these essays, you must attend an approved seminar or other event on campus that is related to the subject matter of Physics 280 and then write a short essay that answers certain specific questions about the event that will be provided at the time that particular Extra Credit Essay Opportunity is announced. Extra Credit Essays will not be revised. Full details will be provided on the Writing Assignments page.
Extra Credit Essays will be given the same weight as a single version of one of the Required Essays. The scores from the Extra Credit Essays will be added to the Essays component of the course score when grades are computed. See the section on Course Grades for further details.
Note that more than two Extra Credit Essay opportunities will usually be provided, but you may submit at most two Extra Credit Essays during the semester. For instructions on how to submit these essays electronically, please refer to the E-mail Table below for the correct e-mail address to use. Regardless of which Extra Credit Essay opportunities you choose to accept, the first extra credit essay you submit should go to the first of the two e-mail addresses listed in the table and the second essay you submit should be addressed to the second e-mail address listed.
Please include the corresponding code listed in the table below in the upper right-hand corner (see Writing Assignment Checklist) of the top page of any Extra Credit Essays you submit.
| Extra Credit Essay Opportunity | Code | Length |
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| Extra Credit Essay Opportunity A | ECEO-A | 2 pages |
| Extra Credit Essay Opportunity B | ECEO-B | 2 pages |
| Extra Credit Essay Opportunity C | ECEO-C | 2 pages |
| etc. |
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You will be responsible for writing a Research Paper on a research question chosen by you in consultation with one of the instructors. This assignment has two main purposes. First, it allows us to help you investigate a topic related to the course that is of particular interest to you. Second, it provides an opportunity for you to develop further your skills in research, analysis, proposal preparation, and writing, with help from the course staff. Shorthand codes have been assigned to each document in the research paper assignment that you will submit. These codes will be used to refer to these documents elsewhere on this site and throughout the course. These codes should be included in the upper right-hand block (see Writing Assignment Checklist) of the corresponding assignment.
| Research Paper Component | Code | Length |
|---|---|---|
| Research Paper Proposal | RPP | 2 pages, Details |
| Research Paper, Version 1 | RPv1 | Details |
| Research Paper, Version 2 | RPv2 | Details |
Your Research Paper must address a research question that has important technical and policy aspects. The "research" in the Research Paper title indicates library research, not original research. Library research is required: a Research Paper based primarily on what has been covered in class or in the assigned readings is not acceptable.
To the extent feasible, the course staff will assist you in completing the Research Paper assignment.
The Research Paper writing assignment will be completed in three stages:
(1) To help you get off to a good, early start, you will be required to complete and submit a Research Paper Proposal (RPP) with guidance from the course staff.
Your RPP is due by the deadline listed on the Writing Assignments page. Your RPP will be counted as extra credit and will count as much as one version of a Required Essay, but will be added to the Research Paper portion of your Course Grade.
(2) You will complete and submit the first version of your Research Paper (RPv1), faithfully following your approved RPP.
Your highly polished RPv1 is due by the date listed on the Writing Assignments page, and will count 50% of your total Research Paper score. Your RPv1 will be graded on its content and writing and will be returned for revision on date listed on the Writing Assignments page.
(3) You will revise your RPv1 and submit a revised version (RPv2).
Your RPv2 will be graded on its content and writing and also on the extent to which you corrected errors or other imperfections present in RPv1. This final (revised) version of your Research Paper is due by the date listed on the Writing Assignments page and will also count 50% of your total Research Paper score.
Both versions of your Research Paper must be no less than 6 but no more than 7 double-spaced, typed pages in length (or the printed equivalent), including references. Figures do not count in this page budget, but you should not include more than a few figures.
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Preparing a Research Paper Proposal is the first task required to complete the Research Paper writing assignment. You must submit both a printed and an electronic copy of your RPP by the deadline. See the instructions for submitting writing assignments below and on the Writing Assignments page.
You must choose a topic for your RPP from the list of allowed topics accessible via the RPP "Details" link on the Writing Assignments page. Do not choose a rapidly evolving research topic, because events during the semester could then render your RP obsolete or even irrelevant. Do not choose a topic on which there is little or no publicly available information. As an example, "Nuclear Terrorist Sleeper Cells in the United States" would be an interesting topic, but you would not be able to find much publicly available information about this topic.
Your RPP must identify a specific research question within your topic. Your research question must have both technical and policy aspects and you must address both aspects in your RPP. To prepare an acceptable RPP, you must think deeply about your topic and how you will address it, do a substantial amount of library research, formulate a thesis, and provide a list of the references on which your RP will be based.
Like the rest of the assignments for this course, your RPP will have a first version, RPPv1, and a second version, RPPv2. However unlike other assignments, your RPPv1 is not to be submitted electronically. Instead, a paper copy of it should be brought with you to your writing lab on the due date listed for RPPv1 on the Writing Assignments page. Your RPPv1 will not be assigned a score, but it is a course requirement that you bring your RPPv1 to your writing lab. It will be reviewed by your writing lab TA during the writing lab that day. This will allow your TA to give you guidance on your proposed specific research topic and advice on how best to investigate it. Your RPPv1 will be collected in your writing lab.
A paper copy of the second, final version of your RPP (your RPPv2) is still to be turned in to the P280 homework box on the due date listed for RPPv2 on the Writing Assignments page. An electronic copy of your RPPv2 should also be submitted online to the email address listed for RPPv2. Course staff will evaluate your RPPv2, to ensure that your proposal is likely to lead to a suitable research paper and you will be sent written comments on it via e-mail. Your RPPv2 be given a letter code of A, AM or NA (Acceptable, Acceptable with Modifications, or Not Acceptable) and a 0-100 score. The score counts as extra credit toward the writing component of your grade, as explained in the Course Grade section. If you receive an NA rating on your RPP, you must submit a revised proposal by the date listed on the Writing Assignments page. You cannot proceed with your research and writing until your RPP has been approved (if you do proceed and your proposal is later rejected, your work may be wasted).
Your numerical writing score and the letter code indicating the overall assessment of the viability of your proposal will be posted in the online gradebook. The staff will send you written comments on your proposal via e-mail. You should discuss these comments with the TA or instructor who graded your proposal.
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| Example Header: Name Writing Lab TA L13 RPP Date Topic, e.g. Centrifuge Technologies for Uranium Enrichment |
The text of your RPP should be more than 1 page, but no more than 2 pages in length, with 1 additional page on which you list your references.
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You should devote substantial effort to choosing a good research question, because having a good research question is vital to the success of your RP. Your research question will guide your research and help you collect the evidence you will need for your RP.
In preparing your RPP, you should read at least two books, chapters from books, or review papers, to insure that you have an adequate overall perspective on your research question.
You may also use articles in professional and scholarly journals, such as Arms Control Today, Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, Foreign Affairs, and International Security, or high-quality magazines that address current affairs, such as The Atlantic.
You may use the online documents posted on the course Documents page and documents posted on the web sites of the U.S. government and the nongovernmental organizations listed on the Documents page. You may not use any other online resources without express written permission from one of the senior instructors.
You may use one or two newspaper articles from high-quality newspapers, such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the Wall Street Journal, if they are essential to your thesis, but see the caution above against choosing a topic where the facts may change substantially during the semester.
See References Requirements for the format to use in preparing your list of References.
You should write a tentative statement of the proposed thesis of your RP early in the preparation of your RPP. Formulating a thesis will help you choose your evidence and develop your arguments in an organized and logical manner.
See pages 122–208 of The Little Brown Essential Handbook for Writers and Purdue University's Online Writing Lab for further guidance on picking a research topic and identifying a research question.
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The Research Paper assignment in this course has two main purposes. First, it allows us to help you investigate a topic related to the course that is of special interest to you. Second, it provides an opportunity for you to further develop your research, analysis, and writing skills, with help. It is intended to be fun as well.
The following instructions must be followed faithfully to receive full credit:
Originality: Using material you have prepared for a previous or other contemporaneous writing assignment in this or any other course is not allowed, even if the text is placed in quotation marks or paraphrased and properly cited. There are three reasons. First, Physics 280 is a writing course and the RP is supposed to be an exercise in original writing. Second, students are not authorities on any of the relevant subjects and therefore are not appropriate primary or secondary sources for the RP. Third, doing so is in violation of Article 1, Part 4 of the student code. Check the Plagiarism section for all the details.
Technology-policy balance: As explained in the Research Paper Proposal instructions, your Research Paper should address a question that involves both technology and policy issues in an important way. The balance need not be 50%-50%, but both types of issues must be important and discussed. When addressing some questions, it may be natural to discuss the technological and policy issues separately, with one or more sections devoted to each. For other questions, it may be more natural to interweave the discussion of technology and policy. Follow whichever approach works best for your research question.
Length: Both versions of your Research Paper must be no less than 6 but no more than 7 pages in length. The first (cover) page (see First Page) and any figures or tables do not count in this page budget, but you should not include more than a few figures and only if they are important for understanding the text. Papers shorter than 6 pages or longer than 7 pages will not be accepted.
First Page: The first page of your paper should conform to the instructions listed in the Writing Assignments Checklist and include a short descriptive title followed by a half-page (no longer) abstract that describes the question addressed in your paper and summarizes your main conclusions.
Introduction: The first section of your paper should be an Introduction, which should begin the second page and should not be longer than one page. The goal of the Introduction is to interest and engage the reader. You may provide context (e.g., Iran has just tested a nuclear weapon) or spell out your approach to the question you are addressing. Do not summarize your conclusions or recommendations in your Introduction—this paper is too short for that to be appropriate.
Body: Divide the body of your paper into sections with boldface headings. Use as many sections as you need, but note that dividing the body into more than three sections (six sections in total) is probably excessive for a six-page paper. Avoid one or two paragraph sections.
Conclusions and recommendations: The final text section of your paper should present your conclusions and recommendations. This section should introduce new thoughts or conclusions. It should say something interesting and definite but should not be the longest section in your paper. Use active voice. You may motivate your conclusions and recommendations by pointing to findings in the earlier sections of your paper, but do not turn this section into a summary section!
Reference requirements: Statements that are common knowledge (e.g., "the United States is in North America") need not have supporting references, but all other statements must be supported by references (for details, see Article 1, Part 4 of the Student Code). If the reference is to a book, citations of the relevant chapters are sufficient unless you are citing a specific fact, argument, or quotation, in which case you must give the number or numbers of the page(s) on which the fact, argument, or quotation appears.
Citation style: You must number each different source in the Reference section and refer to that source in the text by its number in square brackets. If the source is a book, you must include the number of the page on which the information may be found. Suppose, for example, that you wish to cite a statement on page 37 of the book Teller's War, by William Broad. This statement could be supported in the text by the citation [1, p. 37] and in the References section by the entry
[1] William Broad, Teller's War (Touchstone Books, 1993)
References section: All references should be listed by number in a separate section titled "References" at the end of the text. This section need not start a new page. It is included in the page count. Do not place references in footnotes.
Reference style: You are free to use any standard style for the information in your reference list, but you must be consistent. For books, list the title, author(s), publisher, and the year. For journals and magazines, list the journal or magazine title, the month or year, the volume number if available, the author(s), and the pages on which the article appears. If no author is given, indicate this by placing an "em" (long) dash "—" where the author would be listed. Refer to newspapers sparingly, if at all, and then list the newspaper's name, the title of the article, the author(s), and the month, day, and year of the issue. For stand-alone documents, list the title, author(s), date (in as complete a from as possible), and the organization that produced the document. Titles of books, journals, and magazines and the names of newspapers should be italicized. The title of an article taken from a journal, magazine, newspaper, or stand-alone document should be put in quotes. For brevity, refer to Physics 280 lecture slides as, e.g., [P280 Weapon Effects, slide 3], omitting all other information.
Footnotes: Do not use footnotes (consecutively numbered textual comments placed at the bottom of the page to which they refer). If you wish to include information that is parenthetical, simply place it in parenthesis in the text.
Figures and Tables: Gather up all figures and put them at the very end of your paper, preceded by a page with their captions, if the original figures do not have captions. If you wish to embed figures in the text, that is fine, but be sure to include their captions. When counting page numbers, don't count pages that have only figures. Treat tables, if any, the same as figures.
Bindings: There are various types of binders that provide a "professional" look to documents, but they are very inconvenient for grading. Do not use them. Use a single staple in the upper left-hand corner.
Formatting: See Formatting Your Writing Assignments for information on formatting your Research Paper.
Submission: See Submitting Your Writing Assignments for instructions on how to submit the first and second versions of your Research Paper.
| Item | Number of Pages |
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First page The first (cover) page of your paper should conform to the instructions listed in the Writing Assignment Checklist and include a short descriptive title followed by a half-page (no longer) abstract that describes the question addressed in your paper and summarizes your main conclusions. | 1 |
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Body The body should include all text and references. Number the pages in the body sequentially from 1 to 6 or 7. Papers with bodies shorter than 6 pages or longer than 7 pages will not be accepted. | 6 or 7 |
| Figures and Tables | 1 or 2 |
| Total | 8 to 10 |
Use a 12-point Times New Roman or equivalent font, double-spacing, 1.25" side margins, and 1" top and bottom margins.
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First versions: beginning with writing assignment RE2v1 (Version 1 of Required Essay 2), the first versions of all writing assignments (Required Essays, Extra Credit Essays, and Research Papers) must be submitted both as a computer file attached to an e-mail message and as a printed paper document inserted into the slot of the Physics 280 Homework Box before the deadline (see Submission of Electronic Copies and Submission of Printed Copies).
Second versions: the second versions of all writing assignments must be submitted as a printed paper document inserted into the Physics 280 Homework Box before the deadline (see Submission of Printed Copies). The graded first version must be stapled to the back of the second version or the second version will not be graded.
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The electronic copy of the first versions of your writing assignments and the printed paper copy of the first and second versions of your writing assignments are both due at 2:30 p.m. on the relevant Thursday.
If both printed and electronic copies are required for the assignment, both must be received by the due date and time in order to avoid a penalty.
Papers received after 2:30 p.m. on the Thursday they are due but before 2:30 p.m. the next day (Friday) will be penalized 15%. Papers received after 2:30 p.m. on Friday will not be marked and will receive a score of zero. This policy is necessary to ensure that papers will be received in time to be graded, the grades checked and analyzed, and any needed corrections made in time for them to be returned in the Writing Labs on Monday.
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The printed copies of your writing assignments should be placed in the slot of the Physics 280 Homework Box. This box is on the second floor of Loomis Lab, in the north-south corridor that joins Loomis Lab to the bridge with offices that connects to the Materials Research Lab (the Materials Research Lab is the building just north of Loomis Lab). This north-south corridor joins the northern east-west corridor of Loomis Lab between rooms 269 and 271. The Physics 280 Homework Box is in the top row of boxes on the West wall of this north-south corridor. It is the third box from south end of the top row and is labeled "280".
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In order for us to be able to process your computer file, it must be a WORD or PDF file named NetID-ASSIGNMENT and attached to an e-mail message sent to the appropriate e-mail address listed in the table below. Here NetID is your NetID. Here ASSIGNMENT is the code name of the particular assignment for that week. For example, a student with the NetID klm submitting Required Essay 2, Version 1, in WORD format should name the attached file klm-RE2v1.doc; if submitted in PDF format, the attached file should be named klm-RE2v1.pdf. When submitting the Research Paper, Version 1, the same student should name the file either klm-RPv1.doc or klm-RPv1.pdf, depending on its format.
Electronically submitting any writing assignment at least 24 hours in advance of the deadlines posted will decrease any chance of an incorrect submission. All submissions will be reviewed 24 hours before the deadline and any submitters who have used incorrect file names or are otherwise unacceptable will be notified immediately and advised on how to correct their mistake, thus giving the submitter an opportunity to resubmit corrected files before the deadline. It is important that this is done correctly, as automated processes are involved which sort and handle the files once they are submitted. Filenames that do not follow the convention above will not be correctly processed by the system.
Both the WORD or PDF document and the printed document must conform to the rules for the writing assignment and be submitted by the due date and time of the writing assignment.
You must preserve a copy of every essay you submit, in case you are required to re-submit an assignment. It is your responsibility to make sure that you have back-ups.
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The e-mail message with the attached computer file must be sent to the appropriate one of the following seven e-mail addresses:
| Assignment | E-mail Address | File Name |
|---|---|---|
| Required Essay 2, Version 1 |
p280-RE2v1@physics.uiuc.edu | NetID-RE2v1.doc or NetID-RE2v1.pdf |
| Required Essay 3, Version 1 |
p280-RE3v1@physics.uiuc.edu | NetID-RE3v1.doc or NetID-RE3v1.pdf |
| Required Essay 4, Version 1 |
p280-RE4v1@physics.uiuc.edu | NetID-RE4v1.doc or NetID-RE4v1.pdf |
| Extra Credit Essay 1 | p280-ECE1@physics.uiuc.edu | NetID-ECE1.doc or NetID-ECE1.pdf |
| Extra Credit Essay 2 | p280-ECE2@physics.uiuc.edu | NetID-ECE2.doc or NetID-ECE2.pdf |
| Research Paper Proposal | p280-RPPv2@physics.uiuc.edu | NetID-RPPv2.doc or NetID-RPPv2.pdf |
| Research Paper, Version 1 |
p280-RPv1@physics.uiuc.edu | NetID-RPv1.doc or NetID-RPv1.pdf |
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THE FIRST PAGE of your writing assignment must include (see the sample first page in WORD format)
Your writing assignment must also
You must submit
Writings that neglect any of these instructions will be marked down by 8 points.
In the course of grading some assignments, we will be handling more than 600 pages. If your name and the essay number are not on every page of your essay and the pages become separated in handling, it will be difficult if not impossible for us to reassemble your paper for grading. Putting the date of submission on your paper will help to ensure that it is given appropriate credit.
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The examinations will cover the material in the Reading and Writing Assignments, the slides and videos shown in class, and the in-class discussions, all of which are important elements of the course.
There will be a 75-minute Midterm Examination on the date indicated on the Exams page with all questions requiring only short answers. The Midterm Exam will be given during a regular class period. See the exams page for information concerning the time and location. It will cover the material presented during the first half of the course. You will have 90 minutes to complete it. Before the exam you will be informed of the textbook chapters, handouts, and other materials that will be covered on it.
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The Final Examination on will be the date indicated on the Exams page. The majority of the questions will require only short answers. The Final Exam will not cover the entire course uniformly but will focus on material presented after the Midterm Exam. Before the Final Exam you will be informed of the textbook chapters, handouts, and other materials that will be covered on it.
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All work will be graded on an absolute scale rather than on a curve. Thus, it is possible for every student to receive an A grade. This grading philosophy is in keeping with the goals of the course, which are to help you improve your writing skills and understand the course material well, rather than merely do better than a fellow student. This grading method has also been chosen to encourage discussion and cooperation among the students enrolled in the course. Academic integrity requires that all essays be your own work. Your course letter grade will be computed by combining your scores on the course work according to the following weights:
Additionally, extra credit will be given for the Research Paper Proposal, the two Extra Credit Essay Opportunities, and attendance in the Writing Labs. The two extra credit essays and the research paper proposal will each have the same weight as one version of one of the required essays. Scores on any Extra Credit Essay Opportunities submitted will be added to the total score in the Essays component of the course until your total score on the Essays component of the course reaches 100% of the possible Essays score. Similarly, extra credit earned for the Research Paper Proposal will be added to the Research Paper component of the course grade until the Research Paper component of the course grade reaches 100% of the possible Research Paper score. In this way, extra credit earned on the Research Paper Proposal will not compensate for low scores on the Essays component of the course grade and extra credit earned from the Extra Credit Essay Opportunities will not compensate for low scores on the Research Paper component of the course grade.
Extra credit is also given for attendance in the Writing Labs. Your attendance extra credit will generally be added to your total score for the writing components of the course (Essays and Research Paper). The maximum value of the attendance extra credit, which corresponds to perfect attendance in the Writing Labs all semester, is 5% of the total score for all the writing assignments in the course. However, it is not possible to exceed the maximum possible score on the combined writing components of the course by earning extra credit from attendance. In other words, extra credit from attendance will boost the writing components of the course grade, but will not compensate for low scores on the exams.
Letter Grades:
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