Each professor has different expectations in the classroom, and different classroom policies to reflect them. Mine are as follows:

• Study habits: You will be doing quite a bit of reading, and that reading will likely feel relatively unfamiliar to you, whether for cultural or linguistic reasons. It is your responsibility to engage the course material in an honest and responsible manner, with special attention to your needs as a reader, a writer, and a scholar. If you are unsure about your reading habits or your study habits, please come and see me immediately! You may also contact the Learning Resource Center in the Library for help with your essays or study habits more broadly.
• Though this is a large class, I expect everyone to participate to some extent. Not participating will damage your final grade, and participating effectively can definitely raise your final grade.
• All assignments--including reading--must be completed by the dates indicated. If you know you will not be able, for some significant reason, to complete the work by those dates, you should see me immediately. Otherwise, late work will be penalized. After three days, I may not accept your work.
• The 24-hour rule states that you cannot ask me about your grade on a returned assignment until 24 hours have passed. You must read my comments, make an appointment to meet with me, and come prepared with thoughtful responses to my comments.
• Reading in this class means more than letting your eyes linger over the words on the page. You should look up words you don't know, take notes, underline things, ask questions, and engage your reading assignments actively, critically, and closely. Your participation in the class is largely contingent upon your ability to discuss the readings effectively.
• Regular attendance is strongly suggested! However, I will not count attendance against you. Do note, however, that I give the full range of participation grades, as well as my policy on late work. More than six absences will seriously damage your grade.
• In the event of an absence, it is your responsibility to speak with a peer to get notes, homework assignments, and so on. Because our schedule sometimes changes, I cannot give you daily assignments weeks in advance.
• Intellectual honesty is the bedrock of communal learning; plagiarism will not be tolerated, and I will refer misuse of sources to the Academic Integrity panel. To put this in perspective, two findings of intellectual dishonesty result in automatic dismissal or suspension from the University.
• Email communication: Please be sure, on all your electronic correspondence with me, to write with care and thought—after all, this is a form of writing, and this is an English class! Also, if you do not include your name and indicate which course you are taking, I will not know who is writing me.
• If you have any questions or concerns at all, it is imperative that you come and see me about them! Otherwise, I will not know, and will therefore have no opportunity to address them.