Reasoning Skills Distance Education
DIRECTIONS FOR ALL ASSIGNMENTS
See the Course Information Sheet and the Course Schedule for information about due dates and grade allotment.
Working on your Assignments
Allow yourself enough time to work through several drafts of your answers to assignment questions. I suggest writing at least three drafts for most assignments so that you can organize and word your answers carefully. Aim to complete the relevant lesson(s) outlined on the Course Schedule before you begin to work on an assignment.
The assignments you submit must be your own work, not the product of collaboration with others, including other students in the class. Please familiarize yourself with the Faculty of Arts and Social Science policy on plagiarism in the Course Information section of the course website.
Due Dates
Submit each completed assignment by 10 a.m. on the due date specified in the Course Schedule unless a later time is specified on the assignment.[unique_solution]
Assignments sent late without prior permission won’t receive credit or feedback. Assignments sent late with prior permission (an extension) will receive credit but may not receive feedback/comments. If you do anticipate difficulty meeting an assignment deadline, please contact me as early as possible. To provide quick feedback while your assignments are being graded, I usually post a discussion or model answers. I can’t do this if some assignments are outstanding
Format
- Use Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx).
- Double-space (so that there’s room for comments).
- Place your name on the top right corner of your assignment.
- Number the pages of your assignment.
- Do not include a cover sheet or title page.
- Keep a copy of your assignment.
Submitting Assignments
When you finish your assignment, upload it as an attachment to the course website Assignments area. (See “Assignments” in left menu.) Be sure to click “Submit”. If you do not, your instructor will not receive your completed assignment.
When you have successfully submitted your assignment, you will see a message along the top of the screen clearly informing you, like this: Success! Your submission appears on this
page. The submission confirmation number is b4b27549-17ef-47da-8d6e-1bf5f5fcfbe1. Copy and save this number as proof of your submission
Be sure you see this confirmation message—not just your attachment—before you exit. Once you have submitted your assignment, I recommend that you exit the Blackboard site, log in again and open your attachment to make sure you have submitted the file you intended to.
Return of Assignments
Model answers and/or comments for some assignments will be posted on the course website. Because of the time required to grade assignments, it’s possible that you won’t receive the first assignment back before you submit the second. Please be patient; it’s quite a large class!
Grading
If an assignment has more than one question, a grade may be assigned to each question, to several questions, or to only one. Even if not all questions are graded, each counts towards your grade for the assignment, so you must complete all questions in order to receive full credit.
Here’s an example: Let’s say there are two questions on an assignment, and only the second question is graded. If you received an “A” on question two, then, provided you have also completed question one, you would receive a “A” on the assignment. However, if you did not submit question one, and the questions were weighted equally, then you would receive an F on the assignment. (A = 90%. Ninety percent divided by 2 = 45%, which is an F range grade.)
Some assignments are shorter than others, but the grades for each assignment are weighted equally.
Questions? Please ask!
Don’t hesitate to contact me by e-mail or by phone if you have questions about an assignment, or if you have any questions about the course material. I can’t look at your assignment answers before they’re submitted (so please don’t e-mail them to me) but if you have questions about the assignment directions or about the material, it’s a good idea to ask those before you complete your assignment. See contact information on the Course Information Sheet. Please contact me by phone at the number provided (519 948 0171) and during the hours listed (3-6 p.m. Monday and Wednesday) or we can arrange another time by email. E-mail anytime.
Questions about grades are addressed by telephone consultation rather than by e-mail.