• Class attendance and participation: 20%

• • 10% of this grade will be made up of pure attendance. Justified absences, for example due to illness, will not count against you.
  • The other 10% will be made up of meaningful participation in discussion of the readings and lectures. This can be done in person or via the eClass discussion forum. It is not necessary to participate in every class; the full 10% grade can be earned without doing so.

• Weekly reflections: 10x 3% for a total of 30%

• • These are short reflections (maximum word count: 200) on a specific reading from that week. Only one reflection may be submitted per week. These will be graded based on direct engagement with the reading, not writer’s craft. An acceptable reflection will receive at least 2 out of the 3 marks; a good one will receive the full 3/3. Perfection is not required.
  • There will be the opportunity to submit up to 13 reflections, of which the three weakest will be dropped. This means students can choose to skip up to three reflections without penalty, or submit extra reflections to take advantage of only the best ten being graded.
  • Because three reflections are free and reflection grading is generous, late reflections will not be accepted.

• Midterm paper: 10%

• • This will be a short paper (maximum word count: 1,250). You will be answering one of a small handful of pre-assigned essay questions. Each essay question will ask you to take a Yes or No position on a philosophical question drawn from the readings; either answer will be valid and defensible. You will be graded based on how well you defend your answer, not on which answer you choose to give.

• Final paper intro and conclusion draft: 10%

• • This will be a two paragraph draft (maximum word count: 500) of the argument your final paper will present. The first paragraph should be your introduction paragraph, describing the topic of your paper and presenting your thesis statement. The second paragraph should be your conclusion paragraph, clearly stating the point you want your reader to take from your argument.
  • The purpose of this assignment is to give you an opportunity to receive feedback on your choice of topic and on the strength and clarity of your introduction, thesis statement, and conclusion.
  • Because the point of this is to help you improve those paragraphs, this 10% grade will be dropped if your final paper grade is better than the grade you receive here and its 10% weight will be reassigned to your final paper. This assignment can only help your grade, not hurt it.

• Final paper: 30%

• • This is an argumentative paper (maximum word count: 2,500). You will be expected to choose and meaningfully disagree with one of the assigned readings from the course. Guidance on how to justify philosophical disagreements will be provided during the course, and you will be graded based on how well you do so.

Course Policies

Grading: The grading scheme for the course conforms to the 9-point grading system used in undergraduate programs at York (e.g., A+ = 9, A = 8, B+ - 7, C+ = 5, etc.).  Assignments will bear either a letter grade designation or a corresponding number grade (e.g.  A+ = 90 to 100, A = 80 to 90, B+ = 75 to 79, etc.)

(For a full description of York grading system see the York University Undergraduate Calendar - http://calendars.registrar.yorku.ca/2010-2011/academic/index.htm

Assignment Submission: Proper academic performance depends on students doing their work not only well, but on time. Accordingly, assignments for this course should be received on the due date specified for the assignment. Assignments are to be handed in via eClass.

Lateness Penalty: Assignments received later than the due date will be penalized 5% for the first day of lateness, plus an additional 1% per additional day of lateness. Penalties will be applied to the assignment on the whole, not its weight; for example, a final paper that would have received a grade of 90% (27/30) will go down to 80% (24/30) if it is six days late (5% for the first day, 1% each for the subsequent five days). Exceptions to the lateness penalty for valid reasons such as illness, compassionate grounds, etc., may be entertained by the Course Instructor but may require supporting documentation (e.g., a doctor’s letter).

Extensions: Students requiring extensions on written assignments (other than weekly reflections; see above) may claim an automatic three-day extension by writing to me before the deadline; no explanation is needed. Extensions longer than that, or requests submitted late, will require a brief explanation of the reason for the extension. Very long extensions may require some form of documentation to back up the explanation.