Dear Student:
My goal in class is to encourage your professional, intellectual and social
development as an information professional. To help you and to help myself
achieve these goals, I have prepared some class management notes, because I
believe students and professors are colleagues, working in the student's interests. In this document, I have outlined some of my expectations and thoughts about
directing our class to help you succeed.
There are
many factors influencing the student's success and contentment. Here are
some factors that I believe you should keep in mind to help make the most of
your experience in my classes.
The variety of backgrounds
Students in the graduate program share an interest in information work.
But no one shares the same personal and educational backdrop and this disparity
is the greatest challenge in our classes because we must harmonize the differences
in preparation as well as master the course content. For instance, recall
your experiences as a college senior taking advanced classes in your major to
those from a freshman survey course. In the former case, students share
the jargon of their field and a body of domain-specific knowledge. In
the latter, there are no shared experiences, other than being high school graduates.
In my classes, I try to find something in everyone's backgrounds and interests
that will help the individual student to associate the ideas presented in class
with something the student can relate to. But in the end, we are a class
of a couple of dozen people with different, sometimes contradictory, goals.
The point is there may be readings, discussions, in-class activities, and so
on, that may not appeal personally to you but are nevertheless suited to someone
else. Thus although my interest is in your individual success and satisfaction,
I have to keep in view the overall class needs, too.
Preparation:
For every unit of a class, a professor may assign three hours of outside work.
In our class, this equates to up to nine hours/week for a three-unit class and
twelve for a four unit one. The readings and assignments are never
intended to be merely busy work; they're carefully planned exercises to help
the majority understand the concepts and to apply them to something tangible,
limited only by the students' and GSLIS program's resources.
Readings:
Some readings may appear to you to be redundant.
This is not a liability. Different authors have different means of expression.
One author's style may not appeal to you but it may to one of your colleagues. Besides, reviewing a topic never hurts. Please complete all the readers on schedule.
Summaries:
Most students profit from, and enjoy writing, brief
annotations of the readings. Writing summaries is a craft that becomes
easier and more useful with practice. Writing summaries now will help
you learn and will help you on the job.
Assignments:
The assignments are crafted to help you learn.
The GSLIS Library staff is aware of your assignments and is ready to help.
I return assignments by e-mail within two weeks of submission so you must include
an e-mail address in the paper. If there's no e-mail address, then the
paper is not returned and is graded a zero.
Some students have asked that everything about the paper be specified, including
the page and type style. While I think such rules stifle creativity,
the need for some students for certainty outweigh this concern. Therefore,
in response here are the particulars that should be followed for every paper.
How to submit assignments electronically:
- Do not exceed the number of pages called for in the assignment. If the
assignment calls for ten pages then write up to ten pages, not more.
- Papers should be typed using a word processing program. Save the file
as a .rtf or .doc.
- The header of your paper must include the following:
- your name, the class (e.g., LIS403), the assignment number (e.g., Assignment 4), andyour e-mail address (so the paper can be returned)
- The typeface should be no smaller than ten point and no larger then 12.
- The spacing should be double-spaced.
- Upload your assignment from the "Uploads link" on the class homepage,
if the link is provided. [Not all classes have assignments that
need to be turned in.] That webpage has all the details about uploading
and how to name your file.
Do not email your assignments!
- Follow the naming conventions of your file. The file name is an aggregate
of your name, class, and assignment number. For example, the filename
for Jane Smith's assignment 2 for LIS500 is her last name, her first initial,
the class and then the assignment number, with no spaces:
SmithJ-LIS500-2.doc
- Late assignments are not accepted generally. There are situations, of
course, where the student cannot complete an assignment in time, say the death
of a family member. In such situations, please let me know and we'll work
out a schedule.
Handouts/Downloads:
Whenever possible, I post copies of PowerPoint slides,
my own notes, and so on, on the class homepage. These are extra
helps that I offer when I can. However, being my own notes, I update them
as I need to. Therefore, they may vary from the version used in class. If this bothers you, then don't download them.
Communications (Office hours, email, drop-in, etc.):
Students are always encouraged to drop by, come to office hours, etc. Please start email messages with some kind of salution; otherwise the message can have unintended interpretive possibilities! Avoid the phone: the best way to communicate is by email. It is fun and useful to socialize with the faculty. Most of the faculty are willing to go for a beer, lunch, whatever. It is a good way to feel good about the class, your studies, and a good way to improve your networking. One of the most helpful things you can do to get a job or get a better job is to expand your circle of professional acquaintances.
Writing Papers:
One cannot demonstrate mastery of a topic if one cannot write well.
Happily, the majority of students do write well, some with a lively, entertaining
style. A large minority, however, do not.
A poorly written paper lacks a reasoned, coherent structure, developed argument,
introduction, summary and conclusion. Such papers usually parade the content
of the assignment as a chain of facts, leading nowhere.
If you need help, please see me! If you're too embarrassed to or don't want to see me about your writing,
then consider this simple template: an introductory paragraph that ends with
a topic sentence (what you're going to discuss). Then have 2 or so paragraphs
that support your point of view. Next write a paragraph that discusses
the contrary points (those that are against your p.o.v.). In the next
paragraph (or so) counter the contrary points - demonstrate how your perspective
is more warranted. Finally, provide a summary and conclusion.
In the past I have not marked down any assignment for poor writing, preferring
to guide the student through copious comments on both the content and the writing.
Starting in January 2005, however, I feel I must impose some rules and will
mark down for failure to follow them. The rules are intended to help you
to be a better student and to be a more viable candidate for future work.
Some other points:
Please edit carefully your papers. You must learn how to write a polished,
academic style. I am always available to review your papers for constructive
comments before the due date and will return them to you in time for you to
make changes.
Simmons College maintains a writing service to help you, too.
You may want to rely on a manual of style if you're unsure. I suggest
William Struck and E. B. White's The Elements of Style.
Struck, W., & White, E. B. (1979). The Elements of Style. (3 ed.). New York: Macmillan.
Here are some of the most elementary rules, quoting Strunk & White.
- A common error is to write it's for its, or vice versa. The first is
a contraction, meaning "it is." The second is a possessive.
(Rule 1)
- Do not join independent clauses by a comma. If two or more clauses grammatically
complete and not joined by a conjunction are to form a single compound sentence,
the proper mark of punctuation is a semicolon.
- Stevenson's romances are entertaining; they are full of exciting adventures.
- It is nearly half past five; we cannot reach town before dark.It is, of course,
equally correct to write each of these as two sentences, replacing the semicolons
with periods. (Rule 5)
- Use the active voice. The
active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive: "I
shall always remember my first visit to Boston."; This is much better
than "My first visit to Boston ill always be remembered by me."
The latter sentence is less direct, less bold, and less concise. If the
write tries to make it more concise by omitting "by me," "My
first visit to Boston will always be remembered," it becomes indefinite:
is it the writer or some person undisclosed in the world at large that will
always remember this visit?
-
This rule does not, of course, mean that the
writer should entirely discard the passive voice, which is frequently convenient
and sometimes necessary. "The dramatists of the Restoration are
little esteemed today." Modern readers have little esteem for the
dramatists of the Restoration." The first would be the preferred
form in a paragraph on the dramatists of the Restoration, the second in a paragraph
on the tastes of modern readers. The need of making a particular word
the subject of the sentence will often, as in these examples, determine which
voice is to be used. (Rule 14)
- Omit needless words. Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should
contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the
same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no
unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all his sentences
short, or that he avoid all detail and treat his subjects only in outline, but
that every word tell.
Many expressions in common use violate this principle.
incorrect |
correct (and alternative) |
| the question as to whether |
whether (the question whether) |
| there is no doubt that |
no doubt (doubtless) |
| used for fuel purposes |
used for fuel |
| he is a man who |
he |
| in a hasty manner |
hastily |
| this is a subject that |
this subject |
| the reason why is that |
because |
An expression that is especially debilitating is "the fact that." It should
be revised out of every sentence in which it occurs. See Rule 17.
| owing to the fact that since |
because |
| in spite of the fact that though |
although |
| call your attention to the fact that |
remind you (notify you) |
| I was unaware of the fact that |
I was unaware that (I did not know) |
| The fact that he had not succeeded |
his failure |
| That fact that I had arrived |
My arrival |
| Avoid a succession of loose sentences |
Rule 18 |
| Do not inject opinion. |
(Approach to Style, No. 17). [When you're writing
an academic paper, be careful not to express your opinion as fact and avoid
writing what looks like a polemic. For example: "Librarians must learn to adapt or else." Perhaps they should, but you haven't explained why they must.] |
| Do not use the word "utilize." |
Prefer the word use. (Misused words and expressions, p. 63)
Compare these two examples:
Incorrect: I utilized the facilities.
Preferred: I used the toilet.
Incorrect: She utilized the dishwasher.
Preferred: She used the dishwasher.
|
Please note that I will stop reading any paper that uses "utilize" and grade accordingly.
Split infinitive There is
a precedent from the fourteenth century down for interposing an adverb between
to and the infinitive it governs, but the construction should be avoided unless
the writer wishes to place unusual stress on the adverb.
incorrect: to diligently inquire
correct: to inquire diligently
(Misused words and expression, p. 58).
However, note that knowing when to split the infinitive is a matter of your
own judgment. In academic writing, avoid splitting the infinitive.
Strunk & White have more to say: "The split infinitive is another
trick of rhetoric in which the ear must be quicker than the handbook.
Some infinitives seem to improve on being split, just as a stick of round stovewood
does. 'I cannot bring myself to really like the fellow.' The
sentence is relaxed, the meaning is clear, the violation is harmless and scarcely
perceptible. Put the other way, the sentence becomes stiff, needlessly
formal. A matter of ear." (p. 79).
Simply. Strunk & White
do not discuss this term, but I do. Please do not use the word "simply"
or "simple." It seems that in almost every case the sentence
is improved by dropping the word or by selecting a more appropriate term. Here are two examples from papers.
-
"Simply touch the control-alt-R key to restore the defaults." Is there a complicated way to touch that combination of keys?
- "World War II was simply a horror."
Be aware that I will stop reading a paper the moment I see the word "simple"
or some form of "utilize." In short, view the class as an opportunity to think about your writing and,
if possible, improve it.
References and footnotes:
All papers must follow the American Psychological
Association's Publications Manual, commonly referred to as "APA style."
Here is a link to a crib sheet. Some students rebel at this. Librarianship
is about the organization of materials for later access. If you cannot
cite an article, monograph, or web page correctly, that is, according to a shared
public format that's accepted within a domain of discourse, then no one can
access your references.
Classroom:
The computers, overhead projectors, document readers, and other
equipment, are managed by the College's "Technology Department." The technology staff generally does a fine job having equipment ready for our
class, but sometimes a request for equipment cannot be fulfilled at the last
minute. In those situations, we will proceed as best we can.
Attendance and Interaction within and outside of class:
Please attend all classes. If you cannot attend, please let me know by e-mail before
class.
Everyone is encouraged to speak up. Your thoughts and experiences may be interesting
additions to our topic and may help one of your colleagues understand something
better. Keep in mind, though, that some questions and requests are logically
out of synch with the topic or for other reasons can't be fully pursued in class.
In such situations, we can discuss the topic or issue further outside of class.
I try to develop personal and intellectual associations with every student. As
a consequence I am always available by e-mail and most of the time am in my
office. Drop by; let's have lunch or go out for a drink. Because
I take such notice of your intellectual and professional development I encourage
you to ask questions, speak up, and most of all have fun. The more the
professors get to know you, the more they can help you get a position or continue
your education.
Please observe the rules of common courtesy. I do, and expect you to,
too.
Class lectures:
Every class
has a structure and the entire course is constructed carefully as a whole to
achieve the learning outcomes of the class, with slight modifications periodically
for individual and class needs. [This is important!] The syllabus
lays out the course, but at times we vary from the syllabus in response to need.
Similarly,
there are topics that you will read about but we may not be able to discuss
fully in class. This is the nature of graduate school; there isn't a slavish
adherence to a chronology that ignores the day's actual progress. In my
classes we follow the topic as detailed in the syllabus yet we should have the
intellectual wherewithal to pursue tangents. These tangents generally
focus on developing background or related technical issues, philosophical points,
and even anecdotes, usually in response to some student's questions or when
I see flagging attention.
In
general, classes are structured to present the main theme of the day and the
main points, to integrate the readings, and then to encourage discussion or
demonstration. Class meetings usually end with a review of the main points.
American with Disabilities Act (ADA)
We cheerfully support the ADA; Individuals with disabilities (falling within the ADA Guidelines) should inform the instructor at the beginning of the semester of any accommodations or special equipment needed.
Academic Honesty
Work submitted for grading by a student (assignments and exams) must be the result of that individual's own effort. Any academic misconduct (e.g., cheating, plagiarism, etc.) will result in a grade of F for the course. Students should consult the student handbook for their rights to appeal. Students are almost always able to retake a quiz in my class.
Welcome!
If you've made it this far and are willing to work collaborative to improve
your knowledge and professional skills, and so to create an interesting, worthwhile
career, then welcome to our class! |