Specific Guidelines
Why It Matters
This maybe goes without saying, but it’s important to make sure you’re clear about any assignment’s submission guidelines and other details (e.g., opportunities for feedback on a draft or when/where to submit your work). Some or all of this information might be in the prompt itself, but if and when any of it isn’t—ask questions. These details were likely chosen for particular reasons, and reaching out to your instructor early in the process about any questions, concerns, or possible conflicts (e.g., other assignment deadlines or a religious holiday) will make things go more smoothly for everyone.
What It Looks Like
Weekly Lecture Self-Review
The Self-Reviews must be: [1]
- at least 250 words and no more than 500 words
- presented in numbered format, 1 through 4, based on the items below.
Your review must address all four of the items below: [2]
- for each lecture: what you thought the main three or four points of the lecture were—you must articulate the key substantive take-away points that you learned, and not merely identify the themes covered;
- what points in the lectures you found most interesting or unexpected, and why;
- points in the lectures—if any—about which you are confused and need clarification;
- topics presented in the lectures that you hope to learn more about during the course (but about which you do not need immediate clarification)
Only Self-Reviews that meet the above criteria will fulfill this weekly assignment. [3]
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[1] Clear guidelines about length and formatting
[2] A checklist of what must be included in the assignment
[3] An explicit statement that all criteria laid out in the prompt must be met in order to fulfill the assignment
Adapted from Gen Ed 1134: Understanding Islam and Contemporary Muslim Societies | Spring 2021
Professor Ali Asani
from Poem of the Day Exercise
Submission
Each student will be asked to curate a poem of the day for your classmates three times throughout the semester. These curation exercises will give you a chance to engage more deeply with the themes of our course through poets and poems of your own—and your classmates’—choosing, and they will also allow you to practice the analytical skills we’ll be developing throughout the term.
Here's how to submit your poem: [1]
- Download the PowerPoint template [2] we have created by clicking here. You may save this template file anywhere on your hard drive you would like, so long as you will be able to locate it easily. (If you lose track of where you've stored it—say, between working on your first and second submission—you can always download another copy of the template here.)
- Open the template and create your submission by replacing the placeholder text with your answers.
- Save your file. When you go to save your file, PowerPoint will prompt you to name it. Please use the following convention: "[First name] [ Last name], [Poem title].pptx".
- Navigate to the Discussion forum on this Canvas site. [3]
- Find the "pinned" discussion that corresponds to your submission (i.e. "Poem of the Day #1," "Poem of the Day #2," or "Poem of the Day #3").
- Create a new reply in the discussion thread. You may leave the body text of your post blank, but make sure to upload your PowerPoint file as an attachment to your post. (You'll see the place to add an attachment at the bottom of your reply.)
- Click "Post reply" at the bottom of your post. Your poem of the day is now visible to your classmates!
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[1] Submission guidelines often involve helping students interact with specific technologies, platforms, etc. A how-to guide can ensure students are focused on the assignment itself and minimize the number of questions the teaching team will have to field throughout the submission process. Not only can how-to guides offer advice on the mechanical processes of an assignment, writing them is a great way for instructors to double-check that all of the steps of an assignment and all of the required technologies are accounted for.
[2] Templates are a useful way to standardize submissions, but they also tend to require downloading files and renaming files. In steps 1–3 here, students are given clear step-by-step guidelines.
[3] This exercise asks students to post their submission to a discussion board, and the guidelines in steps 4–7 are helpful on several fronts: the discussion board is clearly linked to; there are clear guidelines on creating a new reply in the discussion thread; and there are tips about where to find buttons on the screen, along with a reminder to click “post reply, i.e., the equivalent of clicking “save” before exiting a screen.
Adapted from Gen Ed 1057: Poetry without Borders
Professor Stephanie Sandler
Submission guidelines:
This short paper must be submitted (using the online drop box on the course Canvas site) by 11:59PM EST on Friday, February 21, 2020. We strongly suggest that you do not wait until the last minute to upload your paper!
Please note the lateness policy outlined on the course syllabus, which includes one grace period of up to 24 hours this term. Any additional extensions must be approved by the head TF and will be granted only for documented emergencies (e.g., hospitalization, a death in the family). [1]
Paper length and formatting:
2-3 pages, double-spaced, excluding “works cited”; 12 pt. Times New Roman font, one-inch margins. Please upload to the Canvas drop box as a pdf or Word file (not .pages). You may be penalized for not following these guidelines. [2]
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[1] Submission guidelines point students to the lateness policy in the syllabus, but also remind them of the general outlines of that policy: each student has one 24-hour grace period and must get approval for any additional extensions (which will only be approved under specific circumstances).
[2] Formatting guidelines include clear details to follow and notice about the possible consequences of not following them.
Adapted from Gen Ed 1064: Brains, Identity, and Moral Agency | Spring 2020
Professor Steven Hyman
Technical Details
Write a paper of 5–6 pages. Set line spacing to double and side margins to 1.25” and use a standard 12-point font (Times New Roman, Arial, etc.). The paper is due by 8 pm EST on Sunday, February 23. It must be submitted electronically to the course webpage at Canvas as a .doc file (look for “paper 1”, under the “Assignments” section). [1] Extensions will be granted only for documented medical reasons or personal reasons of an urgent nature. All extension requests should be addressed to both Prof. Risse and the TF. [2]
__________
[1] Details about formatting and submission guidelines
[2] Information on extensions, including how to ask for one
Adapted from Gen Ed 1121: Economic Justice | Spring 2020
Professor Mathias Risse
Final Project Deadlines [1]
- Wednesday 11/6, 10:00am: Complete the “Final Project Pre-Proposal” assignment (on Canvas).
- Labs, weeks of 11/11, 11/18, 11/25, and 12/2: We will hold normal lab times those weeks (other than University holidays). We suggest that you provide updates on your progress during your lab times (these final lab times will also be opportunities for you to work on your final projects with your peers and the teaching staff). Note that the subject of the labs the week of 11/11 is music storage (you will be cutting your compositions onto records that lab), but there will also be some free time to work on your final projects.
- Friday, 12/6, 9:00am: Deadline to let the teaching staff know if your project has any special requirements (e.g., larger space, AV equipment, instrument(s), etc) for your demonstration or performance.
- Wednesday 12/11, 9:00am (Presentation/demo day) Turn in your final report on Canvas.
- Wednesday 12/11, 2:00pm-5:00pm (Presentation/demo day) Present your project to the class.
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[1] This detailed list of deadlines serves as a timeline for the assignment as a whole, breaking down the overall process into smaller parts and letting students know how and for whom they’ll submit each part.
Adapted from Gen Ed 1080: Engineering the Acoustical World | Fall 2020
Professor Robert Wood