Workshop Assignments

Each class session will focus on exercises in editing, primarily those at the end of every chapter of the text. Please prepare those exercises as assigned each week. You may download text-editing exercises from the course website so that you don’t need to write in your book. Keep a notebook of the exercises, either on paper or online. I’ll collect your notes regularly during the semester; those notes, and your class discussion, account for 70 percent of your final grade.

Interdisciplinary Team Project

For this project you will work with one or two students in this class to edit a document being prepared by one subject matter expert (SME) in another discipline or a team of SMEs. For example, you may choose to work with students in the senior design program of the Department of Mechanical Engineering on the first phase report for their final projects (see www.me.udel.edu/meeg401). You’ll work out details of the project with me and meet with me during the term to complete the assignment.

Your Obligations as a Student

This course prepares you for your role as a professional, and professionals meet obligations. In addition, because this class is a workshop, you need to be in class to receive and fulfill class assignments. If you must miss a class, send me an email in advance explaining why and proposing a strategy for covering the work. If you’re convincing, I’ll accept your approach. Otherwise, the absence will result in a reduction in your grade, the automatic result of any unexcused absence.

Statement on Plagiarism

Simply stated, "plagiarism" is presenting as your own original work something that is not. Any work that you submit must be your own. If you borrow any words, ideas, or information from other people and include those under your name, you must properly document the borrowed material. This requirement applies to visuals as well as text. As an editor, you will be responsible for making sure that authors comply with the norms for using intellectual property. Thus, demonstrating the highest levels of ethical behavior concerning the use of sources is a significant element in both the content of this course and your behavior in it. The University of Delaware protects the rights of all students by insisting that individual students act with integrity. Accordingly, the University severely penalizes plagiarism and other forms of academic dishonesty. If you have any questions about why and how to document sources, please talk with me.