Deadlines and Formats

I set the deadline for papers in my classes at the beginning of the semester.  The syllabus fixes the deadline (unless otherwise indicated) and missing the deadlines means without exception a zero for the assignment. The deadline is non-negotiable and missing it is inexcusable.  Although this may seem strict, it is in keeping with professional standards, the adoption of which is part of a college education.  One of the things that distinguishes most colleges from most high schools is the rigorous adherence to standards.

Consider, for example, the call for papers for the American Sociological Association (ASA) Conference for August 2010:

To submit a paper for consideration, take the following steps:

1) Join or update your membership in the American Sociological Association.  If you have been a member of the ASA before, go to: https://www.e-noah.net/ASA/Login.asp  If you have never been a member before you can go to:  https://www.e-noah.net/ASA/Profile/NewCheck.asp?S=1  and follow the instructions.

2) Submit, at minimum, an abstract of your talk to the online registration site.  You do this by going to https://www.e-noah.net/ASA/MemberPortal.asp  and logging in. On the new page, scroll down to “Events” and click “2010 Online Paper Submission System.” Then click the link to “Submit or Edit a Proposal”.  This will take you to the call for papers.  Select the session you wish to submit your paper to, and fill in the form that appears.

3)  All abstracts and/or papers must be submitted by January 13, 2010. If do not submit an abstract and/or paper by this time you cannot be added into the program later. So it is important to meet this deadline.   There is nothing the organizer can do if you don’t get your paper submitted in time

The ASA deadline does not except illness, accident, etcetera, for submissions.  This is because the ASA announces the call for papers months ahead of deadline and expects the researcher to have the abstract or paper prepared well before that time.  Waiting until the last minute puts meeting the deadline in peril, because an unexpected event, such as an illness or death in the family, may prevent the researcher from meeting the deadline.  The way to plan for the unexpected is to accomplish the work ahead of time.

Deadlines are only the last moment authors may submit their work.  I announce the call in the syllabus, which I present on the first day of classes.  The D2L site established for the course has within weeks of the beginning of the semester an upload link.  Another reason to upload the paper well before the deadline is in case you have technological problems.  Make sure you know how to use D2L before the deadline and start the process of uploading the paper before the deadline.  Technological failure is not an excuse for missing the deadline.

When you upload your paper to the course D2L site, it must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format to receive credit. You will receive a zero on the assignment if you submit the paper in any other format than Word or PDF and I will not allow you to resubmit it. If you do not know what Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF formats are, then call the Help Desk (CIT). The number is 465-2309. Microsoft also manufactures a product called Works, which carries a word processing package.  Microsoft Works is not Microsoft Word.  However, Works allows you to save the file as a Word document, and you must do this or you will not get credit.  You will not get credit for papers submitted in *.rtf, or any other format other than *.doc, i.e. Word.

 

Contents
Writing in My Class (Introduction)
Resources
Excuses, Plagiarism, and Learned Helplessness
Understanding the Call
Topics, Themes and the Research Questions
Building the Foundation
Citing Sources
Manuscript Format
Deadlines and File Formats
Grading Method
Works Cited