English/American Studies:

--Practical English & American Culture--

Course Information:
Instructor: Mr. Logan Woods
Department: Faculty of Letters, Alexandru Ioan Cuza University
Meeting Period: TBA
Email: llw12@albion.edu
Year: Fall Semester 2014-15
Course Web-Page:
https://sites.google.com/a/albion.edu/american-studies-1st-year-language-and-culture-in-the-
united-states/home
Learning Goals/Outcomes:
Through writing, textual analysis, and structured discussion, students in this course will enhance
their understanding of both the English Language and American Culture. Focusing upon regional
differences in dialect, social values, and political affiliation, the course will provide a general
overview of the United States' culture whilst also demystifying challenging elements of its
language.

Grading and Evaluation:

1. Participation 20%
2. Class Assignments 30%
3. Final Exam 50%

Classroom Policies:
Behavior- The classroom should be an atmosphere of learning and collegiality. As such, I expect
students to treat me, themselves, and others with respect. Disruptive behavior such as off-topic
outbursts and in-class text messaging will not be tolerated. If you receive an important telephone
call during or before class, for example, kindly exit the classroom before answering and inform
the instructor if needed.

Attendance & Participation- I expect students to be both physically and mentally present in my
classroom. As such, a portion of a students' overall grade in this class comes from attending and
participating regularly. Each student starts with full points in class participation--points will be
deducted from this total if a student is found to display a consistent lack of in-class engagement.
Late Assignments- As a rule, I do accept late assignments. It is more important that you, as a
student, get the practice or skills encapsulated within the assigned work. However, I will not
accept work that is more than one week late, and full credit will not be given for any late work. A
late assignment will be marked down in grade by 10% for each day after its due date.

*Note: if you have legitimate need of an extension for an assignment, contact me one week
before the assignment is due and we will work out an individual deadline.

Academic Honesty & Plagiarism:

For the sake of academic integrity as well as your own learning, I will not tolerate
plagiarism in any of my classes. This means that all work you submit to me MUST be of your
own design (i.e. not copied/pasted or written word for word from another's academic writing).

 If you do choose to plagiarize any assignment or paper in my class, however, you will
automatically receive a failing grade for that assignment or paper.

That being said, I am more than happy to work with you if you don't understand the
mechanics of properly citing sources/ideas. PLEASE do not hesitate to ask for help if you're
unsure of your methods! If you wish, you may also visit the following website on when, exactly,
to include citations in your work: http://writing.yalecollege.yale.edu/advice-students/using-
sources/understanding-and-avoiding-plagiarism/warning-when-you-must-cite

What is Plagiarism?
Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work, or borrowing someone else's
original ideas. But terms like "copying" and "borrowing" can disguise the seriousness of the
offense:

According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, to "plagiarize" means:

 to steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own

 to use (another's production) without crediting the source

 to commit literary theft

 to present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source.

In other words, plagiarism is an act of fraud. It involves both stealing someone else's work and
lying about it afterward. DON'T DO IT.