Robert Keel
Department of Sociology
Students must make a decision on writing a paper by the deadline specified in the course syllabus and assignments pages. Students are expected to work with the instructor and class TA in developing an outline and initial drafts. At least one complete draft of the paper must be submitted (at least a week prior to the official due date) for editorial and content review. See the course syllabus and/or assignments page for specific deadlines.
Students are expected to follow the guidelines provided for each paper or project. Papers which do not meet the guidelines will be considered incomplete and graded accordingly.
1. RELEVANCE. This requires that the answer will be addressed to the question asked and that all material not pertinent to the question will be excluded. A "shot gun" approach in which the correct answer lie hidden in a mass of irrelevant or peripheral comment constitutes an inferior performance.
2. ACCURACY. This means that the information supplied is correctly represented, whether it is a fact or someone else's point of view. It does not imply the student's responsibility for errors in the assigned sources unless such errors have been identified by the instructor.
3. PRECISION. This means the selection and ordering of words is in a manner that conveys the intended meaning unambiguously. To do this successfully requires a mastery of both vocabulary and syntax.
4. LOGICAL REASONING. This means that the premises used are consistent with each other and that deductions are consistent with the premises used.
5. ORGANIZATION. This refers to a rational ordering of the material presented. It means that topics are presented in the order of logical priority and, where not in conflict with logical priority, in order of importance. It includes clearly distinguishing main points from corollary points and ordering them properly in relation to each other.
6. BALANCE. This means proportioning the amount of discussion to the relative importance of the points discussed. An extended discussion of a minor point and cursory mention of a major one represent an imbalance.
7. COMPREHENSIVENESS. This means the inclusion of the maximum amount of relevant material in the time allotted--e.g., an adequate number of points, cases, examples, etc. Where time limits discussion, priority of topics must be assigned in the order of their importance.
8. ECONOMY OF EXPRESSION. This means saying what one has to say in the fewest possible words. This does not necessarily imply a short answer--only a relatively short one.
9. UNITY AND COHERENCE. These imply respectively that the various segments of the answer are related by some common theme and that there will be a smooth transition from one point to the next.
10. DOCUMENTATION. This means specific reference to appropriate sources of information--books, articles, authors, etc.
11. ILLUSTRATION. This means supplying apt examples, either original or borrowed.
12. ORIGINALITY. This is placed last to compensate for the over emphasis students tend to give it, particularly when it is used as a euphemism for an incorrect or irrelevant answer. Undisciplined originality is of little value, and disciplined originality is statistically too rare to constitute a realistic expectation. In this connection it should perhaps be noted that the right to disagree with one's instructor in an examination is earned only after a correct understanding of his position has been demonstrated. Of course, agreement does not absolve one of the responsibilities for demonstrating understanding either.