Last updated: 9/27/99
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Standards for AGS 3340 Essays

Naming your homework files

In this course, you will turn your homework in as word-processing files. If two people use the same file name, then the file that is turned in second will replace the file that is turned in first, and the work of the first person will be lost. Losing another person's work in this way will lose you credit. Also, as the Instructor, I want the file name to tell me about the person and the assignment. Therefore, make up the names for your homework files with the following parts, in order:

• Your three initials. (If you do not have a middle initial, use the understroke character -- _ or Shift-dash -- instead).
• One-letter assignment code as follows:
  • "a" for Essay A
  • "b" for Essay B
  • "1" for Quiz 1 computer work
  • "2" for Quiz 2 computer work
• "cf9" to indicate Computers, the Internet and Society, Fall 1999
• Normal extension for your word processor. (Note: Macs do not use file extensions, so Mac files would not have extensions.)

So for example, since I use Microsoft Word, the file name for my Essay A would be drbacf9.doc

When I grade the assignments, I will add a "g" to the end of the filename and return it.

Also, as backup file ID, include the following lines at the beginning of each file:

1. Your full name
2. Course (AGS 3340) and course name (Computers, the Internet, and Society)
3. Semester (Fall 1999)
4. Assignment (not just the code, write it out, e.g. "Essay A"
5. Word processor and version number (this is in case I have trouble reading it).
   (In Windows, to find the name and version number of any program, including a word processor, open the program, click on its "Help" menu item, and then on the "About" item on the drop-down menu list.)

For example, for my Essay A I would include the following lines at the beginning of the file:

David R. Bowen
AGS 3340, Computers, the Internet, and Society
Fall 1999
Essay A
Microsoft Word 7.0

The essay title and text would start after this header.

Essays

The AGS 3340 first essay assignment is to write a five-page double-spaced essay describing and discussing one of the issues on the "Social issues for Essays" web page for this course.

The essay should be written for a general reader, say a magazine reader or a newspaper reader. Specifically, the essay should not be written "to" the Instructor. A general reader will not be interested in whether or not the essay was written for a particular course, or to fill a particular assignment, so these aspects of the assignment should not be mentioned in the essay.

The essay should have the following parts, in this order:

• Your name, the course number, the date and the name of the assignment
• A descriptive Title; that is, a title that describes the specific contents of the essay. "Essay A" is not descriptive in this sense, because it is general and does not describe the specific content
• An Introduction that describes generally what the reader should expect in the essay; a road map for the essay.
• A Body that contains the information in the essay and addresses the specific points above. The Body should contain detail to support the general answers. References to readings can be made "in line", for example "as Howard Gardner states in Creating Minds,"
• A Conclusion that summarizes the main points of the essay as a whole.
• A Bibliography (not counted within the five pages). I do not particularly care about the specific form of the bibliographic listings. Each entry should include author name, title, date of publication and pages referenced, or equivalent information for a web page

The Essay will be graded on the following basis:

• Content. 40%. Content includes the ideas, arguments, concepts, and references to the readings and the computer conference discussion.
• Form 40%. Form includes the presence of the parts Title, Introduction, Body, Conclusion and Bibliography, and the organization of the essay in a logical and progressive manner. The essay should flow well or naturally from one topic and part to the next. The essay should have a consistent voice (first person, second person, etc.) and tense (past, present, future) throughout.
• Mechanics 20%. This includes grammar, spelling, punctuation, and other mechanical aspects of writing.