As we settle into our routine for the semester, I wanted to share a few important reminders about your writing assignments in this class.

Please use APA style for all citing and referencing. This means you'll need to cite the articles you read when creating your discussion board posts, as well as the book when writing your reflection papers. Many of you may already be in the habit of doing this. It's a great practice because it's required in your academic work and in any manuscripts you write. If you need a refresher on APA style, The Owl at Purdue is an amazing resource!
I've provided recommendations for the length of posts, replies, and papers (in word numbers and in double-spaced pages). These truly are just recommendations. I think that it would be difficult to answer the questions of the assignment in less than the suggested length and get full credit. However, if you write more than the suggested length, that is fine. I'll read as much as you want to write! So, please don't worry if your assignments go over the suggested length. But, please do double check that you've answered all components of the assignment (demonstrating thoughtful processing of the material) if you end up short of the length recommendation.
For all your assignments, I will be using rubrics for grading. These rubrics are attached to all assignments, and should be viewable to you. If you can't find them, please let me know. I'll also be leaving embedded comments in many of your reflection papers. This means that there will be three forms of feedback for many of your reflection papers: (1) you will see a points value in the grade book (and I may leave written general comments that you'll see here), (2) you can open the rubric to see where any points were deducted (if that's applicable), and (3) you can view my embedded comments within your paper.

To view those embedded comments...

After I've graded your paper, go to Grades and click on the hyperlinked assignment name. On this page, you can see the grading rubric by clicking on Show Rubric. You can click on View Feedback to see my embedded comments within the paper. Try it out after I've graded your first reflection paper. If you have any questions, be sure to let me know. Or, you can always post questions to the general discussion board. If you are uncertain about something, chances are a classmate is too!

Finally, I have a small request: please double-space the files you upload when completing your reflection papers. My eyes are aging and reading double-spaced pages is much easier for me! It also makes inserting feedback and comments into your assignment easier, as there's more space for those things between lines.

If you have any concerns or questions about any of this, don't hesitate to reach out. You can email me privately, or you can post anything to our general discussion board.