Course Protocols

Class Mail Protocols

Check the website once a day.

Please send course-related private correspondence to Dr. Young via class mail, not email, so that all course-related information can be kept in the same place. Email won't be quicker--all webct class mail is automatically copied to her personal email, so she knows it's there even if she isn't logged in to the class. (To send private mail to classmates, you can use whatever method you/they prefer, of course.) To send class mail, click the "class mail" icon on course homepage and compose a new message.

Before mailing Dr. Young with general questions about the course, post your questions to the Help! discussion topic and wait at least 24 hours for a response.

When sending mail to Dr. Young, allow at least 24 hours for a response (48 hours on weekends).

Every mail message you send during this course should:

Be given a descriptive subject heading (NOT "Question" or "Class" please)
Use standard capitalization (otherwise the message is very hard to read. All caps are considered "shouting.")
Be courteous and clear. (Online communication lacks the nonverbal cues that fill in much of the meaning in face-to-face communication.)

If you're writing something complex, consider composing your message in a word processor, then copying and pasting your message into the mail message box.

Please be patient. Remember that most of us receive mail from many different sources outside this class; repeated "Did you get . . . " messages will overload mailboxes, making it more difficult for people to respond quickly. Do let Dr. Young know if a class member hasn't answered your message within 48 hours.

Please be prompt. If a team member sends you a message, please respond in a timely fashion (within 48 hours). Poor communication with team members will affect your grade.

Attachment Protocols

Because attachments require extra effort to read, please do not post attachments unless the assignment requires you to do so.

When you are required to post an attachment to a discussion or class mail message as an attachment, remember that once your attachment is downloaded, it has been completely disconnected from your message. Therefore it is very easy for your work to be misdirected or overlooked if you haven't labeled your attachment properly. To make sure you earn full credit for your work, every attachment you submit during this course should:

Be given a descriptive filename (NOT "Grammar Homework" or "Assignment") that includes your name or your team's name
Contain your full name inside the attachment (plus your team's name, for team assignments)
Clearly state what assignment you are completing and what software you've used to complete it in the message to which your work is attached. (SenDraw format is preferred by Dr. Young.)

Work that does not follow these protocols will not earn full credit.

Discussion Protocols

Send messages intended for just one or two readers by class mail instead of posting them to the discussion.

Use the appropriate discussion topic. Messages posted to the wrong discussion topic will not earn credit.

Every discussion message you post should:

Be given a descriptive subject heading (NOT "Discussion Post" or "Assignment")
Use the "quote" button rather than the "reply" or "compose" button if you are replying to someone else's post.
Avoid posts which only say "I agree"; they will not be counted for credit.
Be courteous and clear. (Online communication lacks the nonverbal cues that fill in much of the meaning in face-to-face communication.)

Consider composing your message in a word processor, then copying and pasting your message into the discussion message window

Grammar Voyeur Protocols

Voyeur "snapshots" should:

Be posted to the appropriate discussion topic inside the message (not as an attachment)
Include bibliographic information, along with the URL where the snapshot was taken
Identify each example clearly by putting the sought-for grammatical structure in all capital letters (or whatever the assignment calls for)

No points will be awarded for:

Assignments submitted incorrectly
Examples which have already been located by another student in the course
Examples taken from a grammar book or grammar website
More than one example in a category (unless specifically allowed by the assignment).

Extra Credit Protocols

Extra credit assignments should:

Be sent to Dr. Young via private class mail from the class website (NOT email)
Have a descriptive subject line (not just "extra credit" or "assignment" please--say which assignment)
Be copied/pasted into the body of the message (except sentence diagrams--those must be submitted as attachments)
Indicate what program you used to create the sentence diagrams in the body of the message
Include your full name and the assignment name in the filename of the diagrams attachment
Include your full name, the assignment name, and identify the sentences you are diagramming. (e.g., "Sentences for Practice 6th ed. chapter 6 # 2, 3, 6, 7, 9") in the filename of the diagrams attachment

No points will be awarded for assignments submitted incorrectly.