1. Class Rules and Explanations
English Composition 1
Class Rules and Explanations

2. Contact Information
You can call me:
Professor Main, or
Doctor Main,
But please do not call me “teacher”.

3. Office Hours I will usually be in my office at these times:
Monday/Wednesday/Friday:
08:00 ~ 08:50
10:00 ~ 11:50
1:00 ~ 1:50
Tuesday
09:00 ~ 9:45
Thursday
If you come to my office at any other time, I will likely send you away.

4. Please …. Do not start conversations with:
“I went to your office but you weren’t there …”
This might be common in Korea, but it’s a quite rude in English, especially because I’ve just told you when usually in my office.
Remember, ‘usually’ does not mean ‘always’.

5. Please …. If you visit my office:
Be ready with your questions, papers, etc.
Do not come in and make me wait for you while you search your bag for the paper you want to ask about.
Have it ready when you come in.
Do not knock lightly and then just open the door.
Knock loudly and wait for me to tell you to come in.
Do not press your ear against my door! This is a very big invasion of privacy and you should never do this!

6. Please …. If you visit my office:
Do not come at the last minute, and when I say ‘no’ do not continue to ask again and again.
Typical conversation:
Student: Professor Main, can you check this for me?
Me: Sure. When do you need it back?
Student: It’s due today.
Me: Bye-bye!
Student: But….
Me: No.
Etc….

7. Textbook “English Composition One”
A volunteer student will make sure everyone gets their books.
If you would like to volunteer, please tell me at the end of class!
₩12,000

8. These percentages are subject to change ...
Grades
These percentages are subject to change ...
Test One
15%
Test Two
Midterm Exam
25%
Final Exam
Homework Completion
10%
Graded Homework

9. Attendance
This is very straightforward: If you miss a class, your final grade is reduced by 1%.
Of course, this means unexcused absences.
All notes/forms for explaining absences must be submitted to me within 48 hours of the end of the missed class.
So, if you miss a class on Monday, you must give me the form before the end of class on Wednesday.
Pharmacy receipts are not acceptable forms.
Forged or otherwise false forms will result in a final grade of ‘F’! – Don’t try to trick me!

10. Attendance: Don’t be late!
“Being late is a way of saying that your own time is more valuable than the time of the person who waited for you.”
–Karen Joy Fowler
Being late is disrespectful to me and to your classmates.
2 lates = 1 absence
More than 15 minutes late = 1 absence

11. Attendance
Being on time does not mean that you walk in the door exactly at the beginning of class
It means that when I begin to take attendance:
You are in your seat
You are ready to begin class (your books and pens are out of your bag, your phone is off and you are comfortable in your chair).
I use my watch, not your cell phone, to tell time, so don’t argue with me about whether you are late or not!
Class begins when I start taking attendance, so please be quiet.
My ears are very bad, so I need you to be quiet so I can hear students respond when I say their names.
Do not unpack your bag, take off your coat, chat with your friends, etc., while I am taking attendance.
I’m tired of explaining this to students 10 times every semester. Please sit quietly while I take attendance.

12. Attendance
At the beginning of class, I will lock the door and take attendance.
When I am done taking attendance, I will unlock the door and late students may come in.
At the end of class that class (not the next day, next week, next month), late students must remind me to check their attendance

13. Homework
Do not homework (unless you have a special reason and ask permission first):
Hanmail (etc.) does not often ‘agree’ with Gmail
Printing your assignment is your job, not mine.

14. Homework Do not put homework under my door:
Papers on my floor are considered garbage and I will throw them out without looking at them.

15. Homework
You can submit late homework to my mailbox in the department office (58-318)
However, most homework must be completed by the beginning of class on the day it is due.

16. Homework A final warning ....
Do not let me see you finishing your homework during class time!
I hate that!

17. Homework
If this (or something similar) is stapled to your homework when I return it:
I didn’t give you your homework mark.
You must correct the mistake(s) and submit it again.

18. Graded Homework
From time to time, I will grade your homework assignments.
I will not tell you which assignments I am going to grade.
Do your best work every time!
If you see a number at the top of your assignment when I return it to you, that means I graded it (out of 10)
Do your best every time!

19. More Rules: Cell Phones
Cell phones are a huge problem these days and I strongly believe that students should not have cell phones in class.
People lived for thousands of years without them, and you will survive, too! You’ll be fine without it for 50 minutes!

20. More Rules: Cell Phones
You do not need your cell phone in class.
If I see you using your cell phone for any reason during class time, I may ask you to leave. I will not give you any warnings.
Repeated violations will result in your grade being reduced by 10% each time.
Note: from time to time we will do exercises in class which will require a dictionary/Internet access.
Of course, you will be allowed to use your phones for these special classes.

21. More Rules: Sleeping If you sleep in class, I will ask you to leave.
If I ask you to leave, I expect you to leave immediately, quietly, and without argument.
I won’t be angry, but I will not allow you to distract me during the class.
Repeated violations will result in your grade being reduced by 10% each time.
Sleepers tend to have very bad attitudes anyway, so I don’t mind asking them to leave.

22. More Rules: Illness Do not come to class if you are sick!
I know this is difficult because attendance is part of your grade, but it is very important that you do not give others (especially me!) your sickness. Coming to class when you are sick is a very selfish thing to do!
Wash your hands regularly!
Cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough!

23. Cheating You must sign the ‘Non-plagiarism Declaration’
It is your responsibility to understand this declaration.
We will have a lesson about cheating, but …
It is your responsibility to understand what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.
If you have questions, ask me. I will be happy to explain it.

24. If you cheat, you will get a final grade of ‘F’!
Cheating
You will not receive any warnings, and I will not accept any excuses!
If you cheat, you will get a final grade of ‘F’!

25. I will not allow it to happen, I will catch you,
Cheating
You know that you shouldn’t cheat.
This is not a new or strange idea.
One more time…
I will not allow it to happen,
I will catch you,
and you will receive an ‘F’

26. Remember Trust me ... If you Then, your compositions will improve.
...Do what I ask
...Work hard
...Concentrate on improving your communication skills (rather than just memorizing ‘forms’ and ‘filling in the blanks’)
Then, your compositions will improve.

27. Please ... Do your homework in good faith.
That means…
Take your time
Think about what you are writing
Think about why you are writing it
Do your best to communicate with the reader every time
Try your best to pay attention in class.
Many students come to class expecting to understand nothing so they don’t even try.
I don’t expect you to understand 100% but I expect to you pay attention and try your best in every class!

28. Please … Don’t … Wait until the last minute to do assignments
… just try to get a good grade (this usually doesn’t work)
… be afraid to ask questions

29. Please … TRY! Typical Conversation:
When you come into class, you might be tired, you might be bored, you might have trouble understanding, but you will not learn anything unless you try your best every time!
Typical Conversation:
Me: The lesson is on page __ of the text book.
Student: …
Me: Here is a PPP of the same lesson.
Me: You can download the PPP on my blog site.
Me: Let me show you again on the whiteboard.
Me: Here’s a photocopied example for you to study.
Later
Me: Why do you keep making this mistake?!
Student: I didn’t know!

30. Practice! Every semester I tell my students:
“practicing is up to you!”
I give you homework assignments, but you can do more practice on your own, if you want to!
You don’t have to wait for me.

31. Practice!
However, at the end of every semester students leave comments like these: “Teacher should give students more chance to practice.” “Please. More practice.” “I would give students more chance to improve their skills.” “If I were the professor, I would make students write more compositions to improve their English” … and so on …

32. Practice! These comments make me so angry!
If you need me to tell you to practice, you will probably not do very well in this class.
If you practice on your own, without waiting for me, you will probably do much better!

33. Samples/examples
The same is true of examples of the types of writing we study.
Every semester some lazy students complain that I didn’t give them enough examples, but ….
I do give many!
If those are not enough, ask me for help, or …
DO IT YOURSELF!
Sadly, some students just love to complain.

34. Respect
Most of the rules I’ve been talking about are directly related to respect.
Cell phones
Being on time for class
Completing homework
Staying awake in class
Etc.
These are all about respect. If you have a bad attitude and do not show appropriate respect, you will not do well in this class or in life outside of university!

35. Are there any questions?