GE Writing Experience

The Term Essay will be 10 pages of written text (APA format, 12 pt. font, one-inch margins, and double line-spaced) prepared in three parts. These parts need to be written in Microsoft Word so the TAs can provide feedback using "Track Changes". A brief summary of the assignment is presented here. Your TA will provide you with detailed instructions and the Term Essay topic once the course has begun. The first part you submit will be the first 3 pages of the eventual 10 page essay. You will submit it using the Assignments feature of smartsite. Before the second part is due, your TA will provide you with written feedback in the Assignments feature of smartsite. The second part of the essay that you submit will be the next 3 pages of the 10 page essay. Your TA will also provide you with written feedback on this part of the essay before you submit the final version of the 10 page essay. The third part that you submit will be the full 10 page essay consisting of the first 2 parts plus the remaining four pages for a total of 10 pages. Your TA will expect you to have improved the first 2 parts based on their input, and to demonstrate that you have improved your writing skills by not making the same errors in writing the final part of the essay.

The first 2 parts of the essay will each be worth 125 points towards your grade. The final version of the essay will be worth an additional 225 points towards your grade. You should do your best work on each part of the essay because once points have been lost, you will not be able to regain those points when you submit the final version of the essay. The improvements you demonstrate on the first 2 parts of the essay will be taken into account in the points awarded to the final version of your essay.

You should utilize the grammar and spell check features of Microsoft Word to correct as many spelling and grammar problems as possible before submitting your essays. You will find this under the Tools menu of Microsoft Word. If something in your document is underlined in red or green, be sure to check the spelling and grammar suggestions prior to submission. Also proofread your essay yourself to locate correctly spelled but misused words.

The due dates and times for the Term Essay are: Part 1 - Friday April 20 at 5:00pm, Part 2 - Friday May 11 at 5:00pm, and Part 3 - Final Version - Friday June 1 at 5:00pm.

Papers submitted late are subject to -30% deduction per day late, beginning immediately after the due date and time, including weekends and holidays. If you have a legitimate excuse for not submitting an essay on time, email your TA before the essay is due.

If you do submit an essay late, it is your responsibility to email your TA that you have submitted the essay. If your TA does not know you have submitted your essay, it will not be graded.

To submit the Practice Essay, or the three parts of the Term Essay, logon to the smartsite.ucdavis.edu page for the course. Click on the link in the left hand column that says "Assignments". On the new screen that opens up, under the words "Assignment Title", click on the part of the essay you are submitting. When the next screen opens, click on "Add Attachments". When the next screen opens, click on "Choose File". Find and select your essay file on your computer and click on "Choose". Wait for your file to upload and appear in the list "Items to attach". Then, click on "Continue". On the next screen that opens, click on "Submit". The next screen will say "Submission Confirmation" and you will be sent an email indicating successful submission. Print or save a copy of the Submission Confirmation screen and the confirmation email you receive.

It is your responsibility to double check the Assignments area of smartsite.ucdavis.edu to be sure that your essays are submitted properly. If you can't get the essays to submit from your home computer, go to one of the campus computer labs and try to do it from there. If you are having trouble with the procedure, it is best to first ask one of the campus computer lab monitors to help you. Then, if you are still having a problem, let your TA know. If you cannot get your essay submitted through smartsite.ucdavis.edu, email your essay to your TA.

All TAs will be using the same criteria for grading. To assure that this is the case, all TAs will grade several of the same essays and agree on the grading criteria.

The TAs will plan to finish grading all essays before the final exam. The essay grades for all sections will be released at the same time. This is because in the past some students have felt students receiving essay grades prior to others had an advantage on the final exam over those who did not.

REVIEW: Which of the following is true about the GE Writing Experience requirement?
a. During the quarter you will be submitting a Practice Essay and a Term Essay (in 3 parts).
b. The due date and time for the Practice Essay is 5:00pm on Wednesday April 18. Due dates and times for the Term Essay are: Part 1 - Friday April 20 at 5:00pm, Part 2 - Friday May 11 at 5:00pm, and Part 3 - Final Version - Friday June 1 at 5:00pm.
c. You will submit your essay assignments as attachments under the Assignments feature of SmartSite.
d. If submitting the attachment doesn't work when you try it in Assignments, you will email your essay to your TA.
e. Papers submitted late are subject to -30% deduction per day late, beginning immediately after the due date and time, including weekends and holidays.
f. All of the other answers are correct.
Answer f