Participation in class discussion represents about one fifth of your grade. Any unexcused absences will lower your class participation grade. See me in advance if you know you must be absent. Staple the paper, please. Papers must represent clear thinking, excellent writing, and hard work.
Careless errors are extremely rare or non-existant.
The second paper is 6-8 pages. All papers are to be on texts read in class or on texts within the scope of the class, with both text and subject to be agreed upon with the instructor. I welcome office visits for this purpose. The Writing Resource Center can help you with the difficulties of writing. You can get any available tutor to help you with such general matters as documenting sources, time management, how to write a conclusion, or talking out the ideas you have about a given text.