It is your responsibility to make sure you have the necessary skills to complete the course work. Because you are expected to contribute to every class discussion and writing workshop, and because you will have work due for almost every class period, you are allowed no absences . However, because medical emergencies or illness sometimes do occur, you will be allowed two absences for illness or emergencies. The sniffles, an upset stomach, a hangover, a vehicle that won't start, a court appearance for a traffic violation, . . . If you do miss a class for any such event, deduct two points from your final score for each such occurrence.
Attendance is mandatory.
For each absence above the two legitimate absences, you will have two points deducted from your final grade. This is not a correspondence course. Your active participation during class is integral to this course. During the first week of class, you will sign and turn in an attendance contract indicating that you have read and that you understand this policy. Using a document or part of a document written by another student is plagiarism.