Institution Writing Guidelines 300-400 LVL

Institution Writing Guidelines 300-400 LVL

Purpose: The Institution Writing Guidelines (IWG) exist to simplify student writing requirements and instructor grading, clarify and standardize writing expectations, focus instructor grading and student effort on content, and gradually introduce students to more complex and restrictive writing guidelines over time. Please take a moment to watch this 1:19 minute introduction video by our Director of Curriculum.

Below you will find the detailed information for your 300 and 400 level courses:

-Formatting (Specific to 300-400 level courses)

-Grammar/Spelling

-Sources (Specific to 300-400 level courses)

-Plagiarism

Formatting

The top of the paper needs:

-Student name

-Date of submission or writing

-Course name

-Title of the paper

It is recommended the paper identification information be placed at the top right. What matters is the information is present. Example:

-The paper should be set with one-inch margins all around

-12-point font sans serif or serif, no decorative fonts. Recommended—but not mandatory—fonts include: Serif family (Times New Roman, Book Antiqua, Minion Pro), Sans Serif family (Calibri, Arial, Verdana)

-Double spacing lines is required

Grammar/Spelling

-General spelling, grammar, and punctuation expectations apply. The focus of the writing must address the issues raised by the prompt, emphasized in the rubric, and the learning objective(s) covered by the writing task

-The serial comma is expected (example: word, word, word, and word)

-Double-spacing after sentences is discouraged

Sources

Students are expected to use citations, including in-text citations as needed. The guidelines are:

-In Text

-The Author, Year, page number (for quotes) format. Ex: (Doe, 2016, pp. 23-25)

-Sentence punctuation follows the in-text citation

Reference Citation

-Example 1: Martinez, A. (2016). The way things should be. Harper.

-Example 2: Martinez. (2016). The way things should be. Retrieved, March 4, 2018, from https://worldswisdom.com

-References are not to be graded on punctuation, italics, inclusion of initials, date format, etc. Grading for references will focus on the required basic elements not the presentation of the elements.

-Rubrics will be followed and the focus remains on content, not style

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is not acceptable. Instructors should follow the academic policy on plagiarism. Egregious examples of plagiarism or repetitive plagiarism will be referred to the student’s dean for additional evaluation.