Huntingdon College | Political Science | Courses | SPS | Requirements | Research paper advice | What is PSC? | What's New? | Wise Words
Caution: the above buttons take you away from the SPS pages.

• Course Formula for my SPS Accelerated Courses
• Course Formula for my SPS Current Affairs Course
• Course Formula for my SPS Individual Studies
• General Requirements and Notes

Weekly Participation and Presentations (25%):

Give brief, four minute presentations in each class of your assigned article(s).

This grade will include all your contributions to discussion.

Weekly essays (25%):

Send a one-page single-spaced essay

via email to jLewis@Huntingdon.edu, by Sunday at 7pm,

analyzing a current article from the previous week's discussion.

Title your email and your essay (for example, in PSC 306) 306SPS07yournameEssay1 (and increment the number for each week.)

Plain text pasted in to email is best, or you may send attached files in Word or WordPerfect format.

Standard 12 point Times New Roman or Arial Narrow fonts apply on all typed work.

A midterm essay test (25%) of up to two hours, held in an SPS center, during week 3, covering weeks 1-2.

• This may include one or two pages of one paragraph concept identifications, plus one or two open-ended essay questions.
• This is normally proctored as a closed book test.
• The test questions will be sent to the site center directors, who will issue them to you either in hardcopy for handwriting -- or in Word format for typing in (keep to about the same space).
• After completion, for security reasons you must delete any copies of the test left in hardcopy or on the computer system.
• Just make sure the test is safely sent to the instructor!

Final Essay exam (25%):

in the final class session, you will be expected to write (or type on a computer if preferred)

two pages of four one-paragraph accounts of articles, major events or concepts we have discussed,

plus a one-page single-spaced general essay on a broader topic we have discussed

If sending via email, titled (for instance) 306 SPS 07 yourname Exam.

Exams are proctored, in closed-book and closed-notes format.

Filnames above need to be adjusted for your course number -- e.g., for PSC 306, enter 306SPS07yournameExam

• Featured articles (Curent Affairs Course only): Check the week's featured magazine article assignments posted via email and online by Tuesday evening at http://fs.huntingdon.edu/jlewis/Syl/SPS/CAFFtimetableSPS.htm.
• Annual Editions articles: Read the classic articles from Annual Editions that are posted in the Timetable online.
• Weekly Participation and Presentations (25%): Give a brief, four minute presentation (per 1 credit) in each class of your assigned current article or classic article. (Two presentations per 3 credits).  This grade will include all your contributions to discussion.
• Weekly essays (25%): Send a one-page single-spaced (or 2 pages per 3 credits) essay via email to jLewis@Huntingdon.edu, by Sunday at 7pm, analyzing a current magazine story from the previous week's discussion.  Title your email and your essay Caff06SPS-yourname-Essay1 (and increment the number for each week.)  Plain text is best, or you may send attached files in Word or WordPerfect format.  Standard 12 point Times New Roman or Arial Narrow fonts apply on all typed work.
• ePaper (25%): Send a three page single-spaced paper per 1 credit hour (or 5 pages per 3 credits) to the instructor before the final class session, taking a fuller look at a chosen current affairs issue by comparing newsmagazine article(s) with three articles from Annual Editions or the quality press. Use APSA citation style (similar to APA style, and illustrated on my web pages).  Send email titled CAFF06SPS-yourname-Paper1 (or -Paper3 for 3 credits).
• Final Essay exam (25%): in the final class session, you will be expected to write (or type on a computer if preferred) a page of four one-paragraph accounts of articles, major events or concepts we have discussed, plus a one-page single-spaced general essay on a broader topic we have discussed (e.g., an election campaign, a war, a natural disaster, a profiled statesperson.)  (For 3 credits, two pages of four one-paragraph identifications, plus 2 one-page single-spaced essays).  If sending via email, titled CAFF06SPS-yourname-Exam1 (or -Exam3 for 3 credit hours).  Exams are in closed-book and closed-notes format.

• Each question refers to the ideas of one reading.
• Each response should be headed by "Response to", the book author, chapter or reading title, on a new line the copied and pasted in question, then on a fresh line your name, SPS, and year. Leave a blank line between paragraphs.
• You can either paste the responses into an email in text format -- or you can send as attachment with the filename model 212LastnameAssignt3.doc.  (Of course, adjust the course number -- such as 306 -- and the assignment number to fit the week number.)
• An MS Word doc file is OK as an attachment, though html attachment saves my time and labor.
• Preferably, you can choose File | Save As HTML in versions of Word since 1997, and that saves me some steps when you attach the html file to your email.
• Include ALL responses for the week in one file, in the order of questions -- otherwise I have to open multiple files for every student who is corresponding that same Sunday evening.
• Why? I need a foolproof system to ensure I give you credit for all your own responses -- and I also need to be able to compare responses on the same question, to ensure consistency and fairness in grading all students.
• Typically there are about five to eight choices among questions.
• You MUST write a response to one question on every chapter of the main texts (e.g. for PSC 306, Fesler & Kettl; for PSC 212: Janda and Brewster's texts).
• You must write one response on a supplementary book every week when a question is presented (e.g. for PSC 306, Stillman's anthology; for PSC 212, Riordan's book on Plunkitt).
• From the rest of the questions, you can choose among questions on anthology readings and individual articles.
• Responses must show strong knowledge of the reading materials. "Doorstep opinions" are not valuable without learning.
• If connecting ideas from more than the mentioned reading for each question, reference the other authors within text, like this (Janda; Posner).
• There is no need to include a full reference list of the authors listed in the course timetable -- only make a list of any external authors you happen to choose.

• This may include one or two sets of one paragraph concept identifications, plus one or two open-ended essay questions.
• This is normally proctored as a closed book test.
• The test questions will be sent to the site center directors, who will issue them to you either in hardcopy for handwriting -- or in Word format for typing in (keep to about the same space).
• After completion, for security reasons you must delete any copies of the test left in hardcopy or on the computer system.
• Just make sure the test is safely sent to the instructor!

• based on about half a dozen academic sources (books and journal articles; data from official web sites) plus any interest group or journalistic sources.
• References in APSA style should be listed on a separate page.  (You can force a new page with Ctrl-Enter).
• Do keep a copy of your drafts (add a number to the name of the file, augment it each time you save a new draft) and the final paper.
• The instructor may submit any homework to web and TurnItIn.com type searches to ensure honesty.

• This may include one or two sets of one paragraph concept identifications, plus one or two open-ended essay questions.
• It will emphasize the second half of the term's material, but may include topics from the first half.
• This is normally proctored as a closed book examination.

Essays, responses and outlines may be sent to <jLewis@HuntingDon.edu> in these common formats: HTML email is preferred -- but you can use plain text email, or attachment of MS Word DOC file, or WordPerfect WPD file.  From MS Word, choose File | Save As HTML.  This will change the filetype from .doc to .htm.

Be sure to save all your files on at least two disks.  Computer drives and emails do sometimes fail.  We cannot be held responsible for any lost work.

Cheating may result in receiving an "F" grade for the entire course.  This includes looking at books or notes on a test or exam (unless labelled "open book exam"), turning in a paper or essay which is not your own work, or failing to cite sources properly.  Allowable assistance from other people (e.g., parents, colleagues, offspring, friends, teachers) must be endnoted in your paper or essay.  A paper without citations or with references typed on different paper or in different style, or written in a style unlike your other work, for examples, may be suspect as plagiarized. All typed work may be checked by the instructor for plagiarism via TurnItIn.com or a similar service.

Exam decorum for "closed book exams". You are requested during examinations to keep your books and bags closed, to store them at a distance from yourself, and to try not to leave the room until you have completed writing.  To do otherwise may set up a suspicion of cheating.

Online decorum.  Be respectful of the views of others, even while disagreeing. Be careful to give the reference to something you are discussing, so that other participants or the instructor know how to respond.  Pasting in any text from other authors must also be cited properly.