Guidelines for Sending Emails and Submitting Essays

 

Please note that some of the following guidelines apply only to students in my English composition (English 1301 and 1302 classes).  If you are enrolled in one of my literature classes, please ignore those. 

 

 

  • Please send all emails to me at accprofclark@earthlink.net.  The huge volume of spam I receive on my other email accounts slows down my response time, and I want to answer all your messages and grade your essays just as quickly as possible.  Please do not deposit anything in the drop box for ACConline.  I do not use it for any of my classes.

 

  • Please do not use email shorthand such as “R” for “are” and “U” for “you” when communicating with me or any other teacher.  This is fine when you email your friends, but it is a bit jarring to an English teacher to get a message that reads something like this: “hey, U, when R U going to post the grades for UR class?”  I realize that we English teachers are a little bit old-fashioned, but please humor us by writing out words that are not standard abbreviations and capitalizing the first word of every sentence.

 

  • (English composition classes only)  When you email me an essay, type the essay number on the subject line of your email.  If your email name is not the same as your real name and your real name does not automatically appear on your emails, type your real name before the essay number; for example: Jane Doe - Essay 3.  If you are emailing an essay that I have asked you to revise and resubmit, please include "revision" after the essay number on the subject line of your email; for example:  Jane Doe -  Essay 3 Revision.

 

  • Type your name, the course number, and the essay number at the top of each essay. This will come before the title of the essay.  Do not put quotation marks around the title of your own essay.  (Use quotation marks only around the names of other authors' works.)  The following are examples of how your headings should look for English 1302 and 2327:

 

            Jane Doe

            English 1302

            Essay 1

           

            Jill Doe

            English 2327

            Mid-Term Essays

 

 

  • Please do not type your essay directly into the body of your email, and do not send me papers as attachments in English 1301 or 1302.  (Students in English 2327 are allowed to use attachments.)    Please type your essay on a word processing program such as Microsoft Word; then cut and paste it to your email. 

 

  • Please try to use only one email address throughout the entire semester.  If an emergency arises and you must email from a different address, you must do two things:                                   

            (1) Type your own name on the subject line of the email.  Example:  Jane Doe - Essay 3.

            (2) Address a copy of this message to yourself at your regular email address; just add yourself

to the list of recipients or type your email address on the CC: line.  This not only gives you a copy for your records; it also enables me to send my reply to your regular email address by clicking on "reply to all recipients."  This will save time and enable me to respond to your messages more quickly.

 

  • Please do not routinely mark all the messages you send me as “high priority.”  Please reserve this designation for those rare instances in which it is imperative that you receive an immediate response.  All my students’ messages are high priority for me, and my goal is to answer all of them and to grade all your assignments just as quickly as possible.  However, if you designate all messages as high priority, I will not be able to tell when an emergency situation exists.

 

  • Please do not send the same email more than once unless you are fairly certain I did not receive it the first time.  In any event, do not send me the same email more than twice unless your address has changed or I tell you that I did not receive it.   If you are not certain I received an email, just call me (223-2018) to ask.  One former student emailed me his first paper thirteen times.  Talk about getting off to a bad start with the professor.  .  .  .

 

  • If you must change your email address during the semester, send me an email from your new email address notifying me of the change as soon as you know about it.   Example:  Email Address Change for Jane Doe.  If your email address changes after you have already sent me an assignment for which you have not yet received an acceptance notice, please email the assignment again from your new email address.  In this case, it's better than I receive it twice than not at all.

 

  • (English composition classes only)  You may submit only one essay at a time unless I specifically tell you to do otherwise.  Before emailing the next essay, the previous one must be accepted.  Any essay returned for revising or rewriting must be resubmitted and accepted before you email me the next essay.  However, just as soon finish one essay, you should begin writing the next; you just cannot email it until I accept the previous one. 

 

  • (English composition classes only)  When I have graded an essay, you will receive an email reply from me telling you whether your essay was accepted, or not.  (You do not receive grades on your essays; they are either accepted or not accepted.  In order to earn an “A” or a “B” in the course, you write one extra paper.)  If the latter is the case, I will tell you what you need to change in order for it to be accepted.  Please allow up to seven days (3-5 days in an eight-week class) to receive this notice, although you will most likely receive it sooner.    I like to give each essay my most thoughtful consideration and to provide helpful feedback in my reply.  This takes time.  Please be patient. 

 

  • (English composition classes only)  You are never allowed to make more than one revision of an essay.  (Please see the course requirements section of your syllabus for detailed information on revisions allowed under different grade plans.)  If your essay is not accepted after one revision, you must withdraw from the course in order to avoid receiving a failing grade.  Please make certain all your essays are the required minimum length. before you submit them.  If I have to return an essay because it is too short, you have only one more chance to submit an acceptable paper of the required minimum length.  The “A” and “B” Essays cannot be revised; if they are not accepted, you will receive a “C” as your final course grade.

 

  • If you are concerned about whether I have received an essay or not, please telephone rather than emailing me.  If I did not receive your essay, I might not receive the follow-up email either if there is a problem with your

            email service. 

 

  • (English composition classes only)  In a dire emergency, you may fax a paper to me at 223-2046.  If this happens, please put my name and voice phone number (223-2018) on a cover sheet for the fax.  Also, please call to let me know to expect it.  Our faxes do not come directly to our offices here.  They come to the main office, and they can easily get misplaced before we receive them.  If you do have to fax a paper to me, email it also just as soon as you are able so that I will have a record of it on my computer files.

 

  • I normally do not allow students to submit essays ahead of schedule and finish the course early unless they have extenuating circumstances.  If you believe that you do, please contact me, and we will discuss this.  You might be able to complete the assignments more quickly, but I will not always be able to grade them more quickly.  I have paced the course in such a way as to make my grading load manageable.

 

 

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