Paula Westdorp

How-to Videos for Dr. Perkins’ Classes

Basic Word-Processing Videos saving and emailing documents setting a font type and size, line spacing  (¶ settings), and margins for APA and MLA using APA paper format using MLA paper format creating block quotations and hanging indents for APA/MLA formatting inserting blank pages and page breaks checking for word choice accuracy: using the spell-check, dictionary, and thesaurus features using “track changes” and adding comments comparing two Word documents to show all changes in a revised version: make sure “all markup” is selected in the “tracking” area

Moodle adding your picture to Moodle

Hypothes.is Adding and using Hypothes.is in Firefox

TSEN 95 final essay /  Dr. Westdorp

When students cheat (or appear to cheat), professors are the ones who enforce their college’s academic integrity policies. In your opinion, what should happen to the students in these scenarios?

• Markus shared his trigonometry homework with Kylie and she turned in the exact same steps and answers to the problems. 
• Sabrina forgot to document a source she used for a whole paragraph in her history paper.
• Yuen and Greg texted each other during an astronomy exam; Reena read the texts but didn’t respond like the others. 

Should these students flunk the assignment, the course for the semester, or even be expelled? Should different types of cheating be treated differently? Should Reena and Markus receive the same punishments as the other students? Your final essay will be a persuasive paper that evaluates how KCC’s policies should be applied to the scenarios listed above. 

 

Content Requirements

Along with a strong thesis statement (containing a main claim and primary reason), your essay also needs to identify the specific audience you wish to motivate; your audience should be any group who might be affected by the consequences of your thesis (e.g. students, faculty, family members, colleges, the government).  Your essay needs to have as many paragraphs as necessary to discuss the key issues supporting your thesis; the overall paper must be between 3-4 pages in length, including the works cited page. Only the sources noted below are allowed. All of the source information you use must be cited properly using MLA-style parenthetical notes, and the paper must include an MLA-style works cited page at the end; not doing so, ironically, could lead to a plagiarism charge.

Since this is a persuasive paper, you will attempt to change your audience’s opinion through the presentation of:

1. facts,
2. an authority’s specific ideas,
3. examples,
4. consequences, and
5. acknowledgement of and response to opposing ideas.

For this assignment, you must use all five of these strategies to support at least three core reasons your audience should accept your thesis.

 

Allowed sources

• The KCC Student Handbook 2018-2019 (in particular, review the “Academic Integrity Policy”)
• Maria Konnikova’s “Inside the Cheater’s Mind”

MLA style and format resources:

• The model MLA paper section of The Pocket Prof, starting on page 44

• Basic in-text citation guidelines: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/02/

• Works cited page entry for a web page or electronic resource: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/08/

• Quotation/summary/paraphrase and documentation guidelines for MLA

 

Welcome to KCC Staff Sites. So glad you’ve made it this far in navigating materials and information about KCC and your courses! 

As a professor of Reading and Learning Strategies at the college, I teach student who take everything from Basic Reading (TSRE 55), Writing Improvement (TSEN 95), Freshman Composition (ENGL 151), Introduction to Literature (LITE 105) to First Year Seminar (FYS 101) and Service Learning (SERV 100).    

I enjoy learning from experimenting with new teaching strategies in all the courses to keep them interesting.  I specifically enjoy college level instruction as I love the work of Malcolm Knowles (father of andragogy) who suggests the following:

• Adults need to know why they need to learn something
• Adults need to learn experientially,
• Adults approach learning as problem-solving, and
• Adults learn best when the topic is of immediate value.