Departmental Policies & Resources

Policies

Advising of English students about their programs is done twice a year, over a two-week period in both fall and winter semesters. Make sure you consult with your advisor during these periods, which will be announced to you by letter. Given their range of responsibilities, advisors may choose not to answer advising questions at other times.

Attendance and attentiveness at all classes is expected. University regulations allow instructors to bar from exams students who have been excessively absent from classes.

Cell phones must not be accessed during class time. Instructors may impose a penalty on students who consult their phones or whose phones ring during class.

Emails to instructors should have a respectful tone and abide by the rules of courtesy. Do not use them to avoid meetings. Limit the total number and the length. You are not entitled to a response in less than 48 hours.

Grades in English classes will conform to the system defined in the university regulations, with an A (80-100%) being given to excellent work, a B (70-79%) being for good work, a C (60-69%) for acceptable work, a D (50-59%) for marginal work, and an F (0-49%) for work that fails to meet minimum standards. Given these definitions, students should expect average grades in a course to be in the high C/low B range.

Laptops may be used, at the discretion of the instructor of the course. However, those using laptops must sit in the front two rows of the classroom and may not consult social media sites (e.g. Facebook, Twitter). Instructors may apply penalties in case of violations of these rules.

Major assignments (those worth 10% of the course grade or more) must be submitted in hard copy. Students who do not submit ALL major assignments for a course cannot receive more than a 49% course grade. Assignments that are handed in late will, in general, receive a 5% per working day penalty deduction.

Plagiarism is a major academic offence and tough penalties apply (see the section “Academic Integrity” in the Academic Calendar). Make sure you know what plagiarism is. Ignorance is no defence. The Dean of Arts and Science will be notified about all cases of plagiarism and a note will be made in the student’s personal file.

Supplemental exams, essay rewrites, and makeup assignments are not generally allowed, other than in exceptional circumstances.

Resources

A Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a growing problem in universities everywhere, and it’s a serious violation of academic regulations and integrity. Many students who plagiarize say they didn’t realize that what they were doing was plagiarism. Download this handy guide, written and revised especially for Bishop’s students by Bishop’s professors, so that you can figure out how to avoid this pitfall that can very quickly tarnish or destroy your academic record.

English Department YouTube videos

Your professors have filmed short videos of seminars they have delivered on how to write essays, develop effective writing habits, master grammar and punctuation, and much more! Check out our YouTube channel or search “Dr. Riddell’s YouTube Channel”.