Extra Credit

Here's the deal on extra credit. The most effective way to take notes is to sit down sometime shortly after class, review and rewrite your notes. Take the sketchy outline notes -- the name, date, abbreviated definition sort of thing you write during class -- and put them into what can be called a narrative form. Write out your notes using whole sentences, and organize them into paragraphs. By forcing yourself to think through the gaps in your notes, you'll write out the relationships and comparisons you forgot to put into your notes.  This does take some effort and about an hour of your time, but it is worth it.  

I will give you one-point extra credit for each lecture "write up" that you turn in. But there are some requirements:

• You must write the report from your own notes.  If you miss the class you can not get extra credit by working through someone else's notes.
• It must be your write up.  Turning in someone else's write up is plagiarism.  Having your boyfriend type up a report from your tape recording of the lecture is plagiarism.  You are claiming it is your work.  If it is really someone else's work, then you have committed plagiarism.
• It must be one to two pages long, and typed.  The report must be labeled with your name, the date of the lecture, and the lecture title.
• It must be turned in within two class meetings of the lecture. I will not accept late extra credit reports. I will return reports on the third lecture after I have presented the material.

While one point isn't very much, one point for each lecture is worth almost an entire letter grade. Don't wait until the final week of the semester! The real advantage is that you’ll do much better on the exams.