Module Discussions: There are five discussion topics which correspond to each module. To earn credit for participating in these discussions every student must first complete each unit's discussions before the due date listed at the end of the syllabus. Each module has five topics to discuss, the minimum participation to complete each topic is to both demonstrate understanding of the topic and make an original contribution to each discussion. This means a minimum of five comments per module discussion set, however you may make as many comments as you like. Quality is much more important than quantity and every student is expected to demonstrate understanding of each discussion's topic and make an original contribution to each discussion, this can be done in many different ways, for example by analysis, synthesis, comparison, or analogy. Every student's posted discussions comments must be his or her own original non-plagiarized work, plagiarized material will result in no credit for the assignment and the class and may result in suspension. Each discussion set will be scored on a ten point scale where seven is average. Discussion comments may not be submitted after the discussion has closed and discussions will be scored within one week of the close of the discussion. If you follow the basic instructions for each discussion and do the minimum required work this will result in a score of seven. The maximum score for participation in all discussions is 80.

Module Videos: There are several videos assigned to each module that the students must watch and write a summary or review on each video. The summary or review must not be longer than three sentences. Each completed summary or review receives one point and these are added to the Discussion/Participation portion of the final grade. The videos are intended to complement the assigned chapter reading and should be completed prior or concurrent to the reading assignments.  If writing a summary, state what the video was about, if writing a review, state what precisely you learned.

This Research paper: This assignment is a 1500 word research paper based entirely on the text The American Nation following the instructions in A Short Guide to Writing About History, among other requirement this means you are not to use paranthetical (MLA) type references, you must use footnotes, follow the examples found in A Short Guide to Writing About History. In this paper you will support your thesis or in other words take a position and argue to defend the thesis. You may not use any sources other than The American Nation. You must use the thesis topic and thesis statement that was approved or assigned by the instructor.  Your paper must be your own original non-plagiarized work, plagiarized material will result in no credit for the assignment and the class and may result in suspension. Late papers will be deducted 10% of the grade per calendar day. Every paper will be checked by computer to make sure it is an original work.

The Paper Grading Criteria:The 1500 word research paper will be graded as follows:

Course Policies : All assignments must be completed when scheduled. A student's written assignment must be his or her own original non-plagiarized work, plagiarized material will result in no credit for the assignment and the class and may result in suspension. The Student has an obligation to respect the opinions of others, be courteous, allow the discussion of disparate views and interpretations, and be honest on exams.

Course Structure: This class is essentially a directed reading organized in a series of modules. Each module covers two or three chapters and corresponds to five discussions. In each module the student reads the introduction and chapters from the textbook, answers all the listed study questions and then reads the conclusion. Every student will discuss each module in the five discussions assigned to that module and watch and summarize/review a different number of related short videos.

Quizzes and Exams: There are several quizzes, one on writing about history and one for each module. These quizzes may be taken whenever available and may be taken more than once, only the highest score will be recorded. There will be two exams, one midterm and one final. These exams must be taken when offered, there will be no exceptions. This means the student has an approximate forty-eight hour window in which to take the exams. Each student is responsible for the computer and means used to connect to the internet used to take the exams. If you do not trust your computer's online connection use a different, reliable computer for taking the exams. Also when taking the exam do not leave the exam section, if you navigate you may not find your way back to the exam section, since you may enter each exam only once navigation can easily lead to no credit for that exam.