OPEN UNIVERSITY POLICIES

Tutors. The Open University refers to its faculty as "tutors", rather than "teachers".   A tutor is someone who helps the student do his or her own learning.  The tutor stands "aside" of the student, not "above" as is sometimes implied by the concept of teacher.  Your tutor's primary responsibility is to help you with your own education.

Turning in Assignments. Your syllabus indicates due dates for assignments.  Tutors will not accept batches of assignments at the final examination  unless  prior arrangements have been made.   It is incumbent on you, then, to keep up with your written work.  If you mail your assignments, be sure to include a self-addressed, stamped envelope or your assignment will not be returned by mail.  If you use the mail, keep a duplicate of your assignment  in case the original gets lost.

 NOTES ON PREPARATION OF ASSIGNMENTS FOR OPEN UNIVERSITY COURSE

     As a  student  in the Open University,  your performance will be judged on the basis of the writing you do for your course.   In most instances, you will be asked to write papers on assigned topics.  The information in the notes below is intended to provide you with some pointers to help you with these assignments.

Format.  Papers should be typed double-spaced whenever possible.  Handwritten papers will be accepted, but only if done in pen, legibly written, using one side of the paper only.  All papers should have a cover sheet with the title of the paper, your name, the course title, the tutor's name, and the date.

Writing style.  Papers should be written clearly and concisely in serious prose style.  The basic rules of grammar and punctuation must be observed.  If you have problems with your writing, seek help.   Your tutor will point out problems, but cannot be expected to give you help that properly belongs to a  writing  course.  There are many useful references if you need help.  Among them are Bell & Cohn's Handbook of Grammar, Style and Usage, and Legget, Mead  &  Kramer's Handbook for Writers.  If  your  prose  style  is unclear, your tutor cannot be expected to grade your paper as if it were clearly written. Clear writing and clear thinking  equates with clarity of understanding.  Your tutor will be looking for clarity.

Citing sources.   Sources of all materials, ideas, and concepts other than your own must be acknowledged.  In other words, you must cite sources in your papers.  Referencing must be done according to a standard format.  Either footnotes or endnotes will do. If there is any question about what constitutes standard format, refer to Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations.  Not to acknowledge sources constitutes plagiarism, which is subject to severe academic penalties.  Plagiarism is the presentation of another persons's idea or products as  one's own.   Plagiarism includes copying verbatim all or part of another's written work; using phrases, charts, figures, or illustrations without citing the  source; paraphrasing ideas, conclusions or research without citing the source.  Thus, when using another's ideas, quote exactly as written and cite the source, or paraphrase and cite the source.

Essay Form for Papers.   Papers frequently take the form of an essay.  The essay form requires that there be a thesis, that it be clearly stated, supported, and that a conclusion be drawn.  Essays have a minimum of three components: the introduction, the body, and the conclusion.  You should carefully review each of your papers to see that they include each of the components.

In writing papers several clues should be considered.

• Relevance to assigned topic.  Analyze rather than describe. Decide on sub-headings implied by your topic and attack each sequentially. 

• Coherent structure.  The arguments and facts you use should be like the ribs on a skeleton--all clearly related to the backbone of your paper.

• The form.  Most essay forms require that you consider at least two points of view  (probably opposing).  Most would like you to state a preference for one view or another. You should illuminate your arguments from the main texts and additional information from  studies studies you  regard as important for your paper.

Most writers draft, re-write, and draft again as many times as it takes to get the final version in its correct form.  Thus, you will probably have to edit and re-edit your paper before you submit it to your tutor.  Remember your tutor is supposed to tell you how one concerned reader evaluates what you have written.