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Commmunity College of Philadelphia
Paralegal Studies
Program
Introduction to Paralegal Studies
(PLS 101)
Course Syllabus Spring 2008 Distance
Instructor: Dave Freeman
Office: W3-28
Office hours: by appointment (I am more than
happy to meet with you – my schedule varies greatly depending on meetings and the like. Please do not hesitate email
if you’d like to come in and sit down and chat!)
Telephone: 215-751-8744 E-mail: dfreeman@ccp.edu or
Meeting Dates: On-Line
Prerequisites:
English 101 ready
Textbook:
Pennsylvania Rules of Professional Conduct
(This is a small paperback booklet available from the bookstore for less than $2.00. You may also obtain the rules through
Lexis my or off of the web.)
The United States Constitution (you can download a
copy from the web or obtain it off of the website)
Harr, Jonathan, A Civil Action
Website:
I will use the website to post some handouts.
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Meeting Dates: No live meetings presently planned. This may change in
the sole discretion of the instructor.
Prerequisites: Justice 101
Attendance: Failure
to turn in two weeks’ assignments or a failure to log into the course for more than two weeks’ and you will be
subject to being dropped from the course.
Lateness: Late items will not be accepted. This course is interactive and unless
you are submitting your work in a timely fashion you are not going to be able to proceed in this course.
Disability Policy: If you require assistance with any condition or disability you should consult the College catalog for direction. The Center on Disability is located at M1-22B and may be reached by telephone at 215-751-8307. I urge you to consult with that office immediately.
Unless you are working with the Center, we may not be able to provide the assistance you need.
Counseling Department: The Counseling Department is located in office W2-2. It is a great resource
for students that may be struggling with problems of a personal nature. The staff
is highly trained and very helpful and is available on a walk-in basis.
Plagiarism:
Plagiarism is a serious offense which has been made easier by the World Wide Web.
Very simply, it is a form of theft; that is, stealing someone’s work and passing it off as your own. This theft does not require you to physically steal someone’s paper, but most commonly, the offense
is done using the World Wide Web. While searching, students find an article that
covers their topic and then copy it and use it as their own.
If you are discovered having plagiarized, you will: (1) fail the assignment;
and (2) fail the course; and (3) I
will turn the matter over to the Dean of Student Affairs for disciplinary action. The
College and our program take this offense very seriously and so should you.
Evaluation:
Assignments
40%
There are five
assignments. Three in the first eight weeks and two in the last eight weeks. The earliest assignment will be worth the fewest
points, so you can see what I value and expect. The assignments will increasingly become more valuable in terms of points.
Assignments will be graded based upon responsiveness, content, clarity and style.
*Responsiveness
means that if you are asked a question concerning pancakes, your answer actually addresses the topic of pancakes.
*Content means
what level of knowledge your answer reflects. Does it show a grasp of the important major and minor concepts? Does the answer
reflect a grasp of the topic and connections to the other issues of the course? Mentioning one or two of the terms and throwing
in your own opinion does NOT reflect a sufficient knowledge of the subject.
*Clarity involves
whether the answer is able to be understood. Are the points able to be grasped from simply reading the response? Many times
this is not the case. Remember, especially in dealing with law, it is not a question of what you meant, it is a question of
what you have written. When we write something, we often are not there when our audience reads our work product, so we cannot
coach our reader by explaining answers more clearly.
*Style involves the completeness of your sentences, the organization of your paragraphs,
the correctness of your grammar and the appropriateness of your spelling and syntax. With spell-check features, there is very
little excuse for misspellings. Do your work in a Word document and spell-check it to avoid these mishaps. Take time to make
your work product perfect.
Forums 30% Each
forum will be worth one point unless otherwise noted. Forums are very time-sensitive; that is, our discussions about a topic
will take place during that week. If you don’t post during the time, it will not be given credit, since we will have
obviously moved on. The forums will be valued on the basis of content, clarity and style. A common mistake about forums is
that it is like instant messaging and grammar and spelling are not important.
This is an academic
environment and it is expected that these postings reflect the value of responsiveness, content, style and clarity. Answers
like “I agree with you” or “That’s certainly true” are not answers and will not be given credit.
You will not be given credit for an answer that is substantially similar to another classmate’s answer.
Tests 30%
There will be
tests in a short essay and in multiple choice format. The first test will be worth less than later tests, since it is a practice
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