FAQ

A first question which is often asked is, "how long should the paper be?" And I have no answer to that. It should be as long as needed to demonstrate your knowledge of the period covered. Most students in this course send in 2-4 pages. I had one student who turned in about 30-35 pages per period. (He was truly interested in the subject matter and a bit of a "buff" on the topic....they were very good papers.)

A second problem which people face is that the two types of information (e-mail and Web text and lectures) take very different chronological approaches to the subject matter. The one is by historic period, and the other, of course, is by dates of events in history. Some people have taken the approach in their papers of dividing the papers into two sections corresponding to the two types of information sent. Others have done a very nice job of keeping records of the daily events and/ or of using the Web posting of the daily events (where the entire year of notes --and more information-- is at your disposal--at: ../German/culthist.html The St. Thomas internal search engine at: http://www.stthomas.edu/ (top right corner) will be of help in this. It is at the bottom right of the page to which the link above will take you.) These students have then integrated the two approaches to information. Of course there are a wide variety of other sources of information at your disposal too on my web pages, on other web pages, and in libraries.

A third question which is often asked is, "what are you looking for for grading purposes?" Well, this question I refuse to answer! (and not because I am in a bad mood) The "P" in "PLDI" stands for "personal". The course is for your learning. If I grade you according to a preconceived notion I have in my head as to the structure of the papers or what the papers should contain, I am forcing your mind to conform to mine. I want to know from these papers what you have learned, how well you have made a part of your intellectual resources the material I have presented to you and other material on the subject you have acquired from other sources. (Web, books, newspapers, school, life experience, intellectual discussions, rational conclusions, etc.) I value creativity, insights, broad information, perspectives, speculation and specific knowledge. (Now some in the past, have used this notion to go off on tangents which have nothing to do with the subject matter we are suppose to be dealing with...such is not useful and not valued. Be careful of that temptation!) The bottom line is: impress me with how much you know and how well you can present your knowledge. If I learn from reading your paper I am grateful; if I gain intellectual insight from your paper, I am very grateful; if your paper causes intellectual excitement in me, I am most grateful. Be assured that I will be reasonable and fair in grading the papers. If you are presenting something that is way off the mark, I'll tell you.

Well, that is about all I can tell you. Enjoy the learning and enjoy the experience of presenting your learning in a personalized inventory. Present work of which you are proud and it will most likely gain a grade which will make you proud.

P. A. Schons