ESF 309 Honors Exploration Seminar * Fall 2006 Course Syllabus **
Tuesdays, 4:00 - 4:55pm, 300 Bray Hall (Ref # 16931, Sec 001) or (Ref # 16932, Sec 002)
Instructor: Marla A. Bennett, Ph.D, Director of the ESF Honors Program
Honors Office Hours: Thursdays, 3-4:30pm, or by appointment
227 Bray Hall, SUNY ESF * (315) 470-6599 * email: mbennett@esf.edu
Required Text: Lipson, Charles Doing Honest Work in College: How to Prepare Citations, Avoid Plagiarism,
and Achieve Real Academic Success. 208 p., 2004. Available from Follett's Orange Bookstore or Amazon.com.
Course Objectives: After completing this course, the student should be able to:

Understand what a thesis project is;

Understand what personal resources (time, energy, motivation, etc.) are necessary for successful
completion of a thesis project;

Write a statement that describes the research or project topic;

Identify a faculty member who will serve as the honors advisor;

Submit a project plan that outlines the schedule of courses, justification for the courses and a timeline
for completing the thesis project;

Understand the types of research methods used for independent, scholarly research;

Be engaged in a process of self-evaluation and enhancement.
Course evaluation and grading: The instructor will evaluate assignments using the following criteria:
1.
Quality of written and oral expressions, including clarity of ideas, organization, use of the English
language, the logical development of thoughts & ideas, and relevance to the course content;
2.
Follow the style sheet provided by the ESF Writing Center. See
http://www.esf.edu/writingprogram/guidelines.htm;
3.
The Grammar Project is an independent project. It is not a collaborative effort.
35 + 5%
Submission of forms H-1, H-2, H-3, and resume
20%
Successful completion of the Grammar Project (minimum score of 75%)
20%
Critical Thinking Paper
10%
Reflection Papers
10%
Class attendance and final meeting
Description of assignments:
Forms (35%): Students will submit the following forms to 227 Bray Hall by 4:30 pm on Friday, 8 December
2006:
Request to Appoint Thesis/Project Advisor (H-1): This form is signed by the student, the person who has agreed
to be the honors advisor, and the Faculty Chair or Undergraduate Program Coordinator in the student’s Faculty.
Academic Plan Form (H-2): This form outlines the plan to meet the program requirements including: when the
student will complete ESF 309; what courses the student will use to count toward the coursework requirements;
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how the student will distribute the ESF 499 credits; how the student will present the research (either at an
individual seminar or at the Spotlight on Student Research Symposium); and when the student intends to
graduate. The Honors Advisor must sign this form.
Course Proposal and Justification Form (H-3): Submit one form for each of the two courses used to meet honors
program requirements. If a proposed course gets cancelled, or if the student and advisor determine that a
different course makes more sense, the student should submit a new Form H-3 and amend the Academic Plan
Form (H-2). At the completion of the Honors Program, the Honors Program Director will audit the student’s
Academic Plan Form and Course Justification Forms to make sure the courses are the same as noted on those
forms. The purpose of this process is to ensure that the students and the students’ advisors are in communication
with each other and are in agreement with the program requirements.
If, at the end of the semester, a student decides to terminate participation in the Honors program, the student
must submit a 500-word essay on why the student has decided NOT to continue in the Honors Program. This
essay will replace the forms as a component of the final course grade.
Resume (5%): In order to be nominated for national, regional, and local awards including Who’s Who Among
American College Students, ESF Class Marshal, Oak Leaf Awards, The National Honor Society, and the SUNY
Chancellor’s Award For Student Excellence, I must have information to prepare letters of recommendation.
Students should also give resumes to any individual from whom they are requesting letters of reference for
graduate school admission or employment. The purpose of this requirement is to have the student create a
resume that accurately reflects the student’s skills and accomplishments. The resume is due by 28 September
2006. The grade will be based upon receipt of the form, not the content. If I receive resume, I will give an “A”
for the assignment. If I do not receive a resume, I will give an “F” for the assignment. To read more about
resumes, visit the OWL at Purdue University: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/564/01/
Grammar Test (20%): The Grammar project will be administered via Blackboard. The project will be activated
at 8:00 am on Friday, 20 October 2006 and the site will become inactive on Friday, 10 November 2006 by
10:00 pm.
Critical Thinking Paper (20%): The purpose of this exercise is to motivate students to identify their thesis
topic, formulate clear problem statements, and identify the citation styles they will use for the theses. This is
also good practice in making a case for the use of data.
Why is the thesis topic important? Why is the source you identify necessary to understand the topic? For
example, if the thesis topic is in the area of environmental policy, find a piece of legislation that will be the
subject of the final paper and describe the importance of the legislation. What citation style is appropriate for the
thesis topic? Where will you find information to complete the literature review or background for the research?
WARNING: Research methods should be “robust” and reproduce-able, and many internet sites disappear
without warning or re-direction. Go to this SU internet site to see why:
http://library.syr.edu/research/refshelf/evaluat.htm. Therefore, no more than 10% of your honors thesis
references may be from internet “primary” sources. The only exception to this rule is when the original,
primary source has been scanned and is available on-line (which makes the internet a secondary source of the
primary source). If this is the situation you must cite that the original, primary source was published on-line, not
that the internet page was “the source.” Read about how to cite sources cited on other sources here:
http://www.wpunj.edu/wpcpages/library/citing.htm. The Critical Thinking Paper should be 2-4 pages long and
you should follow the guidelines in the “Guidelines for Writing College Papers,” written by faculty of the ESF
Writing Center: http://www.esf.edu/writingprogram/guidelines.htm.
Reflection Papers (10%): I will give time at the end of class to write a one to two page reflection paper on the
issues raised during class and/or I will give at least one day to send an email about the issues raised in class.
These reflections should describe and integrate the class discussions and reading assignments.
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Class Attendance (10%): The class will meet according to the following schedule:
Course Meeting Date
Topic
Readings and Assignments
Tuesday, 12
September 2006
1. Introduction to the course; review of
course syllabus; discussion of course and
program objectives, readings,
assignments, and expectations.
Reflection Paper # 1 [due end of class]:
“What do I want to achieve in the Honors
Program?”
Take home Reading # 1: “An Honors
Essay” – read it before the next class
session.
Read the text -- Lipson, Charles Doing
Honest Work in College: How to
Prepare Citations, Avoid Plagiarism, and
Achieve Real Academic Success.
Tuesday, 19
September 2006
2. Discuss research ethics, plagiarism, and
other uncommon grounds.
Take home Readings 2 & 3: “A Guide to
the Honors Thesis Project at ESF,” and
“Tables of Contents” – to read before the
next class session.
Tuesday, 26
September 2006
No class this week
Resume due by Friday. Send via email
attachment (5%)
OPTIONAL
Wednesday, 27
September 2006
SU Graduate School Fair, Goldstein
Auditorium (Schine Student Center) 57pm
OPTIONAL
Thursday, 28
September 2006,
4-5pm, 5 Illick Hall
Distinguished Professor Myron J.
Mitchell, Adaptive Peaks Seminar “From
Mongolian To Adirondack Ecosystems:
Influence Of Climate Change On
Biogeochemistry”
Reception in 12 Illick Immediately
following the seminar
Tuesday, 3 October
2006
3. Components of an honors thesis – what
does it look like?
Out of class assignment, Reading #4.
Read an honors thesis, available in Moon
Library. Remember the Critical Thinking
Paper!
Tuesday, 10 October
2006
4. Understanding quantitative and
qualitative research
No assignments due.
Tuesday, 17 October
2006
5. Advisors’ Forum:
Reflection Paper # 2, due via email by
Friday, 20 October: “How I will find an
honors advisor and topic.”
Tuesday 24 October
2006
No class this week
Critical Thinking Paper due by Friday,
28 October (20%).
Tuesday, 31 October
2006
No class this week
No assignments due.
Tuesday, 7 November 6. Game Day – Is The Honors Program a
Grammar Project due by 10:00 pm.
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2006
Trivial Pursuit?
Friday 10 November 2006 (20%)
Tuesday, 14
November 2006
7. Final group meeting. Discuss research
funding, deadlines, Spotlight on Student
Research, best thesis prize, Graduate
School, etc.
Establish individual meeting with Dr.
Bennett for before the end of the semester
Friday, 8 December
2006
No class – see assignment due
Forms H-1, H-2, & H-3 (or HWD) due
by 4:30 pm, 227 Bray Hall (35%)
Resources
Johnson, Edward D. The Handbook of Good English. (Facts on File Publication: NY, 1982).
McCaskill, Mary K. Grammar, Punctuation, and Capitalization. A Handbook for Technical Writers and Editors.
Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (NASA SP-7084)
[http://stipo.larc.nasa.gov/sp7084/sp7084cont.html]
“Words That Are Often Confused,” http://lbarker.orcon.net.nz/words.html
The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Ed. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003)
ESF Syllabus Version 9.8.2006
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