I need a second and third opinion. In Anthropology, we had a term paper due on tuesday. I didnt attend class on tuesday for various reasons, rest assured, I dont just skip class. I keeo up on all of my term papers and tests(generally) but somehow this one slipped by me and I dont know what it’s over. There is no policy in the syllabus about late work. The thing is 8 percent of the grade. Do I just write the damn thing and turn it in after not being there for a week with a good excuse? Do I contact the prof. before hand? Do I just shrug it off and bust my balls on all the others?
Meet with the prof and apologize for the lateness and ask him or her to accept a late paper, and ask for an explanation of how lateness affects the grade. If s/he accepts the paper, say thank you very politely. If s/he declines the paper, say thank you very politely and mark it down as a “learning experience.” Do not bitch, moan or whine (here or anywhere else) about how unfair it all is.
Absolutely contact the prof. Most of them are willing to make some concessions for unavoidable delays or absences. Even if the prof says “Too bad, so sad.” it shows him or her that you are taking the class seriously.
Under no circumstances would I just ignore it. It’ll show the prof that you just blew off his assignment.
Ditto.
Ditto.
Did you know it was loaded? Sounds like someone’s due for a term paper safety awareness brush-up.
Oh, and ditto: talk to the prof ASAP
Rest assured, Im not one to bitch and moan. I just know of more college experienced people here than anywhere else, this is the first time ive done this, and id say its entirely possible the old guy posts here.
If you have a good reason for missing class, and it being the sort of reason that makes it impossible to notify the professor beforehand, you might be able to turn it in late even if he doesn’t normally take late papers. And if he’ll take it at all, even for partial credit, that’s better than none.
And I would still bust my butt on any remaining assignments, but if you talk to him at least he’ll know you’re taking the class somewhat seriously.
If you’re lucky, and he/she is reasonable, you might just sacrifice 5-10 points for each day it’s late. Of course, this is Thursday, so you’re falling fast even then.
Only 8%? You can still make a B in the class, even if you don’t do the paper!
Hey, it worked for me all through high school. 
A similar thing happened to me once. I had a term paper due which was worth 10% of the grade. The paper was assigned a week and a half before it was due (we knew about it beforehand, but no subject was given until then). I was absent that day due to a rebellious uterus, but I made it to the other two classes between then and the due date. The prof was absent for THOSE two classes, due to a conference, and the TA subing for him never mentioned the paper. I had gotten the notes for the class I missed off a classmate, but he didn’t mention to me that the paper topic had been assigned. That wasn’t his fault - I didn’t ask, and he didn’t think to tell me. It really was just a bunch of things that led to my never finding out about the topic and date.
So the due date comes along, and the prof tells the class to put the papers at the front…and I basically say “what paper?” I had to beg him after class to let me submit it (it was only a 3-4page summary of something, and I knew I had time to do it that very night). He eventually said yes, and gave me 3 days I think, but I handed it in late the very next day. I didn’t get a fantasic grade, but it was better than 0, and I guess I deserved it.
Talk to your prof. You just never know.
The sooner you talk to the prof the better. The more time you let go by, the more it appears that you either don’t care about your grade or are that out of touch with class happenings that you don’t know when stuff’s due. Ideally, you should have contacted him/her as soon as you realized the problem.
Good luck.