 |   |
|
Reading Reactions
Reading can be a rather passive activity (although not as passive as watching TV). Thinking and writing about what you have read will help you comprehend and remember it better, and give you an opportunity to examine your own reaction to what each author is saying. Writing helps you organize your thoughts and express them clearly and articulately. This will improve your ability to fully participate in discussion and build your confidence in writing and logically discussing issues in all of your classes.
As part of your participation in class, you will be asked to react to the reading in one of the following ways:
Bring an at least two page TYPED, double-spaced formal reading reaction summarizing what you learned from the reading and explaining why you agree or disagree with the author or how it relates to your own experience. If there is more than one reading, you should combine the readings into one reaction. Compare the readings, etc. (worth 4 points; see below) Unless otherwise specified, this is the type of reaction you should write. On occasion, you may be asked to format your reaction in on of the two following ways:
Bring three questions TYPED relating to the reading to bring up for class discussion. These questions may highlight where you think the author should have provided more information, where you think the argument is not clear or valid, or other questions that will inspire discussion. (worth 3 points)
Write in your journal on some aspect of the reading. (included in journal grade; 5 points each time submitted)
Make sure to head your reaction with your name (unless it's a journal entry), the date, and some way to identify the readings (titles and/or authors).
You may be asked to read your
reactions in class.
That's a
hint: re-read your paper to improve its presentation; excessive grammatical
and spelling errors are one indication of the effort you put into the
assignment! No, this is not an English class, but what better place than
freshman seminar to learn how to present your ideas clearly and effectively to
a non-English discipline instructor.
Formal reading reactions (Type 1):
You can earn up to 4 points for each reading response. To earn the maximum points, you must include a discussion of all the readings assigned for that day and the discussion must show considerable thought and analysis on your part. Here' s the scale:
4
Excellent: Writing shows real
thought, analysis and engagement with the reading.
Written in an imaginative manner, nice “turn of phrases.” (These
ratings are rare.)
3 Very Good: Writing
shows real thought analysis, and engagement with the reading.
2 Good: Demonstrates
you have read the material and given some thought to how it relates to your
experiences.
1 OK:
You’ve read the material but have not analyzed it.
0.5 Insufficient: You
turned something in, but it is very short and/or superficial.
Try harder!
Late responses:
I will deduct 1 point for each class day a response is late. It will not
be accepted if more than 1 week late. Example: a response is due
on a Tuesday. You will lose 1 point if you turn it in the following
Thursday (1 class day late); 2 points if you turn it in the following Tuesday
(2 class days late.) After that, you will get no credit for turning it
in.
Some ideas for reactions include:
Don’t try to address each of these points in each reaction.
Different readings will make you think about different reaction points. Try to
consider more than one approach to reacting to the readings over the semester.
Rereading your past reactions may help you think about current readings
differently too. If there are multiple readings for one class, you may
discuss all readings in one paper. I would expect this to be more than
two paragraphs,
though.