Reading Response Assignments

Each reading response should summarize the article’s main argument, major points, and any other important statistics, data, or information. The other part of the response is a short review of the major points and main argument laid out by the article. Which areas do you find true or untrue? Is the article founded on solid research, logical concepts, and/or relevant events and information? Is this article/essay useful for the topic or unit overall? While you do not have to answer all these questions in one page, you should address them during your thought process.

These assignments can also be done with other articles/essays not assigned as homework, whether from the textbook or your own research. However, please keep in mind that they should each be treated the same way as any article assigned as reading homework.

Please keep the following concepts in mind as you do these assignments:

• Is your text a written or visual text? Is it a combination of both? These factors will play into your summary and response to the text.
• Who wrote/created the text? What credentials do they have as an author and on the topic?
• When was the text written/created? In what context is the author speaking on/to the topic?
• What is the intended audience? If you feel included as part of the audience, think of why s/he is writing to you. If you feel excluded, think of ways s/he might be more inclusive – or why they may have excluded you from their intended audience.
• Gloss over the sources and information used by the author. Are these sources credible? Do they support the main argument?

You don’t have to mention all of these concepts in your response; after all, you only have 1 to 3 pages to do so. However, keep them in mind as you write, and use the 1 or 2 concepts that you feel influence your response the most. For instance, if you feel that an article is very exclusive to college-level students or does not consider their perspectives or positions effectively, use that to comment on overall usefulness.

You will need to do five reading responses this semester. The due dates are as follows:

Reading Response #1 – Thursday, January 23rd
Reading Response #2 – Tuesday, February 4th
Reading Response #3 – Tuesday, February 18th
Reading Response #4 – Tuesday, March 11th
Reading Response #5 – Tuesday, April 8th