Tips on Preparing Your “Reading Responses”
Reminder: You are responsible for five (5) reading responses over the course of the semester. At least two of these have to be completed in the first half of the semester (before spring break), and the remainder after. These are due by 10:00 PM the day before the class session in which we are scheduled to discuss that particular reading.
Here are some suggestions for writing productive reading responses. It’s important to know what they aren’t: They are not summaries, book reviews, or opportunities for you to tell me (and others) how you “feel” about the book, author, or argument. In fact, since they are relatively short (approx. 2-3 pages), there are a lot of things they can’t be!
Reading responses are intended to help you read secondary sources more carefully and “critically.” This doesn’t mean that you need to criticize the author, but rather that you bring a critical judgment to your reading, which will involve your ability to carefully and accurately find the author’s main points and then evaluate them in light of: your understanding of the history, other arguments that have been presented, evidence that has been brought to bear, the author’s theoretical or conceptual approaches, etc.
All the Reading Response possibilities are drawn from “secondary sources.” Unlike the reading of primary sources, where you need to be close readers (paying much attention to the way authors construct their narratives and the historically contextualized meanings of their words), the most useful approach to secondary sources involves understand what, exactly, the author is arguing. Think of answering the following questions: What is the main point of the article? The key question/s the author is addressing is/are? The author’s main conclusions or inferences are? The key concept the author addresses in the article is? The main assumptions underlying the author’s argument are? The author’s main point of view is?
Looking for the larger argument is especially important when reading history since, often, the argument can seem buried in a mountain of details and facts.
Other tips:
1. Use evidence (i.e., quotes from the reading) to substantiate your own argument. If you argue that the author’s perspective is “x”, provide some evidence to support your statement.
2. What is your reasoned opinion about the author’s argument? Again, this is not the same as how you “feel,” about it, but whether you agree or not and why (evidence, again, is important – from this source or others). You might want to consider whether you have any particular vested interests in your own approach to the topic.
3. Does the author’s argument make sense? Is it logical? Does it leave certain perspectives out? Does it present its argument with the necessary complexity or is it simplistic?
4. What is the significance of the article? Is the subject of the article compelling? Important?
5. What kind of evidence is most important for the author? Is there evidence that seems to be left out?
Finally, your response should raise 2-3 substantial questions about the article (not content questions) that you would like to see raised in class discussions.
Reminder: You are responsible for five (5) reading responses over the course of the semester. At least two of these have to be completed in the first half of the semester (before spring break), and the remainder after. These are due by 10:00 PM the day before the class session in which we are scheduled to discuss that particular reading.
Here are some suggestions for writing productive reading responses. It’s important to know what they aren’t: They are not summaries, book reviews, or opportunities for you to tell me (and others) how you “feel” about the book, author, or argument. In fact, since they are relatively short (approx. 2-3 pages), there are a lot of things they can’t be!
Reading responses are intended to help you read secondary sources more carefully and “critically.” This doesn’t mean that you need to criticize the author, but rather that you bring a critical judgment to your reading, which will involve your ability to carefully and accurately find the author’s main points and then evaluate them in light of: your understanding of the history, other arguments that have been presented, evidence that has been brought to bear, the author’s theoretical or conceptual approaches, etc.
All the Reading Response possibilities are drawn from “secondary sources.” Unlike the reading of primary sources, where you need to be close readers (paying much attention to the way authors construct their narratives and the historically contextualized meanings of their words), the most useful approach to secondary sources involves understand what, exactly, the author is arguing. Think of answering the following questions: What is the main point of the article? The key question/s the author is addressing is/are? The author’s main conclusions or inferences are? The key concept the author addresses in the article is? The main assumptions underlying the author’s argument are? The author’s main point of view is?
Looking for the larger argument is especially important when reading history since, often, the argument can seem buried in a mountain of details and facts.
Other tips:
1. Use evidence (i.e., quotes from the reading) to substantiate your own argument. If you argue that the author’s perspective is “x”, provide some evidence to support your statement.
2. What is your reasoned opinion about the author’s argument? Again, this is not the same as how you “feel,” about it, but whether you agree or not and why (evidence, again, is important – from this source or others). You might want to consider whether you have any particular vested interests in your own approach to the topic.
3. Does the author’s argument make sense? Is it logical? Does it leave certain perspectives out? Does it present its argument with the necessary complexity or is it simplistic?
4. What is the significance of the article? Is the subject of the article compelling? Important?
5. What kind of evidence is most important for the author? Is there evidence that seems to be left out?
Finally, your response should raise 2-3 substantial questions about the article (not content questions) that you would like to see raised in class discussions.