Types of short written assignments —
Analysis,
Questions,
Quotes,
and
Summaries
You will occasionally be asked to write something on one of the readings
(or a film, in which case replace author by filmmaker).
This may be done as an alternative to my giving you a quiz on the reading (although
there could still be a quiz).
Here are the “types” of things I might ask for:
- Analysis.
If I ask you to turn in an analysis of a text, I am asking for your
own, insightful take on it. Do you strongly disagree with something?
Is there some striking use of symbolism or rhetoric you would like to point out?
Is the author an idiot, genius, a jerk?
Are there implicit assumptions or misrepresentations in the work that others might not see?
Please make your analytic points specific; I don’t want a bunch
of generalities or unsupported opinions. Find something interesting to say.
Credit any ideas not your own.
- Questions.
If I ask you to turn in an questions on a reading,
please identify something that you didn’t understand, or that did not makes sense to you,
and then ask it as a question.
Your question should be a single interrogative sentence.
You may precede it by a single declarative sentence if you must “set up” your question.
Pretend that the author was in the room: what do you want to ask her/him?
Don’t ask a rhetorical question, nor something that you know the answer to.
If you have more than one question you would like answered,
go ahead and ask them all.
- Quotes.
If I ask you to turn in a quotes from a reading, I’m asking for you to find
three short, pretty, insightful, not-trivial-to-understand quotes.
Give the page reference.
You may redact for clarity or concision, but
use an ellipses if you do so. Bracket any change in
capitalization or wording, and bracket any elided antecedent resulting from your edits.
After each quote, spend a paragraph or so to discuss what it means,
in the context of the reading, to the author.
Choose your quotes with care; don’t grab random sentences and expect credit.
Your quotes should not appear close to one another in the reading.
Come to class prepared to discuss the quotes you selected.
- Summary.
If I ask you to turn in a summary of a reading, I’m asking for a
cogent synopsis of the article’s thesis.
Tell me the main claim the author is trying to make.
Don’t tell me whether you agree or disagree; just summarize, beautifully, what you think is the
most important claim the author puts forward.
The right way to write a summary is to read an article in its entirety,
put it aside, and then explain the author’s key belief.
Do not provide an outline or list of points in fragmentary English;
I want a thoughtful piece of prose.
As a rule of thumb, an Analysis should be about 500 words;
Summaries, about 300 words; Questions and Quotes, I don’t care.
You will not be penalized for writing more.
Remember to typeset what you turn in, and remember the
formatting requirements on the course-information sheet.