Short Written Assignments —
Analyses,
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 three things
that you didn’t understand, or that did not makes sense to you, and ask them.
Each question should be a single interrogative sentence.
You may precede your question by a single declarative sentence if you must “set up” your question.
Pretend the author were in the room: what do you want to ask?
- Quotes.
If I ask you to turn in a quotes from a reading, I’m asking for you to find
three short, pretty, insightful 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 edit.
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.
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
short synopsis of the article’s main points.
Tell me what the author is saying. Don’t tell me whether you agree or
disagree; just summarize, cogently, what you think is the
most important belief that 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 what it says.
Please do not provide me a list of points in fragmentary English;
I want a brief but thoughtful piece of prose.
Analyses should be 1-2 pages;
Summaries should be 0.5-1 page;
Questions and Quotes are enumerated lists
of well under a page.
Remember to typeset what you turn in, and remember that
formatting requirements are specified on the course-information sheet.