Guideline for Reading Responses
Description:
The purpose of the three Reading Responses is to have you read and analyze material outside of the assigned readings. I hope this is an opportunity for you to revisit a book you have always loved, or to discover a random picture book at the library, or to watch a movie you might have never watched otherwise. For me, the real purpose of these Reading Responses is to encourage you to take the ideas we have been exploring in class and to take them outside of class, all in the hopes that ideas will make more sense the more you apply them to different texts.
The three due dates are indicated on the Reading Schedule. I have tried to arrange those due dates so that nothing is due the day a Reading Response is due (as best as I can).
Your goal is to demonstrate a thorough understanding of course concepts by talking about them fluently as you apply them to a text of your choice.
Assignment:
For each of the three responses choose a text outside of the fourteen texts assigned for class. This can be any book, picture book, poem, film, or television episode. The text you choose must be designed for a child audience (or at the very least a pre-adolescent audience). I will leave this up to your discretion. Your choice does not have to be approved by me.
Read through or watch the text and make notes for yourself about course concepts that seem to apply. For binary concepts (Adult-Centered or Child-Centered for instance) decide if the text you have chosen is more or one tendency than the other.
Write a response that very explicitly covers the following information:
In other words, your writing should be a balance between talking about the big picture and very specific, detailed examples. Pay careful attention to what this assignment is asking for in the requirements below, and be sure check out the sample responses from semesters past. Probably the best way I can explain what I am looking for is to show you excellent examples, and you will find them here:
Requirements:
1. 3-4 page minimum,
typed, double spaced, stapled, 1 inch margins, no titles necessary. I would encourage you to feel free to write
more – short papers with choppy sentences, quick paragraphs, and undeveloped
ideas will naturally get much lower grades.
Papers that meet the basic requirements will most likely be in the B
range. Responses that fail to make it
onto at least the third page will fail.
2. The text you analyze MUST be something outside of our assigned readings. You cannot write on a text assigned for class, but you may discuss something mentioned in class. If it is an outside text we go over together for some reason, and you’d like to use it for a response, strive to say much more than the things we went over in class.
3. Demonstrate strong, quality writing.
That means your responses will be proofread, that you will have met all of the
expectations, and that they are especially thoughtful. It should be
obvious that you have taken your time to write something substantial, not
something slapped together. I am looking
for all of the qualities of strong writing: interesting ideas, compelling
evidence, and good organization. You don’t
have to take a month to write it, and you shouldn’t obsess over these, but I am
not looking for something you throw together at the last minute.
4. I DON’T WANT:
As you know, those simply aren’t the kinds of approaches we are taking in this class. Make sure you avoid phrases like, "This book is good because it teaches a valuable lesson about . . ." or "It is important for children to learn . . .”. In class we’ll discuss the idea that books don’t necessarily have to teach lessons, so you shouldn’t state it as though it is obviously true in your responses.
5. Avoid generalizations. Therefore, avoid stating opinions as
truths. Avoid any generalization about
all children. For example: “This book
will appeal to the imagination of children.”
I’m not saying children don’t have imaginations, but remember that one
of the important points in the Handout I gave you on the second meeting (the
one by Perry Nodelman) is that we make a mistake when
we lump all children together.
“Children” don’t love horses.
Some children do, but some don’t, so don’t state it like it is
absolutely true. Avoid talking about
what children like, what they won’t like, what it is important for them to
know, etc. Just remember, all children
are different.
6. Apply concepts. Make sure at some point in your responses
you use some term or concept that we have discussed in class. Use the term by name, use it correctly, and use your own words. Some of these concepts are broad and
difficult to define, so what I am really looking for is the intellectual work
going on in your brain to wrestle with these concepts.
7. Support your ideas. You can include opinions, but remember what
the responses are about – to demonstrate that you understand a term we have
been talking about. If you make
judgments about a book, always support your ideas with things we have been
talking about. Some of the best papers
really explore ideas by talking about what you are thinking (that is a great
thing to do) but aren’t merely reactions.
For instance, a good response might start, “As we’ve been talking in
class I have started to remember some of the things I liked about books when I
was younger.” That is a fine way to
start, it shows you are thinking about the idea, and your ideas are
changing. But don’t stop there. Analyze the text, along with your own
ideas. On the other hand, saying, “This
book is good because it is so funny” is more of an opinion, and doesn’t really
show you exploring an idea. Regardless, please feel free to use the
word “I” in this assignment.
8. Use quotations and examples, lots of them. Whenever you say something about the book, make it a point to refer to an example. Here is a good example of how to use and discuss examples: “Cat in the Hat really reinforces the typical case prototype we have been talking about. For example, the whole book builds towards a lesson. For instance, on the last page the narrator writes, ‘What would YOU do / If your mother asked you?’ (61). It is obvious that the reader is supposed to have learned to behave. Learning good behavior is one of the common assumptions we discussed, and a major quality of the typical case prototypes we have about children’s literature”
Include page numbers with every quotation (if it is a book,
count if you have to) or be clear about examples if it isn’t a book. For these responses, I am not as concerned
with works cited pages. Make sure that
if you quote something, however, it is in quotation marks and include some
citation (I prefer MLA style). Otherwise, taking others ideas as your own is
plagiarism, and with any sign of plagiaridm .
9. Please include
your name and our section number, so
I can keep things straight.
10. Be sure to pledge these responses.
General Suggestions:
It is difficult to talk about exactly what makes an A paper, because an intelligent, surprising, well-argued, insightful paper can look a million different ways. There is no single set of things I can tell you to do exactly, or a few things to change, and even if I had an exact set of things I was looking for, that still doesn't mean it is always easy to write a paper like that. Essentially what I am looking for is a compact, intelligent, surprising, well-argued, insightful paper - a paper that not only shows that you have been thinking about the ideas, but that you are really trying to learn and grow.
Here are general things to keep in mind:
You don't have to have an obvious thesis statement (such as, "This movie is child-centered"), and you especially don’t have to have a 5-paragraph essay, where you tell me what you are going to tell me, tell me in the three paragraphs, and then summarize what you told me. Start talking about your primary ideas and if you have strong connections then your ideas will make sense to a reader. Try not to take up a completely new idea in each paragraph
If you want to strengthen the paper, concentrate on examples. When I look at the essay I should see several page numbers, quotations, and / or discussions of your examples. Lead into your quotations and examples, and then explain the example or quotation afterwards in the next couple of sentences. Say, "for instance," and "for example" a lot throughout the paper.
As you read through your book, or watch the film, whatever, think to yourself, "Is there an issue or concept that jumps out at me? Things like interpellation, or the Carnivalesque, or self-referentiality? What are some examples of that concept? Is that issue connected with something else we talked about, like self-referentiality with inter-textuality?" Start the essay by just talking about a concept that leaps out at you, like interpellation.
Stop by my office hours with drafts. I am always willing to work through ideas with you.
Grading:
Grading is based on the intersection of five criteria – understanding of concept, application through examples, overall sense of course issues, choice of assignment, quality of writing.
A - Paper Exceeds
Expectations:
1. Excellent understanding of the terms used. It is clear the writer understands what she or he is talking about. In all, it is clear that the writer thought about the concept until she or he understood it, and then applied it in interesting ways, going beyond the obvious.
2. Paper uses a variety of interesting examples that are clearly explained and clearly support larger points.
3. Response shows that the writer is thinking about issues from the course. Writer makes a series of interesting connections, going beyond things we have talked about, bringing up new ideas. Occasionally refers to our discussions, or books we have read.
4. Writer chooses to analyze something interesting. Either they chose an interesting topic or looked at a common book in an interesting way. Writer took the time to come up with an interesting paper.
5. Strong paragraphs. Sentences vary in length and rhythm, and are pleasurable to read. Interpretations are smart, and clearly go beneath the surface.
Overall: An exciting, provocative, insightful analysis that could easily appear as an example on the webpage. Paper meets and exceeds assignment expectations.
B – Paper Meets
Expectations:
1. Good understanding of the terms used. Term is used accurately and appropriately.
2. Writer uses examples to establish points. There are a few examples, but they may not be surprising – just enough to make the point. Paper might have a new example in each new paragraph, and in the end just a few examples overall.
3. Writer applies a concept in good ways, but there is not much evidence of how those ideas overlap with things we have been talking about in class. The essay does what it should, but doesn’t necessarily push our ideas further in interesting ways.
4. Fair choice for the assignment. A good basic application of a term in relation to a text.
5. Good, fair, even strong writing. Full paragraphs, fair analysis. The essay might be a little too structured, not very fluid, although not as basic as a C essay. Writing could be a little more sophisticated.
Overall: Essay is good, and evidence that the writer is
thinking about ideas, and is learning.
Writing is at appropriate length with good substance.
C – Paper Meets
Expectations with Weaknesses:
1. The writer is still a little unsure about what she or he is talking about, but tries very hard to make sense of it. Definitions and applications of concepts are basic, or repetitions of what we went over in class. Writer isn’t quite sure of what the term means exactly, other than what we basically went over in class.
2. There aren’t many examples, only a few and they aren’t described very well or connected to larger points.
3. Some understanding of the issues we have gone over in class, but the writer doesn’t seem to put them all in context. Writer isn’t fully a participant in the conversations going on in class.
4. Writer doesn’t really do anything interesting with the assignment. Does what is required.
5. There are only a few paragraphs, the essay isn’t very long, and the sentences are choppy or repetitious. Grammar or poor word choice interfere with reading it. Or paper is a 5 paragraph essay, with each new paragraph introducing a brand new idea.
Overall: Paper meets requirements but there are clear weaknesses. Doesn’t show understanding of the things we have been talking about. Some element of the paper is poor.
D – Paper Fails
Expectations:
1. A very basic idea of the term.
2. No real examples.
3. Paper makes only a couple of vague points based on unsupported reactions to the book or general assumptions about childhood.
4. Not a very interesting choice for the assignment
5. Paper is quickly or sloppily written, and unclear.
Overall: A paper you could have written without having ever taken this class.
F – Paper Does Not
Follow Assignment:
1. Applies no term from class.
2. Uses no example from text.
3. No understanding of anything we have gone over.
4. Uses assigned text from class. Or there isn’t really any text that is being analyzed.
5. Paper is less than 3 pages. Paper is plagiarized. Paper is written so poorly that it cannot be considered to have met the assignment in any way.
Overall: Fails to meet the assignment.
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