Reading Summaries

At regular intervals, you will be assigned to read articles and excerpts related to the course material. You must turn in a written summary of each reading in class at the start of lecture, on the due date. When there are multiple readings assigned as once, you still have to submit only one summary, covering all readings at once. The summary should be typed. It should occupy no more than one page (expected length: approximately 1/2 - 2/3 page). Quality is valued over quantity. Summaries over a page will actually have points lost. Assume that the reader of your summary is a competent computer scientist who has not read the article before.

Each summary should contain the following:

The summaries will be graded on a four point scale as indicated above, with focus on quality answers. Be sure to include specifics and back up your statements with data from the article/your particular experiences. Provide minimal, if any, direct quotes - this is your summary. Overall, our intention is to use the summaries as a learning tool, promoting analysis of the readings. They should not take very long to complete. If you summarize the main points from the article, and provide a reasonable critical analysis, you should get full points.