CSE 331: Readings

We will do four readings this quarter. For each one, you should choose one of the three article options we present, read it, and write a short reflection. Reflections are due on a Friday, and we will then discuss the readings the following Monday.

Schedule

Each reading asks a question about our motto for this course: Your job is to deliver code that you know works. The three articles for a reading answer its question differently.

Reading 1: due Friday, October 2; discussed Monday, October 5. When you say you know your code works, what do you actually know, and how did you come to know it?
Reading 2: due Friday, October 16; discussed Monday, October 19. Knowing takes work: saying exactly what a method must do, testing it, and reasoning about whether it does that. Is that work the job itself, or a tax on the job?
Reading 3: due Friday, October 30; discussed Monday, November 2. How much of that knowing happens before the first line of code, and how much of it is worth writing down?
Reading 4: due Friday, November 20; discussed Monday, November 23. Sooner or later you will change a program you did not write, whether a person wrote it or a machine did. What do you need besides the code, and can you get it?

Reflection Content

After reading your article, write a reflection with these three parts:

What does the reading argue? Explain the author's main claim and how they support it, in your own words. Reconstruct the argument, not just the conclusion. Be specific enough that a classmate who read a different article could follow. (About 5 sentences.)
What is your reaction? Which parts did you agree with? Disagree with? Are you unconvinced or unsure about any parts? Connect the article to your own experience as a programmer: a bug you chased, a project that got away from you, a test that saved you, code someone else wrote. (About 5 sentences.)
What do you want to discuss in class? Bring a question for your group on Monday, one your classmates might answer differently. Point to what in the reading raises it: something left unresolved, or a claim you would challenge. Give a concrete case that sharpens the question. Then sketch two answers: yours, and one a classmate might give. (About 5 sentences.)

AI use

A reflection is practice at reading an argument and deciding what you think of it. You only get that practice by doing it, so read the article and write the reflection yourself. You may ask AI to explain a term or an idea in the article, but not to summarize the article or tell you what it argues.

You may use AI for light editing: grammar, spelling, and trimming. If you do, say so on the submission form. Submitting AI-written text as your reflection is academic misconduct. The syllabus has the course's full AI policy.

In-class discussion

We discuss each reading in lecture the Monday after it is due. You will talk about your article in a small group. Others in your group may have read a different article, so be ready to explain yours. Be ready to discuss and debate your thoughts on the topic too.

We will take 15 to 20 minutes of lecture time to discuss the readings in small groups. After the discussion, you will each write a brief response on paper: what the discussion changed in your thinking, or one new thing you learned. It counts as an in-class activity (see Grading).

Grading

We grade reflections on thoughtful completion. Each of the three parts is marked Complete, Partial, or No credit. A part is Complete when it does what its prompt above asks, in your own thinking. A part is Partial when it is a real attempt that misses some of what the prompt asks, such as a summary that never reaches the author's main claim, or a reaction that only restates the article. If a part is empty, or if we judge that it shows no real effort, it gets No credit. The "About 5 sentences" in each prompt is a rough guide: a part that does its job in four sentences or in seven is Complete.

The late policy applies to reflections as it does to homework.