Reading Assignments

At regular intervals, you will be assigned to read articles and excerpts related to the course material. All reading assignments are listed on this page and on the course calendar. You will be asked to write summaries or answer questions to indicate your comprehension of the key ideas in the reading.

If the reading involves multiple articles/chapters, then you only need to perform one activity (e.g., submit only one summary, not one summary per article/chapter).

When you turn in a response, it should be less than one page long (expected length: approximately 1/2 - 2/3 page). Quality is valued over quantity. Submissions over one page will receive no credit.

Responses to reading questions should be organized into several short paragraphs. At the beginning of each paragraph, state which question or set of questions you are answering. Your answers will be graded on a 2N point scale, where N is the number of assigned questions.

Summaries should contain the following paragraphs:

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 or your particular experiences. Provide minimal, if any, direct quotes. 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.