Reading Response Guidelines

RR Guidelines:
These must be typed. While I do want you to answer each of the questions below clearly and thoughtfully, I expect these assignments to be about 1/2 page to 3/4 page (single-spaced) only. Answer the questions in one long paragraph. Each response to a question should be between one and three sentences long. Do not number the components. Try to move from question to question coherently—these are just responses; you are not trying to write a complete essay. I expect you to bring the assignment with you to class AND to contribute your ideas/responses during class. Later, these might prove useful in other writing assignments.


1. What is the thesis of this piece? If you can identify it in one, clear sentence, quote it. Otherwise, paraphrase what you see as the main idea. Is there evidence to support it? What is that evidence? Are there other ways in which the thesis is developed? Is it ever contradicted? {Don’t forget: a thesis is NOT a topic, but a statement about a topic.} (5 points)
2. Who is the individual? What is the system? What does this relationship have to do with the thesis? (2 points)
3. Look for “tricks,” or techniques, in pieces of writing that you might mimic in or remember for your own work. The author/filmmaker might have a particularly good line or interesting image. There might be something about the way the information is arranged. You might like the way the title works with the content. There might be some fascinating bit of information in the essay. Look for a technique you like. Does its effectiveness relate to the thesis in any way? (5 points)
4. Compare this to something else you have read/seen/heard. How is it like that? Feel free to make a strange connection. (1 point)
5. Consider the overall effectiveness of this piece. Does it successfully do what it sets out to do? Does it have any weaknesses? Does anything need to be clarified? (1 point)
6. What is one new word you learned while reading this? (Look up the definition and include it here.) If there were no unfamiliar words, look up a new word in general and record it here. (1 point)