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Response Papers: 5%
These informal papers (300-600 words in length) will offer responses to selected stories and critical essays on the readings this semester. The list of possible subject articles will be distributed on Canvas > Files. This activity is designed to offer us critical approaches we can use to understand the course readings and the papers will be used to extend our discussions. These responses might also be integrated into the group project in interesting ways.
Go through the same process you went through for RP 2. Select an essay from the selections for Response Paper 3 under Files. Then, read it and annotate it.
– Write a brief response to the essay:
- on the first page (so around 300 words max) offer a brief summary of the essay’s argument or the parts of the essay you found compelling (e.g., you might quote the main claims or the most interesting points and summarize the essay’s beginning, middle, and end).
- on the second page (300 words max), try to extend/rebut the argument of the essay, either by pushing back against some of the claims (i.e., restricting an aspect of the argument that you think goes too far), or by extending an aspect of the argument you think is interesting and has further potential
- include a Works Cited entry for the essay
The idea is that you’ll use the essay as a starting point for imagining other possible paper topics or new questions we might ask about the book. Your response can be brief; you’re not expected to present a formal paper. You only need to produce a good paragraph summarizing the essay and another paragraph thinking about how you might use the essay to jumpstart a new paper. Most of your time will be spent reading and thinking about the essay; the Response Paper itself is designed as a space to brainstorm ideas and questions. So, lay out a brief summary of the interesting parts of the essay and explain how you might put these ideas to use in your own thinking and writing about the novel.
