Online Reading Response: Instructions

First-time Instructions

We won't go through these instructions every time you need to write a reading response, but since this is the first time...

Read the instructions carefully. 

You may submit your post in the text box of the assignment/discussion thread. 

When writing your response paper, in general, you should take one of the prompts provided and write at least three paragraphs on the prompt. Detail the question you are trying to answer in your first paragraph (or copy and paste the prompt at the top of the document). One common format for a response paper is answering the question in the first paragraph, and using the following paragraphs to provide examples. But feel free to experiment with formats -- you may want to post audio, video, graphs, pictures; you may want to wind your way to an answer at the end of your post after working through examples; you may make your post a series of annotations of relevant quotes. The important thing is to engage meaningfully with the question.

In general, try to answer the prompt in a personal way if possible, using specific examples from your own life or from things you have heard about or seen in the news or in your community. If there are examples in the text that relate to the question, reference them. Tying an aspect of the text to aspects of your life and aspects of history or current affairs is one of the best ways to master material, as knowledge is integrative. We don't truly understand new material until we can start connecting it to things we already know and care about. Make use of that!

The response may be required to be more or less formal in tone, but should always be checked for basic spelling and grammatical errors. 

Read other people's response posts. Other people will be posting their responses in the discussion and you may be asked to read them and respond to them as part of your grade.  Please read the instructions for each discussion or assignment for your posting requirements based on your credit track (i.e. Option 1: Credit, Option 2: Badge. . . ).  

Respond honestly, while being civil. If the writer has major misconceptions about the material, let them know. If they make a good point that you never really thought about before, let them know that too. But act like a peer in the comments, not a teacher. To the extent you "correct" their work, make it about your reaction to what they wrote.

Promote awesomeness. 

Prompts are next item in this module.