reading response for an article

Social Justice and Human Rights

Reading Responses

Due at start of class

Students are required to write 10 reading response papers, each worth 2.5 marks, which adds up to a 25% of the final grade. These assignments are due at the start of the class and they concern the readings for that class. For instance, the reading response for the readings on May 8 (Hobbes & Locke) are due at the start of the class on May 8. The reading responses are intended to be short exercises that get you to do the reading before class and to start thinking about the reading before we discuss it in class. Accordingly, you should write roughly 500 words and you should respond to the set of readings as a whole. That is, for May 8, you respond to Hobbes and Locke in one response rather than in two separate responses. The reading responses are intended to be more than a mere summary (they said this, then they said that, and then they said this again), but less than an essay (you are not making an argument). What you are doing is recording your response to the readings. Thus, I am looking for you to say what you found interesting (or uninteresting) in them, what you found important (or unimportant) in them, what you understood (or didn’t understand) in them, any comments or observations you have about them, and, possibly, connections you see between different sets of readings or how connections between the readings and the “real world.” The reading responses are not intended to be “formal” assignments in the sense that you have an introduction, conclusion, and argument in the middle, but they should be “formal” in the sense that they ought to be written in coherent English. It is not absolutely necessary that they be in prose form; but don’t just jot down a few unconnected bullet points. Late responses will not be accepted. Because things happen, you can submit one—but only one—response paper to me by e-mail, but it must be in PDF format and it must be received as close as possible to the start of class. Additionally, we have eleven classes with readings, but you are only required to write ten responses; this means that you can miss one set of readings without penalty.

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