Reading assignments

Cut and paste this into your wordprocessor or straight into your blog, or use an alternative format.[1] The notes gathered here should illustrate that you have read the week’s assignment. However, they are also for your own use for future thinking, research, and writing. It thus should exhibit your personal style and fresh approaches to that material. You will also use this format when gathering research for your research paper.

Complete citation in MLA form:


Main idea of reading (in your own words):




YOUR thoughts about the reading overall:



Useful quotes—be sure to use quotation marks and page numbers—followed by your reactions to quotes:[2]

[1] The goal is to make the ideas from the source and your own thoughts clearly and visibly distinct, to avoid confusion while drafting. Some ideas: Create a dialogue. Write “source:” followed by source info, then underneath “me:” followed by your thoughts. OR make format distinctions such as putting either the source ideas or yours in bold, italics, underlined, or in different colors, while the other is plain.
[2] Let the text inspire your own thinking. Ask yourself: why am I jotting down this information? Why do I think it’s important? Write that answer down. If this is for your research paper, you may also want to include notes to yourself about how you want to use the information—e.g., “this would be a great opening quote” or “I should follow this with some statistics to give more evidence.” This step is important whether you agree with your source or if you disagree. Sometimes reading and thinking about the latter helps you clarify your opinions more precisely, and including and refuting counter-claims makes a stronger paper.