Weekly Paper Guidelines

Each Wednesday in section, you will give your TA a one-page critical review of the readings for either the previous week or one of the previous two days readings..

If the readings include many selections, please be sure to write on as many of them as possible, with a view to saying how they are linked and in conversation with one another. The purpose of the paper is to engage your own reflective capacity with respect to the readings, rather than to merely demonstrate that you have read the material. The emphasis should be on critique, evaluation, and linking the material to other course themes. To this end, your paper may include a brief summary of the readings to the extent that this helps you to develop your own reflective response. Remember that you are writing for an audience (your T.A.) who has also read the material. At the end of your paper, please include in bold font two questions or puzzles that the readings raise for you and that might be worthy of a group discussion.

Your papers should be double-spaced, printed in 11-point font, with one-inch margins. Your T.A. will give your paper a check, check-plus and check-minus, and then averaged for the quarter for 20% of your course grade.

In general, my policy is not to accept late papers without a medical excuse. Because the total volume of weekly papers will be quite large (perhaps 900 for the quarter!), I want to avoid the hassle of dealing with the inevitable stragglers on a case-by-case basis. Therefore, you have grace period that will allow you to turn in your weekly assignment on Friday (instead of Wednesday) for two of the papers. After that point, you will not receive credit for any late papers.