Critical Reading Response Activity 3.2.1.0. Purpose Researchers often must conduct a fair amount of reading before they present their research. That reading helps researchers to situate themselves with a discussion--a discussion of existing scholarship and scholars. Perhaps you have read an article for a class with a Literature Review section. That literature review provides insight about the scholar's research and helps to expose the scholar's research angle. Thus, in this class, I ask you to read articles related to your writing assignment so you can form the habit of responding to others and of drawing upon extant arguments to support your own. One key to effectively using sources is to read critically. The process outlined here is one way to critically respond to reading assignments, and I will ask you to follow this form for every reading assignment. If you do so, for this class and for other college courses, you will avoid the tedium of searching through reading assignments to find citations or arguments that you wish to use in your own writing (as the old saying goes, "It's better to prepare and to prevent than to repair and to repent."). To draft the type of notes that often facilitate research writing, complete the following activity for each of the reading assignments that you select. Format As to the format of the assignment, simply copy the format of the questions below as they appear, numerically and in bold, and then provide the answers to them in the order in which the questions appear. Write according to MLA or APA (2030 courses, APA) format. Be sure to check your work for mistakes. Academic conventions like the formatting of a paper are important and should not be overlooked in the writing process. Is the date in the right order, for example? Is your last name and page number in the upper right hand corner of the header? Times New Roman? 12pt? Always double-check for such conventions. 3. Identify the three most important parts of the text. Those parts might include certain arguments or claims that the author makes. They might include examples or illustrations that the author employs. They might be key parts of the argument, or you simply may have enjoyed or barely endured those parts. In identifying those three important parts, you may opt to summarize them, but do so with enough detail that someone who has not read the text will understand what you reference. After you have identified your three important parts, briefly explain why you selected those parts. 2. Identify two problematic parts of the text. They might be parts that you did not understand. They may be parts that you disagree with, that you felt did not belong, or that you thought interfered with the author's purpose. Briefly explain your choices. 1. Pose one question for the author. That question should move to extend his or her examination of the topic and delve beneath surface-level commentary. Rather than question a problematic section that you have identified, as in question two, ask a question that engenders discussion. Such a question might begin with, "When you said [X], did you want your readers to [Y]?" or "What was the purpose of discussing [Z]?" In a way, in your own writing, you might decide to pose possible answers to those questions in your own writing. 0. Find a golden nugget. What one sentence or two is so well written or so well stated that it left an impression upon you? Remember to introduce and cite the quote. Explain why the quote gave the impression it did.