Name:_________________________ Date:_____________ College Lit Class Period:__________
Think Pieces
THE RATIONALE: Often in classes like this one that are carried out largely through class discussion, you may be exposed to a variety of views on a particular concept, but these are rarely elaborated or committed to any permanent record. When multiple views are expressed, it is difficult to absorb them all, to synthesize what you’ve heard, and arrive at a firm conclusion. Think pieces will allow you the opportunity to develop, share, and receive responses to your views on the ideas we discuss in class through writing.
THE CONCEPT: The Think Piece is actually a polished exploration piece on any concept that arises in this course that pushes you to think more deeply about course texts, literary theories, and/or essential questions. The concept is yours to choose, the only requirement being that it is worthy of your extended attention and relates closely to unit essential questions, texts, and theory. You’ll write four Think Pieces in all, one at the conclusion of each of the four thematic units of the course. Specific due dates will be announced as the semester progresses.
THE FORMAT: These are position pieces meant to address the four major thematic units of the course, which are listed in your syllabus. I encourage you to use your Think Pieces to address nagging questions or burning issues to which you’d like to devote further attention in relation to the unit texts, theories, and essential questions. As long as your topic interests you deeply and is relevant to the unit at hand, it’s probably a good choice. After devoting 650-plus well-chosen words to your topic, conclude your Think
Piece by offering a brief invitation (a sentence or so should do) that will encourage your colleagues to think further about the topic or issue you have addressed. Your prompt may take the form of a question or a suggestion for further reflection. This invitation should encourage your readers to make connections to their own ideas by posing the question (in more specific terms, of course) So what do you think?
THE PROCESS: On the days your Think Pieces are due, I’ll ask you to get into groups, where you’ll circulate your Think Pieces around until each group member has had the opportunity to read all the papers.
As you read your colleagues’ Think Pieces, you will write comments, questions, and suggestions directly onto the paper. At the end of the process, you will of course receive yours again, this time covered with the insights of your peers. As time permits after this, we will open up the class for an extended discussion of the major issues, special problems, or important questions sparked by the Think Pieces, and you will have the opportunity to ask for clarification of remarks others have written on your paper. If you notice that a particular concept or issue has been addressed by several people, you can bring this up for discussion by the entire group, which might lead to a deeper understanding of the concept or a more issue-oriented debate.
You may also share any insights that might be too long to write on the Think Pieces themselves.
GRADING/ASSESSMENT: I will be grading your Think Pieces using the attached rubric. Any Think
Piece plagiarized in part or in whole, however, will receive zero credit. If you’re using sources to inform your thinking, be sure to cite them correctly and indicate the boundaries of your own thinking clearly. Feel free to use everyday language as you write—but do remember what you learned last semester about effective writing!—and know that as long as your Think Pieces are honest, thoughtful, and thorough, they cannot be wrong. The Think Piece process should allow you to develop considered responses to course-related concepts and issues you feel are important and will furnish you with a permanent record of your colleagues’ feedback to your viewpoints. By the end of the course, you will hopefully be able to look back and see evidence of growth in your thinking as a result of the time we’ve spent as a class this spring.
Happy thinking...

Name:_________________________ Date:_____________ College Lit Class Period:__________
Think Piece Rubric
IMPORTANT: Think Pieces that are not shared with me on Google Docs and submitted to turnitin.com will not be accepted for credit. And don’t forget to attend to your standard MLA formatting! (Correct heading/header, page numbers, etc. Don’t remember? Ask!)
An A Think Piece will be focused, polished, fearless, and insightful. This Think Piece displays not only a commitment to its crafting, but a willingness to deeply explore an intellectually provocative question about the text(s) and concepts of the unit. An A Think Piece is a fascinating read because the writer is delving into its central question from a fresh perspective, considering alternatives, making connections to the world/the writer’s own life, and avoiding short-sighted, knee-jerk reactions. The writer develops this Think Piece well, examining its central question from different angles and providing multiple examples in order to develop a complex position on and understanding of the issue, topic, or concept at hand. The writer may not come to a decisive, absolute conclusion, but it is clear that he or she has given the issue substantive thought, and has allowed his/her initial views to wander into nuanced new terrain. On top of all that, the language the writer uses is precise and evocative, and the writer engages the readers by sounding engaged him/herself. Of course, there are no concerns with MLA or proofreading/editing. In a word: Wow.
A B Think Piece will also be focused, polished, and insightful, though its impact may be slightly less profound than an A Think Piece’s. The question being explored in the Think Piece as well as the writer’s exploration of that question are interesting and particular to the individual writer, and the writer has expressed his or her thoughts with clarity. The writer has made some unexpected connections within and beyond the unit’s text(s) and concepts, but his/her exploration of these connections may be slightly less compelling and thoughtful than that of an A Think Piece. The Think Piece refers to the text, and it’s obvious the writer has read the text at hand, but the textual connections may be weaker, vaguer, or less relevant than those of an A Think Piece. In short, there’s nothing wrong with this Think Piece; it’s perfectly competent work, and still considered advanced. But due to inattentiveness or an apparent lack of interest in the question being examined, it’s simply not quite as effective, insightful, or well-developed as it might have been. In a word: Good.
A C Think Piece has some problems. The writer may sound bored, the Think Piece may have problems with clarity, and/or the Think Piece may be insufficiently developed. The writer is staying in safe territory, not so much exploring an idea as reciting some thoughts gleaned from others. A C Think Piece will demonstrate only a perfunctory commitment to reading and discussing the unit’s text(s) and concepts. There may be problems with focus; the writer may be touching briefly on a lot of concepts rather than honing in on one key idea. There may also be notable problems with proofreading and editing—problems that indicate sloppiness and/or lack of intent to succeed. That said, this is still a reasonably competent Think
Piece; nobody’s going to laugh at you, but nobody’s going to be impressed. In a word: Meh.
If you get a D or an F on a Think Piece, it will be for one or more of the following reasons:
 Think Piece does not meet minimum word count requirement (650)
 Lack of specific detail makes readers wonder whether the writer has even read the unit’s text(s)
 Think Piece is sloppy, with many errors that seriously call into question the writer’s ethos
 Think Piece is plagiarized in part or in whole (including borrowing or building off of the ideas of others without citing them correctly)—ZERO CREDIT
 Think Piece is not submitted as indicated at top of rubric by the deadline—ZERO CREDIT