Dear Colleagues,
We’ve put together a number of assignment models that can be used with any CRE book. All you need to do is
substitute the passages we’ve chosen below with passages from the current CRE book that are appropriate for
your class subject and/or theme. These assignments can be specifically connected with TRS 90 and 91 learning
outcomes as noted below, but we believe they would serve equally well for broad literacy outcomes in other
courses.
Assignment 1: Double-Entry Reading Journals
TRS 90 Outcome 1: “Develop and demonstrate college level vocabulary skills.” NOTE: We have some reservations
about the applicability of this outcome with the CRE books used to date as we do not believe they contribute to a
vigorous study of “college level” vocabulary.
TRS 90 Outcome 2: “Apply basic reading comprehension skills to college level reading.” NOTE: As with the
vocabulary outcome above, we have reservations about the applicability of this outcome with most CRE books, as
we do not view them as “college level reading.”
TRS 90 Outcome: “Develop reading as a process through pre-reading exercises; annotation; reading logs; analyzing
purpose, audience, and point of view.”
TRS 91 Outcome: “Demonstrate an understanding of basic grammatical concepts to
o Construct grammatical sentences
o Write effective sentences
o Use effective words
o Use correct punctuation and mechanics.”
TRS 91 Outcome: “Develop critical thinking and reading skills through careful analysis of professional and student
essays and other reading selections.”
Double-Entry Reading Journals
Double-entry reading journals allow you to fully engage with what you are reading. They demand that you read
more carefully and with a critical eye, while teaching you the critical art of close reading. The main idea behind
these journals is that we retain more and we learn more deeply when we reflect on our thinking. The journal
gives us a place to do that.
Set up your journal this way: On loose leaf paper, divide your sheet into two columns, labeled “Summary” and
“Reflection.” As you read, in the first column you should record your notes (a brief summary of the passage you
are commenting on). In the second column, you should think about the passage: consider the author’s purpose,
the intended audience, implications of the reading, connections you make with it, and questions the reading
provokes.
As you read, listen to the questions and observations your mind makes and capture those on paper.
You may want to use one or more of these to help you create your notes:
a paraphrase of a complex segment of text
a possible explanation of a confusing material
a main idea from the resource and why it is important
a strong positive or negative reaction and an explanation of that reaction
a reason for agreeing or disagreeing with the author/producer
a comparison and/or contrast of a passage with another resource or with prior knowledge
a prediction based on evidence from the resource
a question generated as a result of reading, viewing, or hearing the resource
a description of a personal experience that relates to the resource
(Brown & O’Brien)
After you finish the process, re-read your notes. At this point, you might write down any answers you've found.
You might write down any further thoughts, comments, or questions that jump into your mind as you re-read your
initial notes. Follow your thoughts. Note things you might want to research or study further.
Adapted from Brown, Kimberly & O’Brien, Michelle. “AP Language and Comprehension Summer Reading 2009.”
Hershey High School. 2009<http://hershey.k12.pa.us/560820731143034243/lib.html>
Assignment 2: Paraphrase Practice
TRS 90 Outcomes:
Paraphrase Practice
Working collaboratively with a partner, please complete the following four tasks. One goal here is for you and
your partner to talk about the author’s ideas, to hear how someone else interprets the reading, and to negotiate a
common understanding. In other words, you and your partner should be working on this together.
1.
ANNOTATE this passag e from The Heart and the Fist by Eric Greitens:
On the frontlines—in humanitarian crises, in wars overseas, and around some kitchen tables here at
home—I’d seen that peace is more than the absence of war, and that a good life entails more than the
absence of suffering. A good peace, a solid peace, a peace in which communities can flourish, can only be
built when we ask ourselves and each other to be more than just good, and better than just strong. And a
good life, a meaningful life, a life in which we can enjoy the world and live with purpose, can only be built
if we do more than live for ourselves (11).
2.
PARAPHRASE each section, “translating” the author’s wording into your own alternative wording, capturing
the essential meaning in your own words and style.
a. On the frontlines—in humanitarian crises, in wars overseas, and around some kitchen tables here at
home—I’d seen that peace is more than the absence of war,
b. and that a good life entails more than the absence of suffering.
c. A good peace, a solid peace, a peace in which communities can flourish, can only be built when we ask
ourselves and each other to be more than just good, and better than just strong.
d. And a good life, a meaningful life, a life in which we can enjoy the world and live with purpose, can only be
built if we do more than live for ourselves.
3.
State the author’s THESIS. This should be 1 sentence only, following the 3-part thesis format.
4.
CONNECT the ideas in the passage to other ideas or events: personal, community, national, global. Write a
paragraph explaining your connection.
Criteria:
+ 10
+ 10
+ 10
+ 10
+ 10
+ 10
+ 10
+ 10
+ 10
+ 10
for annotations that break down and clarify the author’s ideas: complicated phrases and
sentences, and unfamiliar vocabulary and concepts.
for capturing all the ideas in the original; your paraphrase is complete
for accurately capturing all the ideas in the original; you have represented the ideas as the
author most likely intended
for explaining the ideas in a clear and easy-to-understand way
for elaborating on the ideas so they are explained in more detail than the original (without
adding any new information)
for making the source of these ideas clear with frequent signal phrases
for “translating” the original text into your own style of expression
for a complete 3-part thesis
for making a clear distinction between your objective summary of the source material and your
response (connection) to it
for an insightful connection with the material
Short Summary Practice
Working collaboratively with a partner, please complete the following four tasks. One goal here is for you and
your partner to talk about the author’s ideas, to hear how someone else interprets the reading, and to negotiate a
common understanding. In other words, you and your partner should be working on this together.
1.
2.
ANNOTATE these passages by Lisa Schiffman, who is writing about Lynell Schalk, a ranger for the Bureau of
Land Management with the important job of protecting ancient cultural sites.
SUMMARIZE each paragraph, pulling out the main ideas, “translating” the author’s wording into your own
alternative wording, capturing the essential meaning in your own words and style.
Riding for the Brand by Lisa Schiffman, August 18, 2005
In the course of her 30-year career fighting archaeological crime, Lynell Schalk showed grit and determination in
her mission to preserve this country's Native American cultural heritage. From the rugged canyonlands of
southeastern Utah, to the arid landscape of the California desert, she doggedly tracked down criminals who
plundered ancient sites for profit. On horseback, by jeep, in helicopters, and during undercover operations--she
pursued them at great personal risk. The first law-enforcement officer appointed to the Bureau of Land
Management, Schalk had to work twice as hard as her male colleagues in order to prove her worth. "When
apprehending someone she would stand her ground in a confrontation," recalls Seth Rigby Wright, retired sheriff
of San Juan County, Utah, who first met Schalk in the early 1970s, "She didn't wait for an order."
Schalk, 55, traces her interest in archaeology back to her youth. Back then, growing up along the Columbia River in
southwestern Washington, archaeology was a family affair both her parents were members of the Oregon
Archaeological Society, and her brother graduated with a Ph.D. in archaeology from the University of New Mexico.
"We were surrounded by archaeology," she recalls. "I spent all of my waking hours outdoors as a child." She
remembers family outings, seeing rock art and watching Indians from the Yakama tribe fish for salmon by Celilo
Falls on the Columbia, as their ancestors had done for centuries--before 1957 when construction of the Dalles Dam
ended the Indians' traditional way of life.
In 1972, after graduating from the University of Washington with a philosophy degree, Schalk worked as an
aquatics instructor for the Seattle public schools and parks and recreation department. One afternoon, while
wandering down the aisles of a local bookstore, she came upon Edward Abbey's memoir Desert Solitaire: A Season
in the Wilderness, recounting his two summers as a ranger at Arches National Park, in southeastern Utah. The
pictures on the cover attracted her attention--she had vacationed in Utah the previous summer and had fallen in
love with the Four Corners region. Reading the book changed her life. "It motivated me to get a ranger job. I
decided if Abbey could do it, so could I."
3.
4.
State the author’s THESIS. This should be 1-2 sentences only, following the 3-part thesis format.
CONNECT the ideas in the passage to other ideas or events. Write a few sentences explaining your
connection.
Criteria:
+ 5 for annotations that break down and clarify the author’s ideas: complicated phrases and sentences,
and unfamiliar vocabulary and concepts.
+ 10 for accurately and completely capturing the main points of the author
+ 10 for explaining the ideas in a clear and easy-to-understand way that is in your own style of expression
+ 5 for presenting an objective and neutral explanation of the topic , citing the author for his/her ideas
+ 10 for a complete thesis
+ 10 for an insightful connection to the material
+ 50 for work that meets the basic requirements, being a complete attempt of all four tasks
Long Summary
You have practiced many summaries of short readings. A summary of a longer piece of writing requires additional
preparation, so you should follow these steps:
1.
Read the assignment carefully. Annotate as you read, locating the essential information in each
paragraph.
2.
State the author’s thesis in one or two sentences in your own words. Your thesis statement should
include three bits of information:
The author’s overall opinion
The author’s elements of support
The author’s antithesis
3.
Reread the chapter or article, this time dividing it into sections, or major points. Explain each section’s
major point in a complete sentence. These sentences will be your topic sentences.
4.
Turn each topic sentence into a paragraph by elaborating on the idea in the topic sentence, using your
annotations. You should discuss the author’s ideas in your own words, in your own pattern of thought.
Each section summary may cover several paragraphs or one, depending on the points the author is
making. Include significant details where needed in order to capture the main parts of the author’s
message completely. Drop minor details and repetition. Be sure to include frequent signal phrases.
5.
Check your summary against the original to make sure you covered all the main points accurately and
completely. Your summary should give your reader a good picture of the entire article: the author’s thesis
and all the main points. Be sure to check for the 5 Rules of Summary:
Accurate: You cover all the main points precisely and completely.
Objective: Your attitude stays out.
Cited: You give frequent credit to the author.
Translated: You explain the chapter in your own words and your own pattern of thought.
Criteria:
+ 50
+ 20
+ 10
+ 10
+ 5
+ 5
Selection: You have summarized the key points (the essential information: the main claims and
secondary information) the author is making in most paragraphs
Accuracy: Your summary information is an accurate restatement of the author’s message
“Translation:” You have “translated” the author’s ideas into your own style of expression: not just
copied the author’s phrases and not just substituted synonyms into the original sentence pattern
Clarity: Your summary clearly explains the complete text
Logic: You have made clear connections between the author’s claims and his/her evidence
Citation: You have included frequent signal phrases and parenthetical citations
Interview with the Author
With your partner, prepare an interview with the author of the text we have just read. Each partnership will
present their interview to the class. Your interview can be taped in advance or presented to our “live studio
audience.” You will also turn in a written version of your prepared interview, which includes your primary
questions, follow-up questions, and the author’s scripted answers.
General Guidelines:
Your interview preparation should include at least 5 open-ended primary questions, 5 follow-up questions, and the
author’s scripted answers. It’s okay to ask more questions if you’d like.
Open-ended questions: Open-ended questions are ones that require more than a simple yes/no or a single word
or two. Instead, they invite the interviewee to talk at length. For example, imagine the answers to the questions
that follow. Which would draw out a more interesting answer?
Do you get on well with your boss?
Who will you vote for this election?
OR Tell me about your relationship with your boss.
OR What do you think about the two candidates in this election?
Your primary questions should touch on the main points of the reading. Good primary questions demonstrate that
you have identified the author’s big sections of thought that form the fundamental structure of the reading.
Follow-up questions: The best kind of follow-up questions are ones that help the author elaborate on his/her
answers, ones that probe for deeper insight, such as Why do you think that? How did you discover that? Can you
give an example? etc…
You should assume that your audience has not read the material. Imagine the audience for this as an
informational TV talk show audience interested in the reading topic.
As with any presentation, you can refer to some notes to a slight extent, but do not read them to your audience.
Your author’s answers should be more like an informative discussion with the interviewer.
Criteria:
+ 5 for a welcome to the audience and a brief introduction to the author
+ 5 for a conclusion to the interview
+ 5 for a professional appearance and manner
+ 5 for evidence of careful preparation and rehearsal—no reading
+ 10 for summarized material from the reading that follows the 4 rules of summary
+ 20 for questions and answers that amply cover the main points of the reading material
+ 50 for work that meets the basic requirements
- 10 for late work
Vocabulary Assignment
One of the goals of this course is to improve your vocabulary. As you do this, your reading comprehension,
retention, and analysis will improve.
For each reading assignment, you will be expected to use your dictionary to look up unfamiliar words and
references. For each word, circle or underline it, look it up in the dictionary, write a synonym definition in the
margin of your text, and finally, write the complete definition in your vocabulary journal* along with something
that helps you remember its meaning, such as a sentence that uses the new word, a mnemonic device that you
have created, or a visual reminder. The number of vocabulary you choose is relative to the reading assignment,
but a general guideline might be 1-3 words per page.
Your vocabulary choices should include many kinds of “unfamiliar” words:
Words that are completely unknown to you
Words that you have a vague, but not completely certain, idea about
Words that you think you’ve figured out by context clues
Words that you understand in your total vocabulary but that haven’t transferred to your working (used in
speaking and writing) vocabulary
After you’ve read the text once and defined vocabulary and terms, re-read the text! This will help you retain your
new knowledge and to better understand the text.
You will turn in your vocabulary journals with your annotations.
I encourage you to review your vocabulary journal often to cement the new words in your mind and to use the
new vocabulary in your writing assignments!
Extra Credit
You can receive extra credit for writing out the etymology, or origin of the words, in your journal.
Also, you can receive extra credit for using your new vocabulary words in your papers. To receive extra credit, you
must use the word effectively in a sentence, underline it, and label it “V” in the margin.
*A “vocabulary journal” should be loose leaf paper so that you can turn in particular pages, when I ask for them.
Criteria:
+ 10 for turning your work in on time
+ 10 for writing down the complete definition in your journal
+ 10 for creating a way to remember the word (sentence, mnemonic, sketch, etc…)
+ 20 for identifying an ample number of words that represent most of the challenging vocabulary in the
assignment
+ 50 for work that meets the basic requirements
- 10 for late work
Writing Practice: Find the Hidden Treasures
Read Joyce Carol Oates’ “They All Just Went Away” (posted on my O drive). Then complete the following treasure
hunt:
Treasures to Find (5 points each):
To show you found each treasure, quote Oates. Quote accurately, provide an in-text citation every time you
quote, and circle, underline, or point to (with an arrow) the treasures you are being asked to find.
1. Find one place where Oates uses a single dash in a sentence.
2. Find one place where Oates uses a pair of dashes in a sentence to set off a phrase or clause.
3. Find one other place where Oates uses a pair of dashes in a sentence.
4. Find 3 hyphenated words in the essay. For each, identify what part of speech it is (noun, pronoun, verb,
adjective, adverb, preposition, or conjunction?).
5. Find one place where Oates uses a pair of parentheses in a sentence.
6. Find one other place where Oates uses a pair of parentheses in a sentence.
7. Find one place where Oates uses quotation marks around a word or phrase even though she is not
quoting anyone in particular.
8. Find one other place where Oates uses quotation marks around a word or phrase even though she is not
quoting anyone in particular.
9. Find one place where Oates uses quotation marks to indicate she is quoting someone.
10. Find one place where Oates uses italics.
11. Find two words that were unfamiliar to you when you first read this essay.
12. Find two words that were familiar to you but that Oates used in a surprising way.
13. Find the place where Oates uses all capital letters.
14. Find three people (three experts in their field) to whom Oates refers (not characters from her life).
and one Writing Task to complete (10 points):
15. Writers often create a pleasing finish by “circling back” – by referring to something in the conclusion that they
mentioned in the introduction. Describe one connection, implicit or explicit, between the introduction and the
conclusion in Oates’ essay.
General Guidelines:
• Your response should be a numbered list.
• Use MLA format for the top of the page (header, title, paging, font).
• Use specific examples from the essay—quote accurately and provide an in-text citation (page number)
every time you quote.
• Circle, underline, or point to (with an arrow) the treasures you are being asked to find.
• Attach this sheet to your finished writing, staple, fold in half lengthwise, write your name on the cover.
Criteria:
+ 10 for quoting accurately (every comma, every dash, every capital letter,…)
+ 5 for each treasure found
+ 10 for the Writing Task (#15)
+ 10 for being you 
- 10 for late work
- 10 for errant carelessness in thinking and execution
Comp 126 Writing Practice 1: Career Counselor
Based solely on the quotation below, what kind of career (other than writer) would you recommend for the
author?
“We tell ourselves stories in order to live. The princess is caged in the consulate. The man with the candy
will lead the children into the sea. The naked woman on the ledge outside the window on the sixteenth
floor is a victim of accidie, or the naked woman is an exhibitionist, and it would be ‘interesting’ to know
which. We tell ourselves that it makes some difference whether the naked woman is about to commit a
mortal sin or is about to register a political protest or is about to be, the Aristophanic view, snatched back
to the human condition by the fireman in priest’s clothing just visible in the window behind her, the one
smiling at the telephoto lens. We look for the sermon in the suicide, for the social or moral lesson in the
murder of five. We interpret what we see, select the most workable of the multiple choices. We live
entirely, especially if we are writers, by the imposition of a narrative line upon disparate images, by the
‘ideas’ with which we have learned to freeze the shifting phantasmagoria which is our actual experience.”
Joan Didion (1979)
General Guidelines:
Your answer should be at least 1 full page, no more than 2, typed, double-spaced.
Don’t worry about writing an introduction or conclusion at this point. We’ll deal with those later.
Do not tell a story (unless it’s an anecdote in support of a point you are making).
For all the writing practice assignments, don’t assume that I am familiar with the ideas that you’re working with.
This is to help you practice an important principle of academic writing: that you usually need to explain a passage
before you question, defend, criticize, weigh, evaluate, point out discrepancies in, or use it in any way. Generally,
assume your audience has not read what you have read (and are referring to).
**For all the writing practice assignments, you need to label the skills listed in the Criteria below to receive any
points for them. For example, for this assignment, you should label (hand writing is fine) the elements of MLA
page format to get the points. The reason for this is so I can see what you are doing intentionally (vs.
unintentionally).
For all the writing practice assignments, please staple this sheet to your essay, fold the sheets lengthwise, inward
(like a tall book). On the book’s front “cover,” write your name in the top right corner. This is part of the “following
the directions” criteria below.
Criteria:
+10
+10
+10
+10
+10
+10
+40
for using MLA page format (look it up if you don’t know it)
for a detailed answer to the stated question
for using 3 or 4 short quotes (phrases, not sentences) from the passage
for evidence that you are assuming your audience (me) has NOT read the passage you are analyzing
for evidence that you read the passage carefully and repeatedly, looked up unfamiliar words, and worked
hard at understanding it
for following directions
for work that meets basic requirements
Writing Practice: Spot the Clichés (and the Mistaskes)
Reading about sports can be deeply satisfying, when the writer is both a true aficionado of the sport and also a
master stylist. However, the tendency among sports writers to use “colorful” language means there is lots (and
lots) of bad sports writing, often littered with clichés. Critique the writing samples:
“After a wild start to the NFL season, we’re back with week 2 picks. A little more information this week to base
picks on but don’t get too carried away with surprise teams from last week. Good teams always bounce back and
bad teams always come back down to earth. (Are we taking about the Bills or the Raiders?)”
(editor http://www.sportscolumn.com/ 2011)
“They held their collective breath, waiting to erupt as Emily Klingler charged from the right side of the cage, ball on
stick. When her shot missed just to the left, the Selinsgrove fans' anticipation melted into a sigh that — almost
immediately — turned into raucous cheers when the official's whistle signaled game's end. The Seals had knocked
off defending Class AA state champion Wyoming Seminary, 2-1, and Klingler came this close to a buzzer-beating,
cherry-on-top goal.”
(Dudinskie http://dailyitem.com/0217_local_sports_columns 2011)
General Guidelines:
• Your critique should be at least 1 full page, no more than 2.
• Critique by fulfilling the criteria listed below; no need to do any more than that.
• As usual, use MLA format.
• Your writing should have an introductory paragraph or introductory sentence which includes your thesis.
• Your thesis should contain your overall opinion of the two writing samples (they’re both great, they’re
both awful, one is better than the other because …)
• Your writing should have a concluding paragraph or concluding sentence.
• Since the gender of the 2 authors is unclear, it is probably best to always refer to “the author”
• Underline and label the skills listed in the Criteria below to receive points for them.
• Attach this sheet to your finished writing, staple, fold in half lengthwise, write your name on the cover.
Criteria:
+ 10 for correct spelling in your writing (I assume you are handing in a paper in which you believe you have
spelled every word correctly, so no need to underline words for these points)
+ 5 for identifying at least 2 misspellings in the writing above the line on this page
+ 10 for your thesis, including all 3 parts
+ 5 for correctly identifying at least 5 adjectives in the writing above the line on this page
+ 5 for correctly identifying at least 2 adverbs in the writing above the line on this page
+5 for correctly identifying at least 5 adjectives in your writing
+5 for correctly identifying at least 2 adverbs in your writing
+ 10 for identifying at least 5 clichés in the writing above the line on this page and using O’Conner to explain
why use of clichés is problematic
+ 5 for a satisfying conclusion
+ 40 for work that meets the basic requirements
- 10 for late work
- 10 for errant carelessness in thinking and execution