EXPLANATION OF THE READING NOTEBOOK
Michael Gorman
On certain days during the semester (see syllabus), you should submit a typed sheet of paper with
notes and reflections on the readings for that week. This should be no longer than one page.
Here are the kinds of things I’m looking for:
• a few words encapsulating the main theme or themes of the reading
• a spelling-out of an important claim that the author makes, together with a spelling-out of his
argument in support of it
• a naming of an important concept that the author presents, together with a spelling-out of his
explanation of it
• a description of something you found difficult to understand
• an objection to what the author is saying
• an exploration of what you think the ideas in the text might lead to
• something that you wish I’d explain in class or that you’d like to see discussed during a class
discussion
I don’t mean that you should do every one of these every time, nor do I mean that you should do
only these things. These are just to give you the idea. What they have in common is that they
require that you think about what the reading really means and what it really implies.
Here’s what I’m not looking for:
• a book report
• a short essay
Let me clarify the goal of this assignment, as that will help you figure out what I want. On the
one hand, I want you to dig into the text, to enter into conversation with it, to read and re-read
deeply. On the other hand, I want to get a sense of what you are grasping—and also what you are
not grasping. This will help me figure out how to adapt class lectures and discussions so that we
focus on what we need to focus on. So I encourage you to expose your problems—it’s not going
to hurt your grade, and it’s going to lead to better learning on your part.
To repeat: it doesn’t have to be an orderly essay with a single thesis statement and so on. It will
be more like a series of notebook entries.
These notebook pages will be graded as follows:
• Fail: Either you just plain didn’t turn it in, or you turned it in but plainly put close to no effort
into the task.
• Pass: Thanks! You are doing what I want.
Each assignment is worth 1 point. If you fail, you get a 0. If it’s a pass, you get the full point.
If I don’t write any grade on your submission, then just assume it’s a Pass (full credit).
Have you figured out that I don’t want you worrying about the grade on this assignment?
Assuming you put in the work each week, it’s basically a free A+ on a 10% assignment—this is
the only time I will ever reward mere effort, so enjoy it!
Because a good grade is so easy to get, I want you to banish all thoughts of sneaking a peak at
Sparks Notes or anything like that, and I want you to be totally unafraid of admitting what you
don’t understand, making mistakes, and so on. If you think hard about the readings, and if I get a
glimpse of your thinking, then the purpose of the assignment will be fulfilled. If your reading
report reveals a lot of misunderstandings, that’s good—well, it’s not good that you have a
misunderstanding, but it’s good for it to be revealed, because then you and I will know where the
gaps are that need to be filled in.
As an added bonus, at the end of the course you’ll have a notebook to study from. (And the
harder you worked on it during the semester, the better it will be. Think about that for a moment.
If you do a minimal job on the notebook, you’ll get as good a grade as you would if you do a
great job. However, if you do a great job, you will find it easy to study for the mid-term and the
final, whereas if you do a minimal job, you’ll be in poor shape for the mid-term and the final.
Isn’t it obvious how you should approach this assignment?)
Finally: I (or my teaching assistant) will be commenting on these before returning them to you,
but there won’t be time to comment on everything in a systematic way. So don’t assume that
something is perfectly OK just because I didn’t mark it. You’ll still need to use your wits: pay
attention in class, talk to your classmates, and so on.