RESPONSE #1 DUE SEPT. 14

INSTRUCTIONS

The response papers are intended to encourage the habit of intense scrutiny.  They should be between 1/2 and 1 page single-spaced, with no cover page.  If you miss class, you may email your response to me by midnight of the day it is due.  These may not be revised, but you may turn in an extra one to replace a lackluster one.  You can only turn in a late response paper because of extraordinary situations. You will receive either a "3" (thoughtful and good prose), a "2" (not very thoughtful or poorly written), a "1" (poorly written and not thoughtful), or a "0" (not turned in). If your performance is less than you would like it to be, I will discuss the response papers, and strategies for improvement, with you in conference.  The grading hierarchy: 9=A, 8=A-, 7=B+, 6=B, 5=B-, 4=C+, 3=C, 2=C-, 1=D+, 0=F.

You should strive to accomplish two goals in your response:

--demonstrate that you write competently (correct grammar, punctuation, etc.; precise and engaging phrasing and sentence structure; and appropriate tone).  Do not get autobiographical with a bunch of  “I think” or “I feel”s.   I will give little slack for sloppy prose!

--show, through your response to the passage, that you understand why it might be a key passage.  That is, don’t just paraphrase the passage itself. Instead indicate how key themes/issues flow thru it.  There is no right or wrong to your response (but please do not directly relate the passage to your life or experience--keep the focus on the passage and the text from which it comes).  I don’t have some checklist of “points” you must make.  You don't have to be comprehensive in your response--intensity/focus/coherence and nuance is better than listing every idea that strikes you.  Lots of different responses are possible.  Bottom line: your classmates should learn something important about the text by reading your response. 

I will post online (anonymously) several of the more interesting responses.

PASSAGE TO RESPOND TO:

Respond to the passage from the first handout in which Cook's bones are returned or to a passage of your choosing from our Sept. 14th reading, Kawaharada, Storied Landscapes.