The Response Paper Assignment
You'll write a response paper assignment at the end of most discussion forums and submit it to me individually. These assignments are on the Assignments Page each week. Your response paper should be a minimum of one, double-spaced page that uses Modern Language Association formatting. See "MLA Paper Formatting" handout for a list of formatting requirements.
If the discussion forums are where you talk with your classmates, then the response paper is where you talk with me.
A successful response paper will show both that you've read all the posts in a discussion forum and what you've discovered after reading all those posts. I hate to be corny about this, but it's worth saying here, that this response paper should be your "ah-ha" moment regarding the specific topic. You've read the stories, you've studied the time in which they're written, and now you've read what about twenty- five of your peers have had to say about them too. What do you realize reading the posts all together? What can you say about the author, his world, and his literature now?
Important: It won't be enough to simply list contributors and record those you agree with and those that you do not. The goal of the response is to synthesize (combine a number of things into a coherent whole) what you've read and learned relevant to an author and his works.
The grading rubric for the 20-point response paper is as follows:
The paper argues and supports a central claim relevant to the discussion forum.
The paper uses evidence and interpretation in its response.
The language is economical and organized. Formatting is as required.