Suggestions for Writing Ungraded Papers

Pick a passage (or a few passages) from the readings assigned since the last reaction paper that interests you, either because you think it has some good ideas, or because it says something about an important subject that conflicts with what you think. Don't try to cover all the readings, or give a summary of what's in them. Use the paper to develop your own thoughts about some ideas from the readings. Just make sure that you focus on some major theme from the writing, and react to the main points being made by the writer. Don’t just use a single remark the writer makes as a starting point for telling a story or developing ideas that have little to do with the main point of the reading.

Try to develop a style of writing that YOU LEARN most from doing.

 

Some suggestions:

1. Relate ideas in the reading to your own experience. Think of specific concrete experiences that you have had, or can imagine having in your own life-situation, that would be an example of something that is spoken of in the readings. Would reflection on this experience suggest some modification of what is said in the reading? a criticism of what is said? an expansion on it? Write a little about such concrete experiences and what they have to say about ideas in the readings.

2. If an idea seems strange or nonsensical, try to imagine what would make it make sense. The idea makes sense to the writer. If it doesn't make sense to you, it's probably because he/she has some different assumptions than you do about what's important in life, what constitutes good and bad, etc., or has in mind some concrete experience that the idea refers to that is different than the ones you're thinking of. Before you reject it, you need to spend a little effort trying to imagine what it could be in the author's mind, different than what's in your mind, that makes it make sense to him or her. Write down on your paper the idea that doesn't make sense to you, then start jotting down some guesses as to what might make it make sense. If one of your guesses seems promising, develop it a little.

3. Try to get at the positive side of your negative reactions. If you have a negative reaction to something said, this usually means that it comes into conflict with some assumption of your own. Try to go beyond saying simply "I don't like this", "This is a crazy idea", "This doesn't make sense". Try to uncover the positive assumption of your own that is in conflict with the idea you are reading about, and examine the pro's and con's of your own idea vs. the idea in the reading. Develop your own idea by speaking of the experiences and considerations that make it seem like a good idea to you, and say why you think it is a better idea than the one in the readings. (Make sure you have understood the author's idea first though, and try to be fair to it.)

4. Expand on what is said in the reading. If there is something in the reading that strikes a responsive chord in your own mind, do some more thinking about it. Carry the idea further. Think of other possible situations to which this idea would apply. Think of other good points to the idea besides those mentioned by the author or some negative aspects that would require some modifications in the idea as the author expresses it. Think of other good ideas that it is connected with. If you put the idea in your own words, would it come out differently than the way the author put it?

5. If you like an idea, but it comes into conflict with some other idea that you also like, try to work out the conflict.

6. Work out the details and the connections. If the author makes suggestions that seem right to you, but does not explain them very well, try to develop your own explanation of what he/she is saying. If the author claims that doing X will lead to peace and happiness, and this seems plausible to you, think of why it is that this seems to be a plausible claim to you––what plausible connection is there between doing X and reaching peace and happiness? If the author is trying to explain an unusual idea, but leaves some matters unclear, try to rephrase what he is saying in your own words to clear it up.

DON’T use the reaction papers to complain about or compliment the author on style, competence, intelligence, whether she wrote a good book or not, etc. Don't write summaries or book reviews. Think about the substance of what the author is trying to say, and develop your own personal reactions it.

DO use the reaction papers as a place to "wonder" about ideas. Don't put yourself under pressure to make everything you say 100% correct, or something you'd be prepared to stand up for a month from now. Experiment, think of possible pro's and con's, try to put strange-seeming ideas of yours into words, falter, cross it out and try again, etc. (The papers don't have to be neat, the sentences don't have to be complete, and the thoughts can be disjointed.)

 

Don't make it right, make it interesting.