Questions
for the second week
Questions
for the third week
Questions
for the fourth week
Questions
for the fifth week
Questions
for the sixth week
Questions
for the seventh week
Questions
for the eighth week
Questions
for the ninth week
Questions
for the tenth (and last!) week
These questions are to guide your thinking while reading
the articles and while writing your response papers. Don't feel obliged to answer these questions
in your response papers.
   
Response papers:
Four times
during the quarter, you must submit a brief essay that analyzes the readings.
Writing these essays will help you think critically about the material,
prepare for class, and test ideas before you incorporate them into the
exams. Your teaching assistant will use the response papers as a basis
for discussion in section.
Response papers should be critical commentaries, not mere summaries of
the readings. You are welcome to write about any aspect of the assigned
texts, provided that your paper contains an argument. Each week the teaching
assistants will post a list of specific questions to stimulate your thinking
on this page. You might also consider the following generic questions,
which you could ask about any kind of scientific research: Did the author
articulate a clear and coherent theory with testable hypotheses? Did the
author select an unbiased sample of cases and analyze the data rigorously?
Do you agree with the conclusions that the author drew? Could an interested
researcher replicate and extend the analysis? How would you improve the
quality of the research? You may focus your essay on one reading or compare
and synthesize the arguments of several authors.
Response
papers should be short: no more than three double-spaced pages with Times
Roman 12-point font and 1" margins. An effective response paper begins
with a succinct (one or two sentence) statement of your argument, and
it supports the argument with logic and evidence. Cite page numbers when
you offer a quote or reference a particular piece of data.
Papers are due in your TA's physical or electronic mailbox at least 24 hours before
the
day of your section. Late response papers will not be accepted. You may
write a response paper for any week when section is held, but you must
submit at least two response papers before the midterm exam. Your TA will
grade each paper on a three-point scale and give all papers equal weight.
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