There are three goals: first, these will written to demonstrate that you have read and understand the material (60% of grade). Secondly, you are writing these in order to develop academic, analytical writing skills (20% of grade). Thirdly, I want you to be able to respond and reflect on the academic summary of the assigned reading (20% of grade).
They will have a plagiarism check, so don’t copy other material or work with other students. If at all possible, post them in Microsoft Word format. The first section of your paper (250-450 words) should provide a concise academic summary of the assigned ready (i.e., Barbour chapters 1-3 for the first paper).
Don’t repeat a lot of statements from the chapter. Instead, ask yourself, what are the major themes of these chapters? What are the sweeping movements in religion and science in each of these centuries? This is the major part (60%) of the grade for your reflection paper.
In a clearly labeled second section, tell me why this reading matters? This is your own response/reflection in which you engage with the material. What stood out to you and why? Are there some problems you see in the summary (don’t make them up if you don’t see any, but are there any?). If we were doing a class discussion, what questions would you want to ask? This section is worth 20% of the grade and should be 150+ words.
You should use a formal academic style of writing – your name should be on the paper, any quotes should be cited, sources cited. I am open to any citation format you prefer to use – just be consistent. Small personal preference from me – I prefer to read these in single space format. Writing skill will count for 20% of your grade.
