Response Notebook

The Response Notebook project is a low-stakes way for students to engage with our texts, practice deep reading and thought-driven writing, all of which are important for researching and developing scholarship. We read for many reasons, just as we write for many reasons; in our class both are undertaken specifically with critical thinking in mind. This critical thinking – the ability to fairly evaluate information, as well as use that information to develop new and independent lines of thought – is essential for the learning process. The Response Notebook offers you a chance to develop academic thinking and response writing, but it is also a chance for you to consider the form and structure of what you have read. 

DUE AT EACH CHECK

For each notebook check, your notebook should have website pages that include:

  • three reading responses pages, titled with the name of their corresponding readings
  • Each response page will include:
    • A full response (see below)
    • at least one glossary entry (see below)
    • References at the end that identify the reading, the OED link for your glossary entry, and any other sources you use in your response

PROJECT SPECIFICS

What you are reading

Our readings for the semester come from two places – the textbook and our Additional Readings folder (AR folder). For this project, any texts we read from the AR folder are eligible for a response. For the first notebook check, you can select any three AR folder readings from the period before the response due date; for the second notebook check, you will select any three AR folder readings we have read since AR check 1. 

Page structure on the website

Notebook entries will be completed on your personal class website, under a menu page entitled Response Notebook.

We will build this page in class, along with two child pages marked:

  • Notebook 1 (for the first notebook check)
  • Notebook 2 (for the second notebook check)

Under each notebook you will create grandchild pages, one for each response you complete. Title each response page with the name of the corresponding reading. For example, if you want to respond to the McCloud’s “The Vocabulary of Comics”, then the title of that page would be:  McCloud’s “The Vocabulary of Comics”.

For Each Entry

Your responses will focus on your chosen readings and the synthesis of ideas. Each notebook should have a minimum of three responses to readings for the course, each of which you may select from readings completed before the notebook’s due date. Each response page will identify some specific aspect of the reading to which you wish to respond. It must include all of the following to be considered successful and complete:

  • Briefly introduce your reading with a nod to the author and title of the text. Cite the thesis and a bit about how the author achieved their goal. Make sure you correctly identify the form of the text (article, chapter, review, podcast, etc.). (This part usually covers 4-6 sentences)
  • Thoughtfully identify and integrate two quotes from the chosen reading (do not randomly pick two quotes from the first page, etc.) that stand out to you. Perhaps they confused you; perhaps you disagree with them; or perhaps they enlighten or alter your thinking. Make sure you cite the quotes with the page number/paragraph number in parentheses at the end of the sentence. Do not introduce your quote by saying “The first quote…” or “My second quote…” – instead integrate your quotes into your discussion of the text naturally. Think through them and connect them, if you can, to other areas of thinking. In short, respond to them as if they were being said to you, face-to-face, by another person, rather than simply summarize what the quotes mean.
  • Conclude your response with one question or statement that directly connects to our class discussions.
  • Below your response, identify one word from the reading that is new and unfamiliar to you, or that you would like to explore further. Create a lexicon entry for each (see example). Define your entry using the Oxford English Dictionary, accessible through the GSU library link (gsu.edu).
  • Finally, create a Works Cited or References section at the end of your response where you can include the citation for the reading, your lexicon entry, and any other sources you may have consulted for your response.

Response entries that meet the class standard will cover 1-2 pages on a Word document (350-600 words) and should treat each concept fully.

Lexicon entries that meet the class standard will follow the example closely and fully investigate the word as it relates to the reading, covering about half a page.

Remember, response notebooks will be checked twice in the semester, in Week 6 and Week 12. Check the calendar for these due dates. I strongly recommend you complete one response a week, or as you encounter a text you want to write about. Don’t wait until the end to do these.