You will write a one page discussion write-ups or "reviews" for every original article (not the essays–only the articles upon which the essays are based). Turn a copy into me on Monday class meetings. You will amass a set of close to 50 reviews by the time the semester is over, which will provide you with your own, personal annotated bibliography.
You are required to do a Discussion Write-Up for all the readings unless otherwise noted on the Reading Syllabus.
However, each student will be given 5 passes from doing written reviews for 5 papers throughout the semester. Use them as necessary to accommodate the ebb and flow of your semester workload. Please note that some papers are required for all students no matter what---meaning that you cannot use your passes on those papers. Those are noted in the Reading Syllabus.
Additionally, even if you use a pass on the Original Article and Discussion Write-Ups, you must still read the associated short essays from the HCI Remixed Book so that you are familiar with the gist of the material.
Format requirements:
- One page.
- Single spaced.
- 1" margins top, bottom, left and right.
- 12 point font Times (other variations on Times is also ok).
- Left justified (easiest to read).
- Your target for the content required below is one full page of text.
Here is what your write-ups should contain:
- Name (left side top)
- Date and due week number (right side top)
- Full correct reference to the original article you are reviewing. You will appreciate having this in the future.
- Summary Section: Write a summary paragraph. What is the article about? This should be in your own words, and not abstracted from the abstract.
- Discussion Section: This section is a 2-3 paragraph section (depending on how long your paragraphs are) that considers the overall aims of the paper and its relevance to the literature and to your research (or interests, if you are not working on a research project). This requires some deep thinking about the material, synthesis of ideas. If you aren't sure where to start, here are some questions to consider answering as your organize your writeup (not all are required, or need to necessarily be in this order. They should not be explicitly as listed as questions in your document, as discussion-based prose is the goal. You are encouraged include other attributes of reviewing and synthesis):
- What is the historical or disciplinary context for the paper?
- Why was it important for its time? Are there lessons for today?
- Are there issues that it made you newly consider? What are those and why?
- Do you take issue with any of the points? Why?
- How did your take on the original article compare to the essayist's?
- Does it have relevance to you and your research interests or business interests? If so, what?
- Leads Section: What researchers, articles, projects or research locations (labs, research groups) did reading the essay or the article make you aware of that you want to pursue? This section should be comprised of 2-4 bullet items naming those resources, and one line about why they are leads you think you want to pursue independently.
There's a lot to write in one page. To be concise, you will have to write thoughtfully and edit your work.