Each student will write two critical response papers over the course of the semester. Each paper will not exceed 1,000 words including tables, references, captions, footnotes, and endnotes. A paper must be turned in within two weeks of the discussion of the reading it responds to. For example, if a response paper addresses a reading discussed on March 17 (respectively, March 18), the latest it can be turned in is March 31 (respectively, April 1).
Important: Late papers will not be accepted (and thus will receive a grade of zero) unless you have documentation of a medical or family emergency.
A critical response paper has two goals: to summarize the main idea of a course reading and to provide a critical assessment. A response paper should include the following elements: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
The introduction provides basic information about the reading. This includes:
The names of the authors and the publication you are responding to.
A brief summary of the main idea, arguments, and evidence the authors present.
The body contains your arguments. Here are some examples of the kind of arguments you might want to make (this is not an exhaustive list).
For theoretical readings:
Use historical evidence to evaluate the plausibility of the assumptions the authors make.
Propose an important factor that the theory neglects and show how including this factor would change the conclusion.
Characterize an additional implication of the theory that the authors do not discuss.
For empirical readings:
Pursue an alternative interpretation of the evidence the authors present.
Evaluate how the case fits (or fails to fit) a particular theoretical model.
Argue, based on a theoretical model, for how the case would have played out differently if some factor had been different.
The conclusion is a restatement of what you said in your paper. Note that it should include no new information.