Writing Assignment Expectations

The writing assignments in our course are related to assigned readings. So, the primary
goal of the assignment is to read the work assigned. I know this seems obvious, but sometimes
students decide to skim, read only portions, or not read at all. The purpose for the assignment
is to help students better assess and digest the material in the reading assignment. As you are
reading, in general, it is helpful to look for a few things:

• The thesis or purpose of the book. This is typically found in the introduction of first
chapter of any work and orients the reader to what they are about to read. Knowing this
helps one better understand the work
• The structure or outline of the book. The thesis states the aim of the book while the
structure shows how that aim is accomplished. Knowing this aids a reader in see
unpacking the argument of the book.

Though there are other issues one would also want to examine, addressing both of these will
orient a reader to the purpose of the book.

Summary

When you write a summary, you want to keep in mind the issues mentioned above (thesis
and structure) and present how the author presented his argument. You are summarizing the
work. This needs to be balanced. In the pages allotted for the assignment there needs to be
appropriate space given to the major components of the book. That is, present the thesis and
aim of the book and then equally present how that aim is achieved. In other words, do not write
the majority of the summary on chapter one and then present all other chapters in three
sentences.
The title of the summary should be the bibliographic material. It should be 12 point and
double spaced and follow other formatting guidelines as listed in Turabian.

Book Review

When you write a book review, there are two parts of the assignment: the summary and
the critique. These should be set apart from one another with headings. For the summary, follow
the guidelines for a summary listed above. For the critique, you need to engage the book more
deeply. Here you are going to offer you thoughts on the argument of the book. Consider the
following questions as samples of what you should try to present:

• What did you think about the thesis?

• Did the author present the case well or not?
• What about the components of the argument?
• Did the author make good arguments or not?
 • Was the structure helpful?
• What was great about the book?
• What could have been added to help the reader?

The title of the book review should be the bibliographic material. It should be 12 point
and double spaced and follow other formatting guidelines as listed in Turabian.