Designed to be an introspective approach to reading, this assignment helps you to understand your own and others' thinking. During this writing, you should

1. Write a response to a text.

2. Construct a reflective commentary on the moves you made as a reader and the possible reasons for them. In other words, how did you read the text and why did you choose to read it that way?

3. Formulate an assessment of a particular text that your reading produced. For example, did the reading methods that you chose to read this text help you to understand the author's central point and critical supporting points? Why or why not?

You will be asked to submit two reading response journals from assigned textbook readings. If you turn them in at the due date indicated in the syllabus and if you make a meaningful attempt to 1) write a response to the reading, 2) construct a reflective commentary, and 3) formulate an assessment about the reading, you will be given 5 points for having completed that assignment.

Exploratory writings include unannounced quizzes and informal writing assignments. Like your reading response journals, you will continue to explore the readings from multiple perspectives. You will also delve into critical questions related to your two multi-draft writing assignments. In other words, your informal responses in these exploratory writings will develop into your formal or academic essays. All exploratory writings should be placed into a folder along with the related multi-draft essay.

Both reading responses and exploratory writings are "evaluation free" writing zones in that they are meant as a space for you to think through the readings and writing assignments, in writing, without having to worry about grammar, organization, and other features characteristic to polished presentation final draft writing. Keeping this in mind, I will not grade them, but you will get credit for completing them, and your completion of this writing assignment will help me to better address your questions and comments during in-class activities.

Part 2: A Letter-to-the Editor

Write this part of the paper using typical language and form encountered in the opinions and forum comments that you read online at http://www.sbsun.com. CLICK HERE for video explanation

Choose one of your summaries/analyses that you wrote and repackage it as a letter to the editor. Keep in mind the following guidelines by The San Bernardino Sun:

The Sun welcomes letters to the editor. Letters must be signed and include an address and phone number. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and grammar. Letters should be e-mailed to [email protected].

Your letter to the editor should not exceed 200 words. Upon completion, you will E-mail [email protected] your 200 word letter as well as submit it to me as part of this writing project.

Part 3: Reflection

This part of the writing assignment is a reflection of parts 1-2 of your assignment. Though you certainly are free to discuss more, at least address the following in your reflection response:

A. Considering race, gender, politics, and class, how are the two discourse communities similar? Different?

B. Considering language and form, how are these two discourse communities similar? Different? You may want to pay attention to paragraphing, sentence style, vocabulary, use of sources, and any other relevant writing conventions.

C. When you repackaged the academic response as a letter-to-the-editor response, you had to make language choices. Which issue did you choose and why? What criteria or process did you use to limit your response to 200 words? For example, how did you determine what to keep or delete?

D. Based on your experience in writing in two different genres (an academic response and a letter to the editor) and in two different discourse communities (1st year writing class and online subscriber forum for The San Bernardino Sun newspaper, what are some of the most noticeable differences in terms of can be said and how it can be said. Be sure to provide some specific examples to support your analysis.

E. Which of the two discourse communities do you feel more a part of? Why? What could you do that would better prepare you to become a more meaningful contributor to one or both of these discourse communities?