Rise of civilization: reading notes
Each reading in this course has been carefully selected to help you learn about and understand the rise of civilization. I believe we learn best when we think about what we have read in a structured way. Reading Notes are designed to structure this reflection and enhance your learning.
The readings will also help you identify your regional interests (important for your oral presentation) and questions you are interested in (important for your Research Report). As you are reading, I suggest you keep a list of interesting questions to help you decide what you will investigate for your Research Report.
For any reading assigned in the course, please answer the questions below on one type page (a half page is too little; single spaced, 12 point font). First, decide if the main purpose of the article/chapter is to inform or convince. Many articles/chapters have both purposes. Decide what you think the author's primary purpose is; then, answer the most appropriate questions. Please number your answers to each question. Course readings are found under the "Readings" tab on this website or there is a direct link on the course calendar. Email me if you forgot the password.
These questions will evolve during the semester as our knowledge of the subject increases.
PURPOSE: Convince
1. Is the author's main purpose to inform or convince? What are you basing your answer on?
2. What is the author/s trying to convince you of?
3. Identify and briefly explain several reasons and the associated evidence/data used to convince you?
4. Were you convinced; why/why not? Answers such as "I was convinced because of the evidence presented to support the author's argument" will not receive full credit.
5. What are at least two specific and important things you learned from this article that you want to remember? One of the purposes of the Reading Notes is to help you remember what you learn in the readings. Take time to select some things you found valuable.
6. What is your personal evaluation of the effectiveness of the author's argument?
[If you prefer, you can create an argument map of the reading]
OR
PURPOSE: Inform
1. Is the author's main purpose to inform or convince? What are you basing your answer on?
2. What is the author trying to explain to you or teach you?
3. Identify and explain at least three "things" you learned from this reading. One of the purposes of the Reading Notes is to help you remember what you learn in the readings. Take time to select some things you found valuable and summarize what you learned. Answers such as, "The author explained the purpose of monumental architecture" are inadequate unless the purpose presented by the author is described. Likewise, "I learned about the geography of Mesoamerica" is not an adequate demonstration of the depth of your learning. Answering this question will only be as valuable as you make it.
4. What is your personal evaluation of the effectiveness of the reading in meeting its objective to inform?
[If you prefer, you can create a concept map of the reading]
Reading Notes are due before the start of class the day the reading is assigned. You can submit Reading Notes any day/time prior to the due date/time (even a week or more in advance!). Please upload the Notes to Blackboard; if you have technical issues uploading to Blackboard you can bring a hardcopy of the notes to class or email it to me.
Reading Notes are worth up to 3 points each. The maximum points you can earn is listed next to the reading title on the Course Schedule. There are more than 30 assigned readings in the course. You can accumulate up to 10 additional points beyond the 25 allocated to this portion of your grade. In other words, once you accumulate the 25 Reading Notes points you can continue to accumulate 10 more points up to a maximum of 35 points that will be added to your final course grade. Readings earlier in the course are worth more points than those later in the course.
Grading rubric: Your notes will receive full credit (1 to 3 points as noted next to the reading) if all the questions above are answered in a careful, thoughtful, and understandable manner. I am looking for the notes to demonstrate a careful reading of and reflection on the assigned text. The evidence I use to assess this are the submitted Reading Notes. You will receive less than full credit to no credit if an answer to any question is missing and the evidence for a careful reading of the text is weak or equivocal. Reading Notes are not about getting the right answer or finding a lot of answers--they are about helping you gain knowledge and understanding of early civilizations by actively engaging with the readings.
Your answers to the questions should be complete sentences and generally free of grammatical errors. Fully structured paragraphs are not necessary but complete thoughts are. Most importantly, I need to understand what you are writing. If I can't understand what you're saying I can't give you any credit for the activity. Write the notes for yourself, but make sure I can understand what you’re talking about (generally). The main thing I am looking for is that you have read the chapter/article, thought about what you read, and worked to find something useful to take away from the reading.
Submitting course assignments: As an issue of fairness, I cannot accept late work for any reason. Submit your work early if you think you may have trouble meeting the deadline. You are not expected nor do you need to complete Reading Notes on all assigned readings.
Please submit all reading notes on Blackboard UTA instructions for submitting work on Blackboard include: Frequently Asked Questions, Video. In brief, on the course Blackboard page, find the "Assignments" heading on the top left side of the page. Select "Assignments" then select the assignment you plan to submit.
Please submit reading notes as PDFs. You can upload assignments at any time prior to the start of our class.
The readings will also help you identify your regional interests (important for your oral presentation) and questions you are interested in (important for your Research Report). As you are reading, I suggest you keep a list of interesting questions to help you decide what you will investigate for your Research Report.
For any reading assigned in the course, please answer the questions below on one type page (a half page is too little; single spaced, 12 point font). First, decide if the main purpose of the article/chapter is to inform or convince. Many articles/chapters have both purposes. Decide what you think the author's primary purpose is; then, answer the most appropriate questions. Please number your answers to each question. Course readings are found under the "Readings" tab on this website or there is a direct link on the course calendar. Email me if you forgot the password.
These questions will evolve during the semester as our knowledge of the subject increases.
PURPOSE: Convince
1. Is the author's main purpose to inform or convince? What are you basing your answer on?
2. What is the author/s trying to convince you of?
3. Identify and briefly explain several reasons and the associated evidence/data used to convince you?
4. Were you convinced; why/why not? Answers such as "I was convinced because of the evidence presented to support the author's argument" will not receive full credit.
5. What are at least two specific and important things you learned from this article that you want to remember? One of the purposes of the Reading Notes is to help you remember what you learn in the readings. Take time to select some things you found valuable.
6. What is your personal evaluation of the effectiveness of the author's argument?
[If you prefer, you can create an argument map of the reading]
OR
PURPOSE: Inform
1. Is the author's main purpose to inform or convince? What are you basing your answer on?
2. What is the author trying to explain to you or teach you?
3. Identify and explain at least three "things" you learned from this reading. One of the purposes of the Reading Notes is to help you remember what you learn in the readings. Take time to select some things you found valuable and summarize what you learned. Answers such as, "The author explained the purpose of monumental architecture" are inadequate unless the purpose presented by the author is described. Likewise, "I learned about the geography of Mesoamerica" is not an adequate demonstration of the depth of your learning. Answering this question will only be as valuable as you make it.
4. What is your personal evaluation of the effectiveness of the reading in meeting its objective to inform?
[If you prefer, you can create a concept map of the reading]
Reading Notes are due before the start of class the day the reading is assigned. You can submit Reading Notes any day/time prior to the due date/time (even a week or more in advance!). Please upload the Notes to Blackboard; if you have technical issues uploading to Blackboard you can bring a hardcopy of the notes to class or email it to me.
Reading Notes are worth up to 3 points each. The maximum points you can earn is listed next to the reading title on the Course Schedule. There are more than 30 assigned readings in the course. You can accumulate up to 10 additional points beyond the 25 allocated to this portion of your grade. In other words, once you accumulate the 25 Reading Notes points you can continue to accumulate 10 more points up to a maximum of 35 points that will be added to your final course grade. Readings earlier in the course are worth more points than those later in the course.
Grading rubric: Your notes will receive full credit (1 to 3 points as noted next to the reading) if all the questions above are answered in a careful, thoughtful, and understandable manner. I am looking for the notes to demonstrate a careful reading of and reflection on the assigned text. The evidence I use to assess this are the submitted Reading Notes. You will receive less than full credit to no credit if an answer to any question is missing and the evidence for a careful reading of the text is weak or equivocal. Reading Notes are not about getting the right answer or finding a lot of answers--they are about helping you gain knowledge and understanding of early civilizations by actively engaging with the readings.
Your answers to the questions should be complete sentences and generally free of grammatical errors. Fully structured paragraphs are not necessary but complete thoughts are. Most importantly, I need to understand what you are writing. If I can't understand what you're saying I can't give you any credit for the activity. Write the notes for yourself, but make sure I can understand what you’re talking about (generally). The main thing I am looking for is that you have read the chapter/article, thought about what you read, and worked to find something useful to take away from the reading.
Submitting course assignments: As an issue of fairness, I cannot accept late work for any reason. Submit your work early if you think you may have trouble meeting the deadline. You are not expected nor do you need to complete Reading Notes on all assigned readings.
Please submit all reading notes on Blackboard UTA instructions for submitting work on Blackboard include: Frequently Asked Questions, Video. In brief, on the course Blackboard page, find the "Assignments" heading on the top left side of the page. Select "Assignments" then select the assignment you plan to submit.
Please submit reading notes as PDFs. You can upload assignments at any time prior to the start of our class.