The goal of class preps is to prepare you for class by training you to read for big ideas, identify the key concepts and the main argument, and identify provocative passages relevant to the main argument. Class preps are meant to measure your understanding of the main ideas in a text; therefore, there should be no personal opinion in preps. They should be approximately half a page (double spaced) and no more than 1 page in length. Submit them to the corresponding learning module in Blackboard in which your reading appears. Though your class prep will not be visible to the rest of the class, we reserve the right to ask you to share from them in class, so please be prepared to talk about them.
Please include:
keywords – look at the keyword listed for the day of class corresponding to your reading; explain its meaning according to the course readings (you may need to draw from the other reading listed for the same day)
main argument – give a short synopsis (2-3 sentences at most) of the main argument (or main ideas) of the reading
passage/quote – retype a short quote (be selective!) from the reading that is particularly interesting, provocative, or indicative of the main argument. Explain why you chose it.