ENGLISH 41: COLLEGE-LEVEL READING
ASSIGNMENTS Fall 2007
Amy Hundley
 

Introductory Survey | Mercury Reader Non-fiction Response Questions |
Mercury Reader Literature Response Questions| Q Notes| Practice Test Answer Key

Introductory Survey
 

Please answer the following questions completely and honestly. There are no “right” or “wrong” answers. 
We will refer to this and complete follow-up surveys throughout the semester.

1. List three skills you want to learn from this course.  Be as specific as possible.  For example, “learn to read better”
is too general to mean much of anything.  Think about what you mean by “better.”  In the past, what sort of
reading/academic/study skills problems have you had? 

            Think of three specific skills you want to improve or problem areas you want to address during this course.
            Number them in priority order:

            1.)

            2.)

            3.)

2.  Describe a positive or negative learning experience you’ve had.  What made that experience positive or negative?
Typically, how do you feel when you are placed in a new learning situation?  Why?

3.  Do you enjoy reading for pleasure? Why/Why not? When you read for pleasure, what types of texts/subject matter do you enjoy?
(examples: novels, biographies and autobiographies, fantasy/science fiction, cookbooks, instructional/ “how-to,” reference, historical,
religious, magazines, newspapers, comic books, etc.) Why?  How do you decide which texts you will read?  What is the most recent text
you can recall reading for pleasure? Describe it.

4.  When you read for academic or other “required” purposes, what process do you use? How do you get started? 
How do you help your comprehension while you are reading? What do you do after you finish reading to insure that you retain the information?

5.  Briefly describe your background in reading at the college level.  For example, did you take Eng. 80 or Eng. 81? 
Have you taken Eng. 41 before?  What successes and problems did you experience in reading in these courses?

6.  Briefly describe your background in writing at the college level.  For example, did you take Eng. 84?  Eng. A?  Eng. 1A? 
What successes and problems did you experience in these courses?

7.  Briefly describe your background/experience using computers, word processing, and the Internet. 
Do you have regular access to a computer at home?  Do you have Internet and e-mail at home?

8. What obstacles might prevent you from being successful in this class? Explain.

9.  What expectations do you have for your instructor? Explain.

10. See the next page for a list of 6 Critical Thinking Skills. Based on the descriptions, which of these skills/qualities
do you already possess? Which ones do you need to develop? What other skills/qualities do you think are important for
being a critical reader and thinker? Explain your answers.

Critical Thinking Skills: Qualities of the “Literate Mind”—What ones do you already possess?
(Adapted from: Porter, Kneupper, and Reeder’s book The Literate Mind, 1987 as quoted in
Mc Keague, Step by Step: Writing About Literature, 1999)

Being reflective = taking stock of the task, thinking about the problem

Being methodical = applying appropriate methods to the task to ensure progress towards a goal

Being inventive = casting about for novel ways of arranging data, or expressing an insight, or elaborating a thesis

Being curious = asking “Why?"

Being flexible = being open to new ideas, willing to suspend judgment until the evidence is in, tolerating ambiguity

Being confident = trusting in one’s own capabilities to explore and explain material and to express insights in clear,
convincing, and interesting ways
 

What Do You Believe?

Step One:  From the following list, circle or highlight two qualities that you believe best characterize a “good” reader.

v Needs to read things only once to understand what an author is saying.

v Can find the hidden meanings in the text..
     
v Takes notes while reading.

v Reads slowly and carefully and doesn’t proceed unless he/she understands the meaning of every word.

v Pays attention to his/her feelings about what he/she is reading.

v Tries to find support for what she already believes.

v Understands that all sources and all authors are biased.

v Tries to find the author’s theme or thesis.

v Focuses mostly on the important parts of the text, such as the beginning, ending, and titles.

v Avoids reading things that don’t interest him/her.

v Pays most attention to details, facts, and statistics.

v Reads with certain questions or goals in mind.

Step Two:  Answer the following questions:

11.      Do you think you’re a good reader?  Why or why not?

12.      How would you describe your own reading habits and methods?

Return to top

Mercury Reader Non-fiction Response Questions

Use these questions to respond to the majority of your Mercury Reader  (ISBN 0-536-18944-7)
selections (non-fiction). When you respond to them, you do not need to write out the questions. However,
your answers need to be clearly numbered, complete sentences which tie in the key words/ideas from the questions.

Questions adapted from: Probst, Robert. Response and Analysis, 1988.

1.) FIRST REACTION: What is your first reaction or response to the reading? Describe or explain it.

2.) FEELINGS: What feelings does the reading awaken in you? What emotions do you feel as you read?

3.) PERCEPTIONS: What do you see happening in the reading? Briefly retell the main events and points.

4.) ASSOCIATIONS: What memory does the reading call to mind--of people, places, events, sights, smells,
or even something ambiguous, perhaps feelings or attitudes? Does this reading call to mind any other selection--
poem, play, short story, novel, essay, nonfiction book, textbook, or film? If it does, what is the work and what
is the connection you see between the two?

5.) THOUGHTS/IDEAS: What idea or thought is suggested by the reading? How can this idea or thought work
as a theme or main point for the reading? Explain.

6.) FOCUS: Upon what in the text do you focus most intently as you read--what word, phrase, image, idea, or
technique? What is the most important aspect of the reading? What direct quote (with page number) most defines the "essence" of this selection

7.) AUTHOR: What sort of person do you imagine the author to be? What are some interesting details provided in
your text about this author? Do you think this is a good piece of writing? Why or why not?

8.) RESPONSE: How do you respond to the reading--emotionally or intellectually? Do you feel involved with the
reading, or distant from it?

9.) PROBLEMS: What is there in the reading that you have the most trouble understanding? To what extent do these problem areas hinder your overall response?

10.) SUMMARY: In your own words, write a brief summary of this selection (2-3 sentences).

Mercury Reader Literature Response Questions

Use these questions to respond to the following  fiction selections in your Mercury Reader:

"The Things They Carried" by Tim O'Brien
"I Stand Here Ironing" by Tillie Olsen
"Death by Landscape" by Margaret Atwood
"Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut
"Lullaby" by Leslie Marmon Silko

Follow directions above on how to answer completely and correctly.

Questions adapted from: McKeague, Pat. Step by Step: Writing About Literature. 7th ed., 2002.

1.) Who's who? (The Characters). List and describe them and their roles in the story.

2.) What's happening? (The Plot). Consider the plot structure--exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

3.) Where it it happening? (The Setting--Time and Place). How important is the setting to this story?

4.)  Is the author trying to make a point, to produce a reaction, to entertain? All three? How do you know that?

5.) What are you sure of? What is puzzling? Why?

6.) Why do you like, dislike, or have mixed feelings about the work?

7.) What is the nature of the conflict (s) and what is its (their) resolution? If the conflict is unresolved, why has the
author purposely left it so? Is the outcome believable? Is it justified by what precedes it?

8.) Is the work conventional/typical or unusual in terms of what you have read before? Why?

9.) What is the significance of the title? Are there any direct references to the title within the story itself?

10.) What does the author accomplish in the first and last sentences of the story? Do they unify the work? Do they
emphasize an idea? Why does the story begin at this point and end at that point?

Return to top

Q-Notes (a variation of Cornell Notes)   

For each of your chapters in Developing Critical Reading Skills, 7^th ed., Spears, you will take Q-Notes.
These are a variation on Cornell Notes where you set up two columns with concepts phrased as questions
in the narrow left column and notes and information to answer the questions inthe larger right column.
See the example below for the beginning of the Introductory chapter.

Chapter ________________ Pages ____________________

Return to top

Practice Test Answer Key
 

The answers have already been posted for the time allotted.


Return to top