This response will be on either The Spectator, Life of Johnson, or Anna Barbauld’s poetry. Choose one of these and follow the directions below:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/12030/12030-h/SV1/Spectator1.html#section16

About the Scholarly Article

A scholarly article reviews to an article published in an academic, refereed journal. Refereed means that all of the articles in the journal were reviewed (usually a blind review) by fellow scholars to ensure that the argument is sound and the research rigorous. These articles are written for advanced scholars and often pose a bit of difficulty for undergraduates to read. However, as it’s important to understand the work of top scientists and economists, it is important to become literate in the format in which our top humanities scholars publish. Your goal will thus be to read and fully understand an academic article on a text we will be reading in class and then summarize and explain the importance of that article in a response.

guidelines for finding an article

1. Go to http://www.lib.miamioh.edu/ (链接到外部网站。)链接到外部网站。 and click on the Databases A-Z circle.

2. Use either the MLA International Biography or Project Muse database for your search.

3. Narrow your search to peer-reviewed articles published since 2000, using the filters on the left of the screen or in an advanced search.

4. Type in the name of our reading or author, perhaps narrowing with additional keywords to suit your fancy (this can also be done by choosing limiting subjects on the left of the screen).

5. Choose a full length article, NOT a review or a note (be warned: if you do a shorter review article, you’ll have to do the assignment again). A full-length article is general 20-25 pages long.

6. Read the article several times until you feel that you understand it; if you have a question about a term or reference, attempt to find an answer. While certainly there is some range in the “understandability” of the articles, you are likely to feel uncomfortable with any choice, so resist giving up and trying a new article too many times. Resist blaming the author for your confusion (after all they aren’t really writing to present-you but to future-better-educated-you); and instead spend the time trying to elevate your reading level to the author’s writing level.

Guidelines for Writing the Response

1. Start with a full citation of the source (MLA, APA, Chicago).

2. Write 2-4 paragraphs of summary of the argument the author is making. You may use quotations but avoid long or frequent quotations. The assignment is asking you to demonstrate your understanding of the article by putting it into your own words. Generally the best summaries do not quote at all.

3. Write a paragraph about how the article affected your understanding of the text read for class.

4. Write a paragraph wherein you reflect on how the article approached the text and what kinds of questions it asked. This paragraph is more about what the article is DOING rather than what it is SAYING.