Coursework 1 (40%) – Reaction paper (1500 words):
A reaction paper (also referred to as a response or reflection paper) aims to encourage your engagement with a reading material (journal article or book chapter), a relevant documentary film, or any other relevant learning material (to be discussed and agreed with the module leader). In such a paper you are expected to briefly summarise the material and detail your reaction to it. The following pages explain both parts of a report.
The reaction paper should contain two sections:
Part 1: Summary of the material (article, chapter, report, documentary film)
Give full details of the chosen material, and why it is chosen by the author
Write an informative summary of the material.
Condense the content of the work by highlighting its main points and key supporting points.
Use direct quotations from the work to illustrate important ideas.
Do not discuss in great detail any single aspect of the work, and do not neglect to mention other equally important points.
Also, keep the summary objective and factual. Do not include in the first part of the paper your personal reaction to the work; your subjective impression will form the basis of the second part of your paper.
Part 2: Your reaction to the work
In this section you need to critically reflect on various aspects of the chosen material:
How is the assigned work related to concepts, ideas and concerns discussed in the module?
How is the work related to problems in our present-day world?
How is the material related to your life, experiences, feelings and ideas?
What are the strengths and weaknesses of the work? (here you can refer to other academic pieces you may have read on the topic, in order to show that you can position the work within the broader discourse on the topic)
Evaluate the merit of the work: the importance of its points, its accuracy, completeness, organization, and so on.
Did the work increase your understanding of a particular issue? Did it change your perspective in any way?
