Tutorial Task

Purpose 🎯 

Tutorials are a great way to clarify and extend what you learn in the lectures and help you prepare for assignments and exams. To help you get the most out of your tutorials and prepare for each week’s in-class tutorial discussion, you are required to complete the following reading response task. Through this task you will refine your critical literacy skills.

Task Description ✏️ 

Read   reading name   (in Resources below) and respond to the following questions in Cadmus:
  • What are the author’s main ideas and arguments?
  • What are the strengths in the author’s arguments and evidence?
  • What are the limitations in the author’s arguments and evidence?
  • What are the assumptions made by the author that you would challenge?

Additional Information 📚 

To help you complete this task successfully, the following resources are provided:
  • Marking Rubric — refer to this to understand how you will be assessed
  • Guide: Rubrics — use this to better understand how to interpret rubrics
  • Checklist: How to write a Reading Response — use this to help you complete the task
  • Example: Reading Response — review this to see a completed example of the task
  • Glossary — use this to interpret any words in the task that you do not understand
  • List any additional resources and how students should use them here

Checklist: How to write a Reading Response  

Copy and paste this checklist into your Notes section, ticking off step as you go. 

Step 1: Task Understanding
  • Read the Instructions and Checklist carefully 
  • Read your Marking Rubric 

Step 2: Critical Reading
  • As you read the resource, jot down notes using this framework (adapted from Marshall and Rowland (2006)):
  • The author’s purpose: why has the author written the material? Are these purposes explicitly stated? Are these implicitly stated?
  • The author’s approach: what are the author’s underlying assumptions? Are these explicitly stated? Is there any proof of bias? 
  • Content: what is the author’s thesis? How do they develop the thesis? What evidence, examples, or explanations are used?
  • TIP: as you read, make reference notes of any sources

Step 3: Submit Draft 
  • Submit your critical reading notes (as a draft) before the tutorial

Step 4: Tutorial Discussion  
  • Engage in a discussion with your peers to refine your understanding of the topic. More instructions will be provided in-class.

Step 5: Critical Writing
  • Critically respond to the questions (in Task Description) using this framework (adapted from UniMelb’s Critical Literacy guide):
  • Reporting: report what you have read, you are describing the author’s work. E.g. Evans (2010) found that… 
  • Interpreting: interpret the significance of the ideas. E.g. Evans (2010) found that… and this was significant because…
  • Critiquing: form an opinion on the value of the ideas. E.g. Evans (2020) found that… and this was significant because… but was limited in… it would be more convincing if… 
  • TIP: to avoid plagiarism, you must give credit if you use the work of others (see Referencing in Manual)
  • Review the Example: Reading Response 

Step 6: Submit Final