Reading Logs:
Reading logs gave me the opportunity to further my understanding of the class content. We were given articles that usually related to class content and would be brought up in class for discussion. In class we would discuss the articles content, and usually make connections to previously learned material. Often what would would write in our reading logs prepared us for the class discussions. In our reading logs we were to analyse the articles and interpret the authors purpose and argument.
Interpreting Articles:
The importance of these reading logs was quite obvious. These articles gave us opportunities to practice analyzing and interpreting events of the past. Writing these logs for me was useful, not only to further comprehend class content, but also gave me writing practice for my personal research paper. These reading logs helped prepare me for my own articles and interpreting their meaning. For me these reading logs were not always simple. At the beginning of the course I was unsure about what to do, and as the class went on we learned more techniques to help. Some articles I found harder to find the main argument, or at least find the words to explain it. For the most part the arguments were set out clearly in the intro.
Evidence:
Pulling evidence from each piece was extremely helpful to strengthen the arguments in my reading logs. At the beginning of the course I did not know exactly what type of evidence I should be pulling from the articles. As I practiced more and listened to class discussions I figured out which type of evidence is more useful. Listening to others talk about what they took from the articles and what evidence they used really helped me with my writing.
Reading Log Example:
This reading log is an example of one I did this year. This particular topic I found very interesting. I chose this specific log because it was done later i the semester, after I had learned many techniques to help with analyzing an article and using evidence to create an arguement.