English 394
Fall 2000
Writing (in) Cyberspace
Critical Reading Assignment

Project #2

Assignment: Write a 3-5 page paper which (briefly) summarizes and thoroughly analyzes a text on cyberspace. Publish the paper in your webspace for class members to read. Class members are expected to develop discussions on important issues about cyberculture.

Expectation: If each student in this class chooses a different text and if everyone shares his/her information, then we'll all enlarge our knowledge about cyberspace, about current thinking by various scholars in the field. This is a chance for each of you to share his/her learning with each other.

Logistics: At the top of your piece, please put your name and a link to your email address.

Possible Approach: In your first paragraph introduce the name of the text, the writer(s), the publisher, and the date of publication. Then, answer these sorts of questions about the text: (1) What is the writer's argument? (2) What does the writer mean? (3) Why is this important? That is, what good is this material, this knowledge? What can we do with this knowledge? How does it connect with this class?

When you are satisfied with your project, publish it to the web. Make sure the format appears properly. Did the HTML tags translate correctly? Are there paragraphs?  Do you have a title for your project/page?  Do you make it clear for your readers that you are discussing someone else's ideas rather than presenting your own?

Your grade for this project grade will be based on clarity, organization, completeness, and awareness of audience. Questions I ask about a piece as I read it include: did the writer pay close attention to the text? Is the information being presented fairly and factually? Does the piece reveal both the author's ideas from the text and this writer's view of the materials? Does the writer attempt to clarify ideas for his/heraudience so audience can understand the importance of the work? And, finally, does the piece make sense--is there a point to it? Do readers come away from it understanding both what the book was about and what this writer thought about it?