Below are links to the topics to choose from.

Step 1: Choose a Text

Select one of the provided texts:

Chen, B. X. (2025, Mar 27). TikTok appears to be staying. What does that mean for us?: [Business/Financial Desk]. New York Times.

Miller, C. C., & Cabreros, I. (2025, March 11). 15 lessons scientists learned about us when the world stood still. New York Times.

Hill, K. (2025, May 15). The professors are using ChatGPT, and some students arent happy about it. New York Times.

Step 2: Apply Active Reading Strategies

First, carefully read your chosen text while implementing at least three active reading strategies:

1. Annotation: Mark up the text (digitally or on a printed copy) by highlighting key points, writing questions in the margins, and noting connections between ideas. If you cannot mark directly on the text, take detailed notes in a separate document.
2. Note-taking: Create a separate document to record main ideas, supporting points, unfamiliar terms, and your reactions as you read.
3. Outlining: Map the structure of the text by identifying the introduction, major sections, and the conclusion.
4. Question generation: Formulate questions about the text before, during, and after reading.
5. Summarizing: Practice condensing paragraphs or sections using your own words.
6. SQ3R: Survey, Question, Read, Recite, Review

As you read, focus specifically on:

• Identifying the main idea or thesis statement.
• Noting key supporting points and evidence.
• Analyzing the organizational structure.
• Evaluating the author’s purpose and effectiveness.

Then, analyze how the author presents their argument:

• Identify the main idea and key supporting points of the text.
• Reflect on how the author of the text presents their argument through intentional support and offer your own response to what you are reading.
• Where do your personal experiences, values, or perspective align with, or depart from, what the author presents?
• Do you feel the authors are biased?
• Did you have to overcome your own bias to fairly evaluate the article’s message?

Step 3: Use the Template to Draft Your Response

Your response essay should include these elements:

• Introduction paragraph:
• Name the author and include the articles title.
• Briefly mention the topic and why it is significant.
• Offer your bottom-line reaction to the author’s argument (your thesis).
• Body paragraphs (at least three):
• Each paragraph should address one major supporting point from the text.
• Begin with a clear topic sentence that identifies the point you are addressing.
• Provide specific examples or quotes from the text (with proper attribution).
• Offer your analysis and response to each point.
• Explain how this point relates to your overall reaction to the text.
• Conclusion paragraph:
• Summarize your overall response to the text.
• Incorporate questions and curiosities about what you want to learn next.
• Suggest how this text might inform your understanding of your chosen topic for the multimodal composition project.

Step 4: Upload your essay draft to the Grammarly Web application and address style and grammar suggestions

Before submitting your final draft:

• Check for proper sentence structure and paragraph organization.
• Ensure you have included proper attribution when discussing the author’s ideas.
• Review your essay for clarity and coherence.
• Choose style and grammar suggestions you wish to address.

Step 5: Submit your completed template and your edited essay in the assignment folder in LEO.

Submission Requirements

• Length: at least 5 paragraphs (approximately 750-900 words)
• Format: Double-spaced, 12-point font
• Include a document heading with your name, course, and assignment title
• This assessment will enable you to demonstrate K1.1 by defining active reading strategies, S1.1 by applying note-taking techniques to identify main ideas and supporting details, and K1.2 by recognizing structural and organizational patterns in various communication formats.

Evaluation Criteria:

Your assignment will be evaluated based on the following rubric: