The goal of the assignment is to give the student an opportunity to synthesize and critique the material. The responses should summarize the key ideas and arguments of the readings through a synthesis of the central themes and arguments. The responses provide an outlet for students to summarize and critically analyze the arguments of the readings and course material. The responses should be approximately 300 to 500 words (maximum) in length and written in a logically organized and grammatical fashion. I suggest you include any questions that the readings raise for you at the end of your summary.