Put your name on the worksheet. _______________________________________

What is the title of the paper you are reading. _______________________

Here are several questions (originally suggested to me by James Hook) that one should ask (and answer) when reading a paper. Use this page as a worksheet. Print it out and write a few short sentences for each question. It is quite probable that you can answer some of these questions before you've read the whole paper. Fill in the answers to those questions as soon as you think you know the answer.

• What is the context of the paper? Why did the author write it?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• What is the thesis being investigated? What question was he trying to answer, or what point is the main point he is trying to make.
  
  
  
  
  
  
• What is the contribution? Is this paper important? To whom?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• What is the method of investigation? What methods does he use to make his point?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• What is the "power" of the results? What affect might this paper have on the world?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• What is the influence of the paper. Did he do a good job? Who might he convince?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• What is the applicability of the results? Does what the author say apply to other areas of discourse?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• Give a summary of the technical development? I.e. what are the most imporatn ideas?
  
  
  
  
  
  
• What are some of the details of important examples?

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