Example for Concise Response to Reading
Writing Guidelines
Dorit Netzer, Ph.D.

Example for Concise Response to Reading

When engaging in written assignments, you may want to let the readings and exercises
incubate for a while before completing the assignments, or you may write immediately after you
do the reading and exercises. Find out what is the most fruitful timing for you. Proofread for
grammar, spelling, and organization. Do revisions and rewriting even when posting a brief
response, so it expresses your ideas, comments, and self‐reflections with clarity and feeling.
Practice mindfulness when posting a response to another student’s comment. Speak from your
own experience and adhere to online communication etiquette.
Learning to write well is required and should be approached as a fun, creative component of
your learning experience. It is a key skill in professional development.
Some of the assignments will be about the content of the readings, asking for critical thinking,
comments on ideas, reasons and facts, and thoughtful writing. You are probably used to writing
this way for work and academic settings. Other assignments will constitute personal reflection,
asking for your values, feelings, self-reflections and opinions. These personal reflections may
also be assigned after an experiential exercise for you to report and discuss what happened in
the process. Sometimes the assignment will include creative expression, such as a drawing,
poem, authentic movement, or music. These can be as simple or as complex as you wish. You
are encouraged to take risks in all these assignments, trying out something that is a stretch for
you.
The following is an example for concise responses to specific passages in the assigned reading
(Netzer, 2004). Use this format when posting your response to reading:
Reference:
Walsh, Roger. (1993). Hidden wisdom. In Walsh, Roger, & Vaughan, Frances. (Eds.), Paths
beyond ego: The transpersonal vision. (pp. 223-225). Los Angeles, CA: Jeremy P. Tarcher.
Sofia University, Revised 2022.
Summary:
In this article Walsh addresses the topic of contemplative knowledge as it differs from the
intellectual, or analytical. He notes the necessity of contemplative training as vital for developing
the capacity of depth perception, or in his words, grasping the “higher grades of significance” in
the transpersonal on an experiential level.
Excerpts and Comments:
“Western philosophers usually assume that intellectual training and analysis alone
provide the royal road to understanding...” (p. 223)
In some way this idiom is appropriate. The analytical mind may, indeed, put the individual on
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a “royal road” to a, seemingly, secure understanding of life. This road is paved with authority
and does not present the kind of roadblocks and personal challenges, which are imparted by
less traveled paths, such as the transpersonal.
“This wisdom [transcendental] is the goal of contemplative training and is said to liberate those
who acquire it from delusion and the suffering it produces.” (p. 223)
I grapple with my feeling that although life, in its material manifestation is not “important” as an
object to be attached to, it is sacred (rather than illusory) in that I am here to fulfill my calling and
pay my karmic debts. However, I do see, globally, and experience on a personal level, how an
attachment to the body and ego produce a form of enslavement and much suffering.
“...But when seen directly in meditation it becomes undeniable clear, and by undercutting
egocentricity it can be life‐changing and helpful. Aldous Huxley said, ‘knowledge is a function of
being.’” (p. 224)
The issue of true transformation is at the heart of this discussion. I can attest to the difference
between intellectually knowing and being aware with all aspects of my being. The latter has
meaning, while the former is rarely helpful especially when applied to my work with others.
Citing quotes in proper APA style & reflecting upon them in your own words
Please note that, throughout the course of this class, you will be tasked with honing your APA
Writing skills.
Your challenge is to cite quotes appropriately, in proper APA style, and then to reflect upon
them in your own words.
Example for this assignment:
Reference (basic information - not APA appropriate):
"Hidden Wisdom" from "Paths Beyond Ego" by Walsh & Vaughan.
Summary:
In this article Walsh (1993) addresses the topic of contemplative knowledge as it differs from the
intellectual, or analytical. He notes the necessity of contemplative training as vital for developing
the capacity of depth perception, or in his words, grasping the “higher grades of significance” in
the transpersonal on an experiential level.
Quote (APA appropriate):
“Western philosophers usually assume that intellectual training and analysis alone provide the
royal road to understanding...” (Walsh, 1993, p. 223).
Reflection:
In some way this idiom is appropriate. The analytical mind may, indeed, put the individual on a
“royal road” to a, seemingly, secure understanding of life. This road is paved with authority and
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does not present the kind of roadblocks and personal challenges, which are imparted by less
traveled paths, such as the transpersonal.
Quote (APA appropriate):
“This wisdom [transcendental] is the goal of contemplative training and is said to liberate those
who acquire it from delusion and the suffering it produces” (Walsh, 1993, p. 223).
Reflection:
I grapple with my feeling that although life, in its material manifestation is not “important” as an
object to be attached to, it is sacred (rather than illusory) in that I am here to fulfill my calling and
pay my karmic debts. However, I do see, globally, and experience on a personal level, how an
attachment to the body and ego produce a form of enslavement and much suffering.
Quote (APA appropriate):
“...But when seen directly in meditation it becomes undeniable clear, and by undercutting
egocentricity it can be life-changing and helpful. Aldous Huxley said, ‘knowledge is a function of
being’” (Walsh, 1993, p. 224).
Reflection:
The issue of true transformation is at the heart of this discussion. I can attest to the difference
between intellectually knowing and being aware with all aspects of my being. The latter has
meaning, while the former is rarely helpful especially when applied to my work with others.
WEEK 4 GOAL:
Citing two or more long quotes in proper APA block quotation style form & reflecting upon them
in your own words (following link: https://owl.purdue.edu/).
EXAMPLE for this assignment:
Reference (basic information - not APA appropriate):
"Hidden Wisdom" from "Paths Beyond Ego" by Walsh & Vaughan.
Summary:
In this article Walsh (1993) addresses the topic of contemplative knowledge as it differs from the
intellectual, or analytical. He notes the necessity of contemplative training as vital for developing
the capacity of depth perception, or in his words, grasping the “higher grades of significance” in
the transpersonal on an experiential level.
Long Quote:
Western philosophers usually assume that intellectual training and analysis alone provide the
royal road to understanding. It may be so that this is true for many of us, but within the realm of
Spirit and transpersonal psychology, a more experiential lens must be utilized. (Walsh, 1993, p.
223)
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Reflection:
In some way this idiom is appropriate. As Walsh (1993) states, the analytical mind may, indeed,
put the individual on a “royal road” to a, seemingly, secure understanding of life. This road is
paved with authority and does not present the kind of roadblocks and personal challenges,
which are imparted by less traveled paths, such as the transpersonal.
Long Quote:
This wisdom [transcendental] is the goal of contemplative training and is said to liberate those
who acquire it from delusion and the suffering it produces. The Buddhist term 'dukkha' which is
regularly translated as 'suffering' is more aptly translated 'pervasive unsatisfactoriness' which
points to the delusion that the goal of contemplative training is seeking to subjugate. (Walsh,
1993, p. 223)
Reflection:
I grapple with my feeling that although life, in its material manifestation is not “important” as an
object to be attached to, it is sacred (rather than illusory) in that I am here to fulfill my calling and
pay my karmic debts. However, I do see, globally, and experience on a personal level, how an
attachment to the body and ego produce a form of enslavement and much suffering (Walsh,