The Inclusion of Writer Reports in the English

B.A. Curriculum at California State University,

Fullerton

Prepared for: Dr. Leslie Bruce

Prepared by: Kevin Webb
13 November 2014
MLA Style

Kevin Webb
Recommendation of teaching Reader Reports at CSUF

Abstract
A lack of diversity in what is being taught to English majors at CSUF is causing them to be
unprepared in the workplace. The introduction of the Reader Report to the curriculum could
benefit students by broadening their horizons into which industries they are able to pursue as
well as make them more effective and practical writers. This report will advocate for their
inclusion.

Introduction
The English Department at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF) seems to cater mostly
to hopeful teachersso much so that if a student mentions they are an English major, it is almost
universally assumed that this is that students chosen career path. This is not fair to students who
wish to apply their degree towards other fields related to the major such as the Publishing
Industry. CSUF has no discernable curriculum geared towards those in the pursuit of a career in
the Publishing Industrywhich seems odd when the material studied in English and Literature
classes are the product of the aforementioned industry. RTVF majors have classes dedicated to
their respective industries, as do Music majorsso it does not seem too far fetched to think
English Majors might be given the same opportunity, or at least CSUF could take a step in the
right direction by introducing one of the important writing styles utilized for Publishing in the
current English curriculumsuch as Query Letters, Market Performance Reports, and Reader
Reports. Having chosen to advocate for Reader reports, this report will provide justification for
their inclusion in the current English B.A. curriculum at CSUF. The ability to write a fair and

thoughtful Reader Report will provide students with alternative employment opportunities within
the Publishing Industry, and make these students a more well rounded candidate for work in that
field.

Methods
I.
-

Email Correspondence
Emails were sent to two personal contacts within the Publishing industry, although a
response was only received form one, who was relaying information from both herself and
her boss. I asked her what her publishing houseN.S. Bienstock, looked for in potential
candidates, whether Reader Reports were essential to performing a job in the industry well,
and if knowing how to write them prior to pursuing a career could help your chances of
gaining employment. Although my questions are very specific, I believe that this helps to
limit confusion and leave little room for interpretation.

II.
-

Course Catalog Review

The current Course Catalog at CSUF was reviewed to ensure that no focus seems to have
been aimed towards a career in the Publishing Industry.

III.
-

Review of English Major B.A. curriculum

The course curriculum for English Majors was examined to determine where introduction of
the Reader Report might be added into an existing or new course at CSUF.

IV.
-

Conventions of Genre
The different methods of writing a Reader Report were examinedas some Publishing
Houses seem to prefer different ways of writing them.

V.

Internet Research

Collected information on Reader Reports as well as their importance in the field of

Publishing as of today.

Results
I.

Email Correspondence

- I received information from the Publishing division that I am interning for through the Sammy
Bina, the Publishing Assistant there. She filled out my brief survey as well as relayed answers
from her boss Paul. She helped determine which type of writing was the most important to
master if in pursuit of a career in the Publishing Industry. She also answered more specific
questions regarding the use of Reader Reports within the field
Writing
Genre

Research
Report

Will help to
get future
career?

Would it
benefit a
university to
teach?

Is it common in
the Field?

Will it help
students to be
advanced in
industry?

Will it help to
get work
published?

10

10

10

10

Query Letter

Market
Performance
Reports
(M.P.R)

Point Totals:
II.
-

Reader Reports-46

Query Letters-39

M.P.R.s- 42

Course Catalog Review

Learning goals for English Majors were reviewed and include: read critically; write
effectively, research, and knowledge of structure and major works (CSUF, 2014). The goals
of write effectively and read critically are heavily featured in the genre of Reader
Reports.

III.
-

Review English B.A. Curriculum

Review classes offered within the major, and none of them make mention of the Reader
Report or the Publishing field. (CSUF, 2014)

IV.
-

Conventions Of Genre
Basics: The Reader Report is designed to screen potential manuscripts in order to decide
whether or not they are worthy of publishing. A one to two page document, reader reports
should focus primarily on concision.

Basics #2: Broken up in to two sections, synopsis, and commentsReader Reports are
usually no more than one page longin order to provide the editor a concise, but detailed
feel for the work, so that the editor might decide whether or not to read it themselves.

Synopsis: Just as one might assume, the Synopsis is the first paragraph or part of the Reader
Report, and serves to fully encompass the plot of the manuscript from beginning to end (no
need for suspense), touching upon all major characters and developments so the editor can
see whether or not they think the story seems interesting and or original (Hardy&Knox).

Comments: Also as it seems, after having fully read and summarized the workthe writer of
the report is tasked with giving their opinions on the piece. These include story structure,
narration; plot holes, grammar issues, etc. All comments must be used to defend your overall
impressions on the piece, which should be mentioned within the first sentence. Examples of
mistakes can be cited and used as examples where necessary.

V.
-

Internet Research
While searching the internet I found that not all Publishing Houses write Reader Reports in
the same format, for instance, one House might divide the report into three parts, including

an assessment of market value as the final piece of the Report, as opposed to having a
separate document dedicated to this.
-

Internet research also helped to emphasize the importance of the Reader Report within the
publishing field (Hardy&Knox).

Conclusions
My research led me to discover that the Reader Report is an essential part in the publishing
industry, that students at CSUF are not taught this style of writing, and that they should be to
make them more prepared for potential jobs in the field. I learned the integral components of said
Reader Reports, and how they might be taught in order to prepare students the most efficiently
for a Publishing career. In addition, since the learning objectives of the English Major at CSUF
(CSUF, 2014) share some of the key components of the reader reportIve concluded that their
inclusion will be beneficial all around.

Recommendation
I recommend requiring students of the English Major at CSUF to take a course on the landscape
of the modern publishing industry to not only show them their optionsbut also the ins and outs
of the industry as well. The class will be a survey course so to speak and touch on a variety of
topics in relation to the field. This is an idealized goalso to begin, I believe that Reader
Reports should be taught as a genre in the earliest classes that English majors take while
pursuing a degreethis will not only prepare them for work that they could be doing in the

future, but teach them how to use valuable tools of literary criticism and summarizationjust as
the learning goals of the major highlight.

Work Cited

"Searching for the Story. What We Look For: A Sample Reader's Report. N.p., 27 Oct.
2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2014. http://searchingforthestory.blogspot.com/2011/09/what-we-look-forsample-readers-report.html
"What Is a Reader?" Hardy & Knox Literary Consultants. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2014.
http://www.hardyandknox.com/readers-report/what-is-a-reader.shtml
Bina, Sammy. "Reader Reports." 14 Nov. 2014. E-mail.
Edu, Fullerton. 2014 Catalog. Fullerton: CSUF, 2013.
http://www.fullerton.edu/catalog/pdf/Accounting-HumanCommunicationStudies.pdf