<p>Actually our papers were routinely called, “reports.” They were between a few and 20 pages on xyz topic. Rarely that I recall were we asked to respond to a piece we read. But then again, as I have said, I was more a science kid who would rather take a test any day than write a paper. It is possible that if I had the chance to pitch my own ideas and respond to one piece instead of having to pull a bunch of citations together I would have enjoyed writing more!</p>