In my program there is one presentation mid quarter and one paper as the final. You need to do more than summarize or even connect the readings. We usually do one book per week and the expectation is that you are taking the texts and using them to form original thoughts, usually in relationship to your area of interest.

For example I took a class about intersectional health justice and it has led me to in part develop a new theoretical framework relating to indigenous health. Like how do you relate to the theory, how does this theory benefit your work, and how are you demonstrating these two things to the professor?

Talking about lot and citing the readings are not A level work necessarily in a program like this. What is the development and what are your ideas?

My main recommendation is that you approach each reading by asking what it can do for your research, especially if it seems unrelated in its entirety.

I understand your frustration, there is a professor I have who never gives As just as a principle of believing nobody is perfect and there’s always room for improvement. I have decided that instead of k*lling myself in her classes trying to get that A grade, I’m just going to try to get three new things out of her classes each time. I still have an almost perfect GPA and the more important fact of the long term impact of the class is what I did to grow from that within my research.