Can't escape the BS

I sat up until 3am this morning, thinking and writing and erasing and writing.  I was trying to complete a rather vague 3 page written assignment given by my Sociology 101 professor- "engage seriously and creatively with the readings."  What the heck is that supposed to mean?  Considering that my professor had only lectured in class up to this point, I had no idea what "type" of paper he wanted us to write.  So I sat and wrote and wasted time trying to figure out just what type of paper to write in order to satisfy my teacher.  I can honestly say that I still don't know if what I produced will be to the satisfaction of my professor; however, I do know that I managed to produce some good-sounding BS just to get the assignment done.  Instances like this really make me wonder why some professors give writing assignments at all.  I feel like this particular paper, considered a sort of informal writing, will be graded completely upon his subjective views of how appealing the writing is.  That is my concern, because it could be to my detriment.  However, I do know that there is only so much "figuring" you can do when producing that first written assignment for a teacher, especially with a prompt as vague as the one I was given.  So all I can do is hope, and maybe after I receive this grade I will better be able to determine what "type" of papers I should be producing to satisy this particular professor.