Paper #2: Writing a Summary, Reviewing a Text
Purpose:
An important element of studying language and improving our writing skills involves understanding texts and accurately informing others about what those texts mean.
Reading critically and carefully is an essential skill for any strong writer. In addition, accurately summarizing someone elses arguments is equally important for a good writer.
First, make sure you fully understand the writers argument and all the details of the assigned text.
For this essay: Write a 2-3 page essay
Pick an audience of your choice
Summarize for your audience the assigned text
Analyze and map the writers argument,
Include the main points of the text
Inform your readers about the texts evidence and arguments.
Summarize accurately and succinctly the writers claims
Review the text by either recommending or not recommending the text to your readers and telling why.
The point of this paper is not to simply agree or disagree with the author, but rather to use careful reading strategies to understand what a text is trying to convey.
Then, you will evaluate the text for your own audience. Include these specific steps
Provide relevant information about the text, the author, and the subject
.2. Carefully read and break down a text so you fully understand its points and its structure.
Pick a specific audience to whom you wish to address your paper and pay attention to the audiences needs and expectations
.4. Include a main take-away (thesis) that indicates how your paper is structured and what it is about.
Carefully and accurately summarize the writers main points and how exactly the writer argues and develops these main points. Explain the writers logic (logos) and the sort of evidence, data, stories, or descriptions the writer uses
.6. Effectively integrate quotations, and paraphrase from the text into your own essay
.7. Include a clear review, or recommendation, of the text, as well as your criteria for the evaluation
8: Do you want your readers to read the text, or do you find it is not worth their time? Why or why not? Support your recommendation with clear examples
.9. Be aware of the ethics of reviewing as you consider the effects of your judgments.
Feel free to include in your essay visual elements (color and graphics) to represent the texts argument: mapping the argument, creating a spider graph, an outline, or a visual representation of the text.
Assessment Criteria
Times New Roman
12 Point font
2-3 pages (double-spaced)
Inclusion of all relevant information about the text
Summary reflects a close, accurate, and careful reading of the text
Use of specific details from the text to support the review/evaluation
Use of persuasion, creativity, and imaginative elements to directly engage the chosen audience
Careful paragraph organization creates cohesive overall structure
Accuracy in formatting, grammar, spelling, and mechanics Textbook Help
