Critical Summary 2: Due Wednesday, January 30Th

Critical Summary 2: Due Wednesday, January 30th

Assignment:

Reread Stephanie Ericsson’s essay, “The Ways We Lie” PR 287- 295. Take notes on whom her audience is and what she’s trying to argue. The summary should be at least 50% shorter than the original essay. This means that you should exclude unimportant and extraneous information; just highlight the important ideas featured in the text. For example, why does she spend so much time categorizing types of lies-what is her point?

Pre-Writing:

Peruse the essay and highlight the main ideas, including the argument/thesis. Jot down what’s important by imagining the essay as a skeleton with only the most essential details.

Content:

You should include one to two shortened quotes that best represent the author’s ideas. Then explain whom the intended audience is, based on context clues from the text. You can ascertain who the audience is based on what the author assumes the reader knows, what the reader is interested in, and what the reader is ignorant of. Then expound on whether or not the author’s argument is convincing/unconvincing. ALL of these elements need to be in your summary.

Grammar:

You need to complete the diagnostic grammar test on MyWritingLab and begin completing the exercises. Remember, you need at least a 70% to receive credit. Since we’ve discussed fused sentences, fragments, and comma splices, I will correct your paper based on this mastery.

Format:

Name

Date

Professor’s Name

Summary 1

Title (Capitalize EVERYTHING except articles, prepositions, and conjunctions)

The final draft of the summary should be typed and double spaced, although the rough draft can be handwritten. Both the rough draft and the final draft must be turned in to be considered a complete paper.

Writing Assistance:

It is suggested that you visit the OASIS Center with a copy of your rough draft and the assignment handout to the center. Ask a tutor to help you revise your rough draft. The following English Mini-Lecture, “Thesis Statements and Topic Sentences” will be held this week in CB 100 on Thursday from 5:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.

MLA Format for Citing Quote:

Use an attributive tag (Genre, Author, Subject). The genre is its type such as an essay, article, short story, book, et cetera.

Example 1: In the essay “The Baffling Question” Bill Cosby humorously queries why people become parents: “here is the quote” (11).

If you don’t mention the author’s name in the quote then it must be in the parenthetical citation.

Example 2: In the essay “The Baffling Question” choosing parenthood isn’t a philosophical decision: “here is the quote” (Cosby 11).

If you use a complete sentence before the quote, you need to use a colon (:) before the quote.

Websites to Consult on Summaries:

wwwfac.worcester.edu/owl/teacher/writing_summaries.htm

www.columbia.edu/cu/ssw/write/handouts/summary.html

writing.colostate.edu/guides/documents/standsum/