Essay 1: Summary-Critique. 300 – 500 words. MLA Format. Refer to chapter 10 in the Portable Guide for guidelines on MLA format. Use in-text citation and include a separate Works Cited page (even though you will have only one source.) DUE: Friday April 24.
The source for your first assignment has been supplied for you (the Best American Science & Nature Writing). Read your selected essay, taking notes and annotating as you go. Keep an eye out for quotable passages – those that seem to sum up or capture important points.
a. Follow the steps for SUMMARY and SYNOPSIS included in this Module. Chapter 8 in the Portable Guide should also come in handy.
b. Be sure to name the essay and article you are writing up in your introduction. An effective summary/synopsis condenses the source material and highlights the most important points. The goal is to be thorough without being burdensome.
c. Avoid scaffolding language that refers to the fact that you are writing a paper or completing an assignment. Never write:
“After reviewing the textbook, I couldn’t decide what to write about, but then I finally chose… xyz.”
OR
“In this essay, I will explore the main ideas and value of Alan Lightman’s essay in our textbook.”
Instead, write: Alan Lightman’s “Our Place in the Universe” is an insightful and informative essay about the scale of human perspective and activity when measured against the vastness of the universe.”
d. Include select quotes and paraphrases when appropriate, but rarely does a summary/synopsis use long block quotes, so choose judiciously.
e. Your conclusion should include an element of critique or response to the source: did you find it engaging, informative, and useful? In what ways is it valuable to a reader? What does a reader stand to gain from it? Is there anything left out of it, or other ways the essay/article comes up short, or fails to address important aspects of the topic, in your view?
“Critique” means a critical, thoughtful response to the source material: what you make of its usefulness, for general or for certain specific audiences. In this case, you should consider the value to a general, intelligent reading public. This may include appreciation or criticism, or both, but always attempts a fair assessment of the uses, purposes, and limitations of the source material, in an appropriate context.
Criteria for critique include: accessible, entertaining, informative, thorough, engaging, challenging, insightful, probing, broadens perspective, effective, connects personal experience to objective data, etc. Or their opposites. There are many possible criteria – you simply have to be clear about the ones that matter to you.
TIPS FOR ADVANCED STUDENTS: you may find it very useful and relevant to read the National Geographic essay titled: “Why Reasonable People Doubt Science”–and draw your evaluative criteria from the principles discussed therein.
