Guidelines for Summary-Response Journals - Free Essay on Academic Writing

Summary-response is a type of writing that allows you to practice several skills that are important to good academic writing: summarizing ideas, making connections between external authorities and personal experiences, and expressing your own ideas and opinions. Each paper should contain parts as outlined below. Each paper should be a minimum of 350 words. Your summary-response papers should have two parts:

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1) The first part should be about a paragraph long and should contain a summary of the main ideas expressed by the presenter/author. Your summary does not require much detail, but supporting points and examples that help readers understand the content should be included. Throughout your summary, you should use reminder phraseswords that refer back to the author (e.g., The author also explained that)to remind readers that you are summarizing anothers ideas and words.

What is a summary?

A summary is a condensed or reduced version of a text. It is written in paragraph form and contains all of the most essential information--and nothing extra. Therefore, a summary is much shorter than the original text. A well-written summary should:

1. Identify the author's name and the title of the text in the first sentence.

2. State the overall main idea of the text (the thesis) in the first sentence.

3. Identify only the most important examples and supporting details. Mention the points and important examples in the same order as the original.

4. State the author's main conclusion from the information presented.

USEFUL LANGUAGE:

In the article, (include article title),

The author asserts that (alternative verbs: states, claims, explains, etc.)

According to the presenter in (include presentation title and date),The author also stated that

Summary Do's and Don'ts

Do read the entire text carefully first, marking key ideas and examples. Make notes to yourself in the margins about the main idea in each paragraph (or the example/s discussed).

Do organize your information properly. Include all four parts of a summary listed above.

Do keep your summary brief, but don't leave out anything important.

Don't use the author's words or include large quotes from the text. Use your own words.

Don't try to figure out the main idea of the text until you have finished reading through the entire article more than once. When you've finished reading, write out the text's main idea. Then, go back and briefly reread the text to make sure what you have written is really the author's main idea.

Don't include your own ideas; don't use "I." Save your reaction for the response.

2) The second part should explain or describe some connection you make between the presenter/authors ideas and your own experience. Alternatively, you may compare or contrast the presenter/authors ideas with those of another presenter/author you are familiar with. This paragraph should provide enough information to explain why you are making this connection. You might also express your opinion and evaluation of the presentation of the topic itself (e.g., the presenter/authors style of presentation, voice quality, vocabulary choice). You should include examples, facts, and experience to defend or support your opinion/evaluation.

USEFUL LANGUAGE

This topic reminds me of another article by (author).

In this article,As I considered the presenters argument, I recalled an experience in which

A similar idea about (topic) is expressed by (author) in (article, book, etc.)

The authors arguments are (persuasive/convincing/inadequate...) because

I agree/disagree with the presenters views about (topic) because

In my opinion, the assertions in this article are correct/incorrect because

The author expressed her ideas in a clear academic manner. For example, she began by.

What is a response?

A response is your critical reaction to the text. The word "critical" does not necessarily mean negative. You may have positive or negative reactions to a text, but you must support those reactions with reasons and examples. An academic response doesn't end with, "I thought the article was good," or "I agree with the author's point of view." A well-developed response describes why you liked the article, why you agree with the author. A thoughtful response should:

State your reaction to one or more of the author's ideas.

Express your opinion on the writer's point of view and explain why you agree or disagree. Include your interpretation of the text (what it means to you); you will use "I.

Make connections to your own personal experience. What does the article remind you of in your own life?

Response Do's and Don'ts

Do include any facts or references from other sources or personal experiences that help to explain the feelings or ideas that come to you while reading.

Do use evidence to support your opinions about the piece

Do use a formal tone

Don't just repeat the author's ideas. State your impressions/opinions about ideas in the article.

Evaluating Your Research Article

Evaluation Criteria Article

Currency: When was the article published? Is it current enough for your purpose? Published on: __________

Relevance:

Does the information relate to your topic or answer your research question?

Is the information at an appropriate level (not too basic and not too advanced for your needs)? Authority:

Who wrote the article? What are his/her credentials?

Who published the article? Accuracy:

Is the information supported by evidence/references? What kinds? Purpose:

Based on this worksheet, do you think this source is useful to your purposes and reliable? Why or why not? After you have read and annotated your article and completed the Evaluating Your Article chart, answer the following questions.

What is the main idea of your source?

What ideas support the main idea?

Which ideas/arguments do you agree with? Why?

Which ideas/arguments do you disagree with? Why?

Which ideas might you cite in your response? Pick 1-2 ideas.

Will you use direct quotes or paraphrase that information?

How will you explain the authors idea(s) to your audience? In other words, what do you want your reader to understand from that piece of evidence?