The Academic Summary 

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For this assignment, you will write an academic summary of one course text (see calendar for choices). Your summary should do more than repeat the author’s content (what the author says and argues). You will also focus on the rhetorical features and functions of the text (what the text does, how, and why). Your summary should be at least 1.5 pages long (and no more than 2). It is due on BB on Wednesday, March 20^th and is worth 20 points as a HW assignment.

Being a strong summary-writer will give you an advantage throughout your college career, as you will likely be charged with this writing task in many of your courses across the curriculum. In what follows, guidelines for summary are offered to help you shape and revise your text.

What are academic summaries?

• In sum, academic summaries are short, un-evaluative analyses of an author’s complete argument. It’s more than a restatement of the main ideas. While main ideas are part of it, we’re mostly interested in the author him- or herself, the claims he or she makes, and the ways he or she works to support those claims. That is, our main task is to tell the story of WHAT an author is doing and HOW s/he gets the job done.

What academic summaries are not:

• Your response to or evaluation of the text (your opinions or feelings about what’s good/bad or wrong/right, what’s missing, what’s important, etc.)
• Your personal reflections of what you learned or how you were affected by the text
• You writing as author of a shorter, paraphrased version of the text
• Your listing of major claims and concepts (without making meaningful connections)
• Your own argument or analysis as inspired by the text (including your own intro and examples)
• Your explanation of a single example to illustrate major points
• Your defining and interpretation of major terms or important quotes from the text

Your academic summary should include: ·        Introduction: THE WHO, WHAT, & WHY o   Contextual information about the author and text (i.e., the rhetorical situation) o   A brief and concise explanation of the overall argument made by the author o   A brief and concise explanation of the author’s purpose in writing the text o   Note: catchy or personalized introductions are not needed ·        Body paragraphs: THE HOW o   An explanation of the overall reasons and/or evidence to support the argument o   A detailed description of the author’s organization scheme (citing sections) o   A brief discussion of strategies the author employed to persuade the audience ·        Conclusion: none needed

Phase 2: Summary Assignment Checklist

MEETING THE MAJOR REQUIREMENTS

1. Do my introductory paragraphs include:
   • Contextual information about the author and text? Do I address all parts of the rhetorical situation, providing background information about who the author is, where/when the text was published, and who the intended audience is?
   • A brief and concise explanation of the author’s purpose in writing the text? Do I support my discussion of purpose by drawing evidence from the text?
   • A brief and concise explanation of the overall argument made by the author? Do I cover the full range of the multifaceted argument? Is my summary of the argument accurate?
2. Do my body paragraphs include:
   • An explanation of the overall reasons and/or evidence to support the argument? Do I carefully support my discussion with selective and brief examples from the text?
   • A detailed description of the author’s organization scheme? Does my summary describe how the argument unfolds? Do I explicitly mention the progression over specific sections?
3. Did I address what the prompt asked of me?  Am I missing anything?
4. Did I introduce and summarize the text in a way that readers unfamiliar with the text would sufficiently understand what the author does in the article and how the author does it?
5. Did I attribute ideas to the author? (NO: Literacy sponsors play a major part in…YES: The author argues that literacy sponsors play a major part in…)
6. How effectively do I remain objective? Do I keep my opinions/evaluations/personal responses out of my summary?

EXTRA POLISHING

1. Do I give the author’s full name once and then only refer to him/her by last name?
2. Do I select strong and appropriate verbs (avoiding simple verbs like “says” and “states”)? Do I use the present tense when writing about what the author does (she ARGUES, he CLAIMS)?
3. Am I careful to put quotation marks around copied passages and to cite page numbers?
4. Do I quote enough or quote too much?

• Body paragraphs may benefit from 1 or more examples or quotes as support.
• For short papers like this, try to avoid quotes longer than 3 lines worth.
• Don’t over quote: Paraphrase what you can or choose specific phrases or words.

1. Have I formatted my paper?

• Name, date, instructor, & course located in the upper-left corner, double spaced
• Name Heading is not on any other page
• Last Name & Page #: located in the upper-right corner on every page
• No extra spaces between Name Heading & Title (“Summary of AUTHOR” works as title)
• No extra spaces between Title and Introductory Paragraph
• Align Text Left (NOT justified)
• Every paragraph should be indented.
• No extra spaces between paragraphs.
• Articles/chapters are in quotes. Journals, newspapers, films, & books are italicized.
• Is the text in 12 pt. font, double spaced, 1” margin? Check!

Assessment Rubric for the Academic Summary Assignment

#	Outcome Description	Points Possible
1	How effectively is the rhetorical situation of the text introduced? How effective, accurate, and thorough is the discussion of the author’s purpose and main argument?	1
2	How effective is the explanation of the author’s overall reasons and/or evidence to support the argument? How effectively is this explanation supported by examples?	2
3	How effective is the description of the author’s organizational scheme and/or the unfolding of the argument over multiple sections?	1
4	How effectively does the summary attend to academic conventions, including ·   writing for an unfamiliar audience; ·   attributing ideas to the author (using strong/appropriate verbs); ·   remaining objective; ·   inserting quotations; and ·   formatting the paper.	1
5	General Requirements. Were all major requirements for length and due date met?
	TOTAL POINTS	5