Project 1 Assignment --Summary/Response Paper

Project I—Summary/Response Paper-

Due Tuesday February 14, 2012
The ability and skill to be able to clearly craft an effective and complete summary and a thoughtful and organized response to a reading, viewing or other form of media is essential to successful college work.

Definition: A summary/response assignment asks a writer to first present the major points of another source and then expand on those points through incorporating other ideas.

Conventions of a summary:
• Names the author and/or title of the piece
• Opens with a clear statement of the original piece’s focus.
• Contains all (or in our case a few focused) examples used in the original piece
• Explains all the key terms in the piece, as applicable for the focus
• Presents accurately the ideas in the original piece, without or otherwise changing their meaning.
• Presents the information in a coherent, focused way, not as a list of points or ideas.

Conventions of a response:
• States the focus of the response, usually in the beginning of the response.
• Engages in a discussion about the ideas in the piece
• A clear connection between the writer’s ideas and the ideas in the original text.
• A clear sense of the writer’s feelings and/or opinions about the ideas to which they are responding.
• An explanation of why the audience should find the response significant, fascinating or otherwise engaging.
• Quote should only appear in the response section of the paper.

Assignment: 500 word minimum.
Select an article about which you would like to summarize and respond. You may choose any informative source that interests you. Assume you are writing for the same audience as your response essays: a college freshman English class focusing on popular culture. An example of the kind of summary required can be found in the last paragraph of your reading on page 424 of HTWA. A good example of a response paper is found in your reading on page 263 in HTWA. Hints: This assignment is intended to help you learn how to effectively and objectively summarize an article and then provide a clear, organized, well-supported response with your opinion. You should paraphrase and quote only in the response section.

Kean University English Composition Grading Policies:
Writing assignments are evaluated according to
a) Genre/Audience;
b) Focus;
c) Development;
d) Organization;
e) Mechanics (grammar, spelling, punctuation).

A Excellent fulfillment of the assignments requirements; original substantive content; effective organization and logical development; correct mechanics; clear effective diction and syntax; fluent use of language; correct documentation (when applicable).
B Above average fulfillment of the assignments requirements; thorough and interesting content; good organization; correct mechanics; effective diction and syntax; fluent use of language; correct documentation (when applicable).
C Fulfills basic requirements of the assignment; some solid content; adequate organization; no major mechanical errors; no major documentation errors.
D Does not fulfill basic requirements of the assignment; vague content; ineffective organization; major mechanical errors; significant errors in documentation.
F Does not fulfill basic requirements of the assignment; little content; minimal form; major, serious repeated mechanical errors; violations of the Academic Integrity Policy.