The first assignment will practice summary-writing as a means of reading comprehension. I've chosen a text that you should find challenging. It was published in a scholarly journal, for an audience of college writing teachers and scholars:
Robillard, Amy E. "Young Scholars Affecting Composition: A Challenge to Disciplinary Citation Practices." College English 68.3 (January 2006): 253-270.
Your assigned task is to write a 350- to 500-word summary of the article. In class on September 10 you'll have a chance to ask questions about the article, so you'll want to read it carefully by then. I also recommend that you write a draft of your summary before September 10, so that you know what problems you will have with the summary, while you still have time to ask questions and get assistance.
As you prepare the summary, you may find it useful to consult two handouts I prepared some years ago. "The Reader's Summary" tells you how to use summary as a way of comprehending complex texts. Following these directions might be a good first step for this assignment.
Then, however, you have to produce a summary that would help other people understand the text even if they've never read it. "The Summary Essay" offers directions for assembling that essay, and you should follow these directions as you prepare this assignment. As you work, you should also draw on whatever you found useful in the two textbook readings:
Thomson Handbook pp. 156-158;
Writing Analytically, pp. 109-120.
Manuscript preparation: When you have produced a final draft of your summary, follow the specifications here.
Length: 350 to 500 words.
Grading: As I grade the final draft, my primary concerns will be whether you have covered Robillard's argument accurately and comprehensibly; the extent to which you use fresh language; the precision with which the manuscript has been edited and proofread; and the extent to which the paper is formatted and transmitted according to the manuscript specifications. If you do the assignment as requested and hand it in on time, you'll get a "C." If you do it especially well, you'll get a "B." If you do it exceptionally well, you'll get an "A." This assignment counts as 15% of your final course grade.
Feel free to email or IM me while you're working on this or any assignment. While I'm at Lancaster University (Sept. 4-9) I don't expect to be online much, but any messages from you will be my #1 concern whenever I am online.
Due date: You need to send the summary to me by midnight September 12. Send it as an email attachment; the manuscript specifications tell you how. After September 12, it becomes a late paper, which means the grade begins to slide.
