Introduction
Goals and Goal Setting
Goals Common to All RST Writers
Other Goals to Consider
Defining My Own Goals
Advice about Assignments
Getting Started: Listing Topics to Write about in the Tutorial
Narrative One: Personal Piece on a Significant Experience
Narrative Two: Academic Piece on a Significant Experience
Summary/Response One
Summary/Response Two
Tutorial Evaluation Postscript
On Using the Resources for Writers
Generating and Developing Ideas
Finding/Expressing Main Ideas
Showing v. Telling Sentences
Focusing Topic Sentences
Thesis Statements
Reading Strategies
Assessing Your Reading Strategies
Summarizing
Writing Effective Summary and Response Essays
Discourse Analysis Worksheet
Trade Magazines
Selecting Readings
A summary is a concise paraphrase of all the main ideas in an essay. It cites the author and the title (usually in the first sentence); it contains the essay's thesis and supporting ideas; it may use direct quotation of forceful or concise statements of the author's ideas; it will NOT usually cite the author's examples or supporting details unless they are central to the main idea. Most summaries present the major points in the order that the author made them and continually refer back to the article being summarized (i.e. "Damon argues that ..." or "Goodman also points out that ... "). The summary should take up no more than one-third the length of the work being summarized.
The Response:
A response is a critique or evaluation of the author's essay. Unlike the summary, it is composed of YOUR opinions in relation to the article being summarized. It examines ideas that you agree or disagree with and identifies the essay's strengths and weaknesses in reasoning and logic, in quality of supporting examples, and in organization and style. A good response is persuasive; therefore, it should cite facts, examples, and personal experience that either refutes or supports the article you're responding to, depending on your stance.
Two Typical Organizational Formats for Summary/Response Essays:
1. Present the summary in a block of paragraphs, followed by the response in a block:
Intro/thesis Summary (two to three paragraphs) Agreement (or disagreement) Disagreement (or agreement) Conclusion
Note: Some essays will incorporate both agreement and disagreement in a response, but this is not mandatory.
2. Introduce the essay with a short paragraph that includes your thesis. Then, each body paragraph summarizes one point and responds to it, and a conclusion wraps the essay up.
Intro/thesis Summary point one; agree/disagree Summary point two; agree/disagree Summary point three; agree/disagree Conclusion
COMMENTS
Summary response essays require a balanced understanding and personal perspective on a given text. These samples show students how to briefly summarize content and effectively respond with their insights and critique.
10. ___ The essay contains a Works Cited page which provides an MLA bibliographic entry for the essay to which you’re responding and follows MLA formatting guidelines. (Note: I’ve provided the correct works cited entries below. For a sample Works Cited page, please reference the …
Construct the paper. Start writing your short response, beginning with the topic sentence where you introduce your main idea and mention what your essay is about. Write your supporting sentences to back the topic …
How to Format your paper in MLA. The guidelines below are the general MLA formatting guidelines; however, make sure to prioritize following any specific formatting instructions that your instructor has assigned. Font type: Times New Roman. Example: Kwantlen Polytechnic …
Essay Format. In a short summary, analysis, and response essay, sentences and paragraphs within each section need to flow smoothly. Ask your instructor about whether you should put transitions between the …
The MLA Handbook provides guidelines for creating MLA citations and formatting academic papers. This includes advice on structuring parenthetical citations, the Works Cited page, and tables and figures. This …