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

  1. Summary Response Essay Examples & Samples

    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.

  2. Summary and Response Essay Checklist

    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 …

  3. MLA Response Paper Format: How to Write a Response …

    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 …

  4. Sample Essay Structure (MLA)

    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 …

  5. Summary, Analysis, and Response Essay Example

    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 …

  6. MLA Format

    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 …