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WRITING A SUMMARY
A summary demonstrates your comprehension of information and ideas. It usually briefly restates in your own words the content of a passage. It should focus on the central idea and indicate all the main points in the passage that support the central idea, as well as the relationship between the ideas, including their order and emphasis.
1. Read the assigned passage(s) carefully.
2. Reread, but this time divide the passage into sections or stages of thought and label each section. Underline key ideas, terms.
3. Write one-sentence summaries on a separate sheet of paper, one for each stage of thought.
4. Write a one-sentence summary of the entire passage. Here you want to express the central idea of the passage as determined from the steps above.
5. Write the first draft of your summary by combining the topic sentence from step 4 with the information from step 3. Eliminate any repetition.
6. Revise. Make sure transitional words are provided (you can find these in a grammar and style handbook under “transitions”; they include words like: therefore, however, furthermore, and so on. Avoid series of short, choppy sentences. Check for grammar and punctuation.
Adapted from Behrens and Rosen, Writing and Reading Across the CurriculumLittle Brown, 1982.
WRITING A SYNTHESIS
A synthesis combines information and ideas from two or more sources. You need to be able to infer relationships among essays, articles, and/or book chapters. In a synthesis you make explicit the relationships you have inferred among separate pieces of writing.
1. Read the passage(s) carefully.
2. Reread, labeling or underlining each passage for main ideas, key terms.
3. Determine the relationship among the passages. Which relationship seems most appropriate:
a. information seems to constitute a description or definition of something.
b. information may serve as examples of some propositions expressed in several
of the passages.
c. information may be compared and/or contrasted.
d. information may be used as the basis for an argument.
4. Write the thesis sentence: indicate the central idea that holds together the main points of the synthesis and the relationship among the main points.
5. Write the first draft of your synthesis, including the lead-in for your thesis. Here’s a helpful “workhorse” organizational structure:
Thesis paragraph (thesis sentence may be final sentence)
transition
Example A (built on first passage)
transition
Example B (build on second passage)
transition
Example C (build on third passage)
Conclusion Don’t try to discuss every aspect of every piece of writing; use only what you need to support your thesis.
6. Revise.
Adapted from Behrens and Rosen, Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, Little Brown, 1982.
WRITING A CRITIQUE (CRITICAL ANALYSIS)
A critique is a careful analysis of an argument to determine what is said, how well the points are made, what assumptions underlie the argument, what issues are overlooked, and what implications are drawn from such observations. It is a systematic, yet personal response and evaluation of what you read.
Opening Notes
Ask yourself:
What is the nature of the piece?
Who wrote it, why, and what are his/her qualifications?
What is the significance of the piece?
What are its objectives? How well are they achieved?
What is the design or method for the piece?
Does the design help the piece achieve its objectives?
What is the particular appeal or lack of appeal?
What assumptions underlie the piece? Are they offensive? Obvious?
How do the assumptions and biases affect the validity of the piece?
Organization
1. Introduce the subject of your critique – the reading under analysis.
2. Review the background facts or issues that must be understood before the point of
the reading can be appreciated: significance, design, appeal, and so on.
3. Review the assumptions in the reading that must be understood before you take a position.
4. Make your position statement clear: what is your evaluation? On what basis are you making it, given what you have stated in #2 and #3?
5. Review the author’s ideas in light of the position you identified and elaborate on each point that relates to your central position.
6. State your conclusions, reminding the reader of the points you have made and your reasons for making them.
Adapted from Behrens and Rosen, Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, Little Brown, 1982.
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