26 Summary Writing Assignment Guidelines

Introduction:

Several weeks ago, you identified your topic for community change. You’ve also started thinking about this topic by analyzing an image and synthesizing a couple different perspectives. Now, it’s time to read and summarize even more information from a range of high-quality sources about your topic. You will eventually use the information you summarize as evidence and support for your claims in the upcoming Proposal Argument essay.

What is a summary and why do I need to summarize what I read? Summary writing is a type of informative writing. As the text Say It Well explains,

A summary is a condensed version of a text, put into your own words. Summarizing is a useful part of the analytical process because it requires you to read the text, interpret and process it, and reproduce the important points using your own language. By doing so, you are (consciously or unconsciously) making choices about what matters, what words and phrases mean, and how to articulate their meaning. (192)

In short, summaries illustrate that you understand the material you’ve read. Furthermore, before you can tell your readers your opinion about a topic, you have to first inform readers about the topic itself (its background, the key personnel involved, the pros/cons etc.).

In addition to helping you become better informed about your topic, summarizing a variety of high-quality articles about your topic will also help you successfully complete the upcoming writing assignments about your topic: (evaluative/synthesis paper; visual analysis paper; argument; letter to editor or congressperson; and reflection).

Assignment:

Over the next few weeks, you will be researching, reading, and summarizing a range of material about your topic. In all, you will find eight sources and write eight summaries (one for each source). Each summary will be 150-250 words, double-spaced. The material you summarize should be high-quality. This does not mean that you only must use peer-reviewed, scholarly sources from the LCSC databases (though you certainly may want to use some!). The material you summarize can also be from a range of good, popular sources, such as:

• Local/national newspapers (Lewiston Tribune, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Seattle Times, The Oregonian, The Washington Post, etc.)
• Popular magazines (Time, Newsweek, The Atlantic, The New Yorker, etc.)
• Government documents
• Books/book chapters
• Websites that pass the CRAAP test (more on this later)
• Videos (TED Talks, Vox, etc.)

Note 1: when finding source material, do not neglect to consider information that challenges your views. Sources may serve as examples of ideas you support OR ideas you find faulty. Show that you are aware of other views and a variety of perspectives by summarizing them, but a hallmark of the summary is that you do NOT give or show your own opinion anywhere.  

Note 2: There are a lot of writers, facts, data, and opinions out there. Avoid finding and summarizing sources that are too similar. It’s okay if there are some crossovers but challenge yourself to find and summarize “new” information to present to your readers with each summary that you write. This will help you to feel like you do not keep repeating yourself and allows both you and your readers to learn about the various nuances/lenses/perspectives from which your issue can be viewed. Pro tip: when doing a search for a phrase, change that search up by adding some new words to the issue, reflecting a new, specific perspective. Ex. 1st Google search: senior citizens + food insecurity. Next Google search: senior citizens + hunger. Later Google search: elderly + poverty.

Note 3: Some articles are comprehensive enough that they include “both” sides of the issue. In fact, that’s the sign of good writer when they balance their article with facts from multiple sides. So, if you have trouble finding an article with just straight opposition, it’s still okay to use these articles but focus your summary on mostly the opposition parts. You don’t want to overstate that this is all the writer does in the article, so just make sure you have a line or two that explains that the writer points out or supports a particular position. However, the focus can be on the opposition for the main points of the summary.

Note 4: If you choose, you may summarize the sources in the Digital Resource folders on Canvas. Click on the document titled “Topics and Article Links.” There you will find a list of government resources and pros/cons.

I will guide you through this process by providing a fail-proof summary template, introducing you to MLA citation conventions, and by showing you how to evaluate a variety of sources with the CRAAP test.

Requirements:

• Each summary must be 150-250 words.
• Cite your summaries appropriately using MLA conventions. Please visit Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (Purdue OWL) for information on how to cite sources:https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_formatting_and_style_guide.html
• Include a Works Cited entry directly below each source you summarize.
• Double-space your summaries and use Times New Roman, 12-point font.
• With one exception, you will submit several summaries at a time, all in one document (see due dates below)

Due Dates/Points:

16 Oct: Summary 1: Background

• In this early stage, summarize an informative newspaper article that provides background on the issue.                     

18 Oct: Summaries 2, 3, 4

• Summary 2: Background
  • summarize one more informative article that provides background on the issue.
• Summaries 3 & 4: Support your Perspective
  • Summarize two sources that support your perspective on your topic. If you don’t yet have an opinion on this topic, find sources that support one side of the issue.

23 Oct: Summaries 5, 6, 7, 8

• Summaries 5 & 6: Challenge your Perspective
  • Summarize two sources that offer a perspective of the topic that differs from yours. If you don’t yet know what your perspective is, find at least two sources that support a different or opposing side.

• Summaries 7 & 8: Offer a Solution
  • Summarize two sources that offer a solution to the problem/issue.

Each individual summary is worth 10 points. There are 80 points total possible for this project.