Summary-response Essay

Assignment:  A summary-response to Ronald M. Green's essay "Building Baby from the Genes Up."  Please note that the essay was written a few years ago, so some of things Green discusses may have changed.  These are all things that you an respond to in your essay.  Please remember that you cannot simply respond with "I agree" or "I disagree".  This is not acceptable.  You must give quote specific sentences from the essay and develop your ideas. 

Specifics:

A summary-response essay gives writers the opportunity to express their understanding of another author's ideas and evaluate them in an objective and logical way.  Summary-response essays are similar to other academic essays:  there is a thesis that the writer supports and develops.  The difference is that in this type of essay, writers reflect on an author's ideas.

A summary-response essay has the following organization:

A.  An introduction that includes:

1.  the title and full name of the author of the text you will summarize and respond to;

2.  background information on the topic;

3.  the author's main idea;

4.  a thesis that gives your main response to the text. (ie.  "I found Green's overall argument convincing, but I was confused in some places.")  This is an example.  I don't want to see you using this!

B.  A summary paragraph of the author's of the author's essay that includes:

1.  the author's main idea;

2.  supporting ideas that illustrate the idea well, such as important examples, evidence, and information from the text.

C.  Response paragraphs:  Each paragraph responds to a different point in the article that you feel strongly about.  Response paragraphs include:

1.  a topic sentence that identifies whether you will support, criticize, or illustrate a point the author makes;

2.  your own critical analysis of the point using examples and supporting details;

3.  evidence from your own observations or those of other authors.

D.  A conclusion that includes:

1.  a brief summary of the text's main idea;

2.  a restatement of your thesis;

3.  a concluding statement, such as a comment, prediction, or call to action.

Important Points to Remember:

Introductory Paragraph:

The introductory paragraph presents your readers with important background information about the article.  Your readers probably have not read the article, so you need to give credit to the author and provide enough context to help readers understand the topic and the author's point of view.  Be sure to include the following information:

A.  the author's full name and title of the source essay;

B.  the author's main idea in your own words;

C.  background information about the audience and purpose of the text;

D.  a thesis statement that states your response to the main idea of the text.

Summary Paragraph

Your summary paragraph will be structured like any other paragraph in an academic essay:  with a topic sentence and supporting information.  It will include the following information:

A.  a restatement of the author's main idea;

B.  key supporting ideas from the text in your own words;

C.  details from the text such as examples and short quotes that support the main idea.

Your summary paragraph should not include:

A.  your own opinions about the author's ideas;

B.  details from the source that are irrelevant;

C.  emotional language; you need to be neutral and avoid overly strong words.

Response Paragraphs:

In these paragraphs you will give your objective responses to, and critique of, the source in terms of the quality of the writing and the ideas.

    Each paragraph will respond to a different point in the article.  The topic sentence states the point to be discussed.  It can be supported in any of the following ways:

A.  a reflection of what it means based on your knowledge of the world;

B.  a personal connection to an idea through an example;

C.  question(s) you may have;

D.  connections between an idea and the ideas of another author;

E.  strengths or weaknesses in the author's reasoning.

Concluding Paragraph

The concluding paragraph restates the author's main idea and your thesis.  It ends with a few final comments that give your readers something to think about after they read, such as a prediction or a call to action.