Summary is Cool Pre-Transfer Mid-Semester Workshop March 31, 2017 Zulema Diaz, Teresa Guinon, curry mitchell, & Jacob Strona

ENGL 50 SLO SLO: At the conclusion of the course, students will be able to summarize controlling ideas or details of a text, integrate the summary into their own writing, and identify the summary’s rhetorical purpose. Mode of Assessment: Students will submit a “showcase essay” that has undergone a writing process. In the essay, the student demonstrates a purposeful integration of summary that has been highlighted. Students will also submit a reflection letter to describe the summary’s purpose in the essay.

ENGL 50 SLO Rubric *Must pass 2 out of 3 P / NP Summary provides a knowledgeable representation of text’s ideas and/or details. Summary has a signal phrase that cites the text’s author and source. Writer identifies and describes specific purpose(s) for using the summary in their essay. Assessed by 1st Portfolio Reader of the showcase essay—student’s instructor Assessed by 2nd Portfolio Reader of the showcase essay Assessed by 2nd Portfolio Reader of the portfolio reflection letter

Why Summary? “Summary is indispensable in preparing for and writing an argumentative essay. When you summarize a text (or describe visual material), you distill the ideas of another source for use in your own essay.” “It is crucial to remember, though, that the purpose of an analytical essay is only partly to demonstrate that you know and can summarize the work of others. The greater task is to showcase your ideas, your analysis of the source material.” Source: http://writingcenter.fas.harvard.edu/pages/summary

What is Summary? “True summary always concisely recaps the main point and key supporting points of an analytical source, the overall arc and most important turns of a narrative, or the main subject and key features of a visual source.” True summary can be used to establish a context for your claims or the frame of reference you create in your introduction. Summary can include a quote, but does not consist of a quote alone. For the purposes of this SLO, summary needs to be distinguished from the integration of other kinds of evidence; thus, we will define that a minimum of two-sentences of a recap of details or of the author’s points qualifies as a summary.

Cautions for Summary for this SLO? “Remember that an essay that argues (rather than simply describes) uses summary only sparingly, to remind readers periodically of crucial points. Summary should always help build your argument. When teachers write ‘too much summary—more analysis needed’ in the margin, generally they mean that the essay reports what you've studied rather than argues something about it.” Help students to be selective and strategic in their use of summary.