How can we lose when we’re so sincere? “Charlie Brown did lose, all the time – but he was sincere in every attempt he made, never gave up, never lost faith in the fundamental importance of his sincerity, and that matters more than success” (Curiel, 2015, p.3).

“Practicing the task of learning to read with care the writing of a great thinker with an eye only towards comprehension, not agreement or controversy, is one of the most effective ways I know of to exercise one’s own capacity for cogent philosophical thought” (Curiel, 2015, p. 4). Author = Author =

Quote “Writing is, for the most part, not the simple reporting of clearly articulated, organized thoughts, but rather itself constitutes an important step, often the most important, in the articulation, in the organization – in the explication and clarification – of those thoughts for oneself” (Curiel, 2015, p. 5). Paraphrase Writing helps you to think about your ideas, as Physicist and Philosopher Erik Curiel notes in his essay on reading and writing, “Notes on Learning Philosophy” (p. 5).

“Use the right word, not its second cousin” (Twain as cited in Curiel, 2015, p. 5). “When in doubt, look it up. Even more distracting than fancy words used correctly are fancy words, or indeed any words, used incorrectly” (Curiel, 2015, p. 8).

“Eschew surplusage” “Want to go out for coffee tomorrow?” “I happen to notice you enjoy caffeinated beverages. Perhaps tomorrow, after your biology class, or whatever . . . maybe we could enjoy some coffee together at the café ---I really like it, I think you will like it, I mean, if not we can go somewhere else----like, maybe around that time or later?” “Eschew surplusage”

Summarizing as Shadowing “To test this hypothesis, Vazire (2010) compared . . . . Consistent with Vazire’s first hypothesis, . . . . Consistent with her second hypothesis, . . . “ (Vazire and Carlson, 2011, p. 106). (This entire paragraph summarizes the claims made in Vazire’s 2010 article) “To comprehend the arguments and, even more, the intent of the author to any substantial depth is harder than most people realize, and I want to make sure that each of you know how to do it before I ask you to be more creative and come up with your own arguments” (Curiel, 2015, p. 6).

Writing a Summary Know what it is about. Have a basic understanding of their argument. Have a sense of the major points and how their speculations and references relate to these points. Know what you think about it (maybe this is a good idea, or maybe I think there is more to this than they claim). Know how you would explain this to someone else. How do you think this explanation should be organized? What do you want to say first? What needs to be explained before you can elaborate on it, contest it, or make a connection to something outside the of text? Know when you need to summarize, paraphrase, or quote their statements.

How do I get started? Choose a starting point. For example, you might begin with “blind spots,” or you may choose to organize your summary in the same order as the article, or you may begin with a related discussion that you want to connect to the article. Just start writing! You may re-organize your paper later. You do not have to stick with the order you begin with. You might make an outline of the points you are choosing to include at any point in the process (or not at all). ?