Summary and Rhetorical Précis A PowerPoint Presentation by John Tacapan AP English Language & Composition/AVID Teacher Dominguez High School Adjunct Faculty, Long Beach City College Assistant Professor, Westcliff University

Composing a Summary Step 1: Read the text first for its main points. Step 2: Reread carefully and make a descriptive outline. Step 3: Write out the text’s thesis or main point. (Suppose you had to summarize the whole argument in one sentence.) Step 4: Identify the text’s major divisions or chunks. Each division develops one of the stages needed to make the whole point. Typically, these stages or parts might function as background, review of the conversation, summary of opposing views, or subpoints in support of the thesis. Step 5: Try summarizing each part in one or two sentences. Step 6: Now combine your summaries of the parts into a coherent whole, creating a condensed version of the text’s main ideas in your own words.

Checklist for Evaluating Summaries Good summaries must be fair, balanced, accurate, and complete. This checklist of questions will help you evaluate drafts of a summary. Is the summary economical and precise? Is the summary neutral in its representation of the original author’s ideas, omitting the writer’s own opinions? Does the summary reflect the proportionate coverage given various points in the original text? Are the original author’s ideas expressed in the summary writer’s own words / paraphrased ideas? Does the summary quote sparingly (usually only key ideas or phrases that cannot be said precisely except in the original author’s own words)? Will the summary stand alone as a unified and coherent piece of writing? Is the original source cited so that readers can locate it?

Sample Summary (based on “Who Cares if Johnny Can’t Read” article) In “Who Cares if Johnny Can’t Read?” published in the online journal Slate on April 16, 1997, Larissa MacFarquhar informs readers that those who think that Americans no longer read books are mistaken. According to MacFarquhar, Americans are reading more than ever, although they are reading genre fiction and self-help books instead of the classics. This preference for “popular” books leads MacFraquhar to raise two related questions: Does it matter what people read or only if they read? Many persons today, says MacFarquhar, believe that reading in and of itself matters because reading is considered more intellectually stimulating and culturally valuable than watching television. MacFarquhar opposes this view by suggesting watching television can sometimes be more stimulating and culturally valuable than reading. What matters, she believes, is the quality of what is being watched or read (par. 15).

Definition A rhetorical précis is a highly specialized, specific type of summary. It differs from the more general summary in that emphasis is placed upon providing the rhetorical aspects of the work under consideration. Like the summary, the goal is to provide in clear, precise language, the main points of a document/text. Essential information within the rhetorical précis includes the writer’s name, the genre and the name of the piece, the way in which this information is delivered, the main point, how the main point is developed, and the relationship between the writer and audience. This information is presented in four very specific sentences as outlined in the succeeding slides: John Tacapan AP English Language & Composition/AVID Teacher, Dominguez HS Adjunct Faculty, Long Beach City College Assistant Professor, Westcliff University

description Part summary and part analysis, the rhetorical précis is a powerful skill-building exercise often assigned as a highly structured four-sentence paragraph. These sentences provide a condensed statement of a text’s main point (the summary part), followed by brief statements about its essential rhetorical elements: the purpose, methods, and intended audience (the analysis part). John Tacapan AP English Language & Composition/AVID Teacher, Dominguez HS Adjunct Faculty, Long Beach City College Assistant Professor, Westcliff University

Sentence one SENTENCE ONE provides the name of the author, the genre, and title of the work with the date (in parentheses), a concise appropriate verb (claims, posits, argues, etc.) followed by a “THAT” phrase in which the thesis of the work is stated (either paraphrased or quoted). In her article, "Who Cares if Johnny Can't Read?,” Larissa MacFarquhar (1997) asserts that Americans are reading more than ever despite claims to the contrary and that it is time to reconsider why we value reading so much, especially certain kinds of "high culture" reading. John Tacapan AP English Language & Composition/AVID Teacher, Dominguez HS Adjunct Faculty, Long Beach City College Assistant Professor, Westcliff University

Sentence two SENTENCE TWO provides an explanation of how the author goes about supporting his/her thesis. (Remember that brevity is important; you will not restate the details from the work, but explain the rhetorical method used by the writer to develop these supports.) MacFarquhar supports her assertion about American reading habits with facts and statistics that compare past and present reading practices, and she challenges common assumptions by raising questions about reading's intrinsic value. John Tacapan AP English Language & Composition/AVID Teacher, Dominguez HS Adjunct Faculty, Long Beach City College Assistant Professor, Westcliff University

Sentence three SENTENCE THREE states the purpose of the piece (which may reflect the thesis, but should also include the writer’s motive – why is he/she writing this piece?) This is accomplished with an “in order to” phrase. Her purpose is to dispel certain myths about reading in order to raise new and more important questions about the value of reading and other media in our culture. John Tacapan AP English Language & Composition/AVID Teacher, Dominguez HS Adjunct Faculty, Long Beach City College Assistant Professor, Westcliff University

Sentence four SENTENCE FOUR explains the author’s intended audience and how the author positions his or her self with that audience. She seems to have a young, hip, somewhat irreverent audience in mind because her tone is sarcastic, and she suggests that the ideas she opposes are old-fashioned positions. John Tacapan AP English Language & Composition/AVID Teacher, Dominguez HS Adjunct Faculty, Long Beach City College Assistant Professor, Westcliff University

A Rhetorical Précis of Macfarquhar’s “who cares if johnny can’t read” In her article, "Who Cares if Johnny Can't Read? (1997),” Larissa MacFarquhar asserts that Americans are reading more than ever despite claims to the contrary and that it is time to reconsider why we value reading so much, especially certain kinds of "high culture" reading. MacFarquhar supports her assertion about American reading habits with facts and statistics that compare past and present reading practices, and she challenges common assumptions by raising questions about reading's intrinsic value. Her purpose is to dispel certain myths about reading in order to raise new and more important questions about the value of reading and other media in our culture. She seems to have a young, hip, somewhat irreverent audience in mind because her tone is sarcastic, and she suggests that the ideas she opposes are old-fashioned positions. John Tacapan AP English Language & Composition/AVID Teacher, Dominguez HS Adjunct Faculty, Long Beach City College Assistant Professor, Westcliff University

Sample From Margaret Woodworth “The Rhetorical Précis”: Sheridan Baker, in his essay "Attitudes" (1966), argues that writers' attitudes toward their subjects, their audiences, and themselves determine to a large extent the quality of their prose. Baker supports this argument by showing examples of how inappropriate attitudes can make writing unclear, pompous, or boring, concluding that a good writer "will be respectful toward his audience, considerate toward his readers, and somehow amiable toward human failings" (58). His purpose is to make his readers aware of the dangers of negative attitudes in order to help them become better writers. He establishes an informal relationship with his audience of college students who are interested in learning to write "with conviction" (55).   John Tacapan AP English Language & Composition/AVID Teacher, Dominguez HS Adjunct Faculty, Long Beach City College Assistant Professor, Westcliff University