1. English 1301
Week 3 – June 18, 2018 (Monday)

2. Today’s lessons
In-class writing, practice summary, paraphrasing, quoting, and synthesis

3. UNIT II: Reading the Conversations
Over the next few weeks, we will be reading four texts that are in explicit or implicit conversation with each other in our theme. You will need to select two of these texts to include in your essay
Prensky, Marc. “Games Are NOT the Enemy.” Don’t Bother Me Mom—I’m Learning: How Computer and Video Games Are Preparing Your Kids for 21st Century Success—and How You Can Help! Paragon House, 2006, pp
Gee, James Paul. “Learning and Identity: What Does It Mean to be a Half-Elf?” What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy. Revised and updated ed., Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, pp
Ramanan, Chella. “The Video Game Industry has a Diversity Problem—But It Can Be Fixed.” The Guardian, 15 Mar. 2017, diversity-problem-women-non-white-people
“Video Games Have a Diversity Problem That Runs Deeper Than Race or Gender.” The Guardian, 10 Sept. 2015, deeper-than-race-gender

4. Free-Writing Who is the specific audience for each article?
Prensky, Marc. “Games Are NOT the Enemy.” Don’t Bother Me Mom—I’m Learning: How Computer and Video Games Are Preparing Your Kids for 21st Century Success—and How You Can Help! Paragon House, 2006, pp
Gee, James Paul. “Learning and Identity: What Does It Mean to be a Half-Elf?” What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy. Revised and updated ed., Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, pp
Who is the specific audience for each article?
What is the purpose of each article?

5. Free-Writing
Prensky, Marc. “Games Are NOT the Enemy.” Don’t Bother Me Mom—I’m Learning: How Computer and Video Games Are Preparing Your Kids for 21st Century Success—and How You Can Help! Paragon House, 2006, pp
Gee, James Paul. “Learning and Identity: What Does It Mean to be a Half-Elf?” What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy. Revised and updated ed., Palgrave Macmillan, 2007, pp
What conversation are both of these articles engaging in? How do the viewpoints of the authors differ? How are they similar? What is at stake?

6. Free Writing Synthesis
Your paragraph will discuss how these authors have different perspectives on the same conversation.
What is the conversation they are engaging in?
What are the various viewpoints of these authors?
How do they differ?
How are they similar?
What is at stake?

7. Let’s Talk about Project 2 …
This assignment has 4 steps:
Step 1: Synthesis Paragraph
Step 2: Summary #1 of article you chose.
Step 3: Summary #2 of article you chose.
Step 4: Writer’s Memo.

8. Step 1: Synthesis Paragraph:
Write a paragraph synthesizing the conversation around your two articles and the theme.
For example, Prensky, Marc. “Games Are NOT the Enemy” and Gee, James Paul. “Learning and Identity: What Does It Mean to be a Half-Elf?” are in direct conversation with each other.
If you choose both of these articles, for example, your paragraph will discuss how these authors have different perspectives on the same conversation. What is the conversation they are engaging in? What are the various viewpoints of these authors? How do they differ? How are they similar? What is at stake?

9. Step 4:
Writer’s Memo:
To accompany this essay, you will write a memo to your instructor explaining at least three choices you made in writing your summaries.
In this memo, you should identify three specific choices you made as you wrote this essay and explain why you made those decisions.
As you write the essay, you will make many decisions regarding paraphrasing, inclusion of ideas or concepts from the original, organization of content, style and phrasing, inclusion of quotations, and more. Select three of these and thoroughly explain why you made these choices and why they’re effective choices.
This memo should be at least 300 words and provide a well-developed paragraph for each of these three choices.

10. Always Read Instructions on Blackboard

11. If you do not follow instructions and forget to include a part of the assignment, do not expect a passing grade.
Assignment instructions also include guidelines and minimum criteria you will have to meet.

12. Format of Summary/Synthesis
Opening Synthesis Paragraph
Summary paragraph 1 of article you chose
Text here … (300 – 400 WORDS)
Summary paragraph 2 of article you chose
Writer’s Memo
Text here … (at least 300 words)

13. What is a Summary?
Summary means providing your readers with a condensed version of an author’s key points from an entire article. A summary can be as short as one sentence or much longer, depending on the complexity of the text and the level of detail you wish to provide to your readers.

14. Steps to summarize
1. A summary usually begins with an introductory clause that states the article’s title and author. Example: In “Games Are NOT the Enemy,” Marc Prensky…
Quick grammar note: always place the name of an article in quotes. When introducing the author for the first time, use the author’s full name. Afterwards, use the author’s last name only (do not say “Mr. Orwell” or “Mrs. Burns.”).
2. Write a summary in your own words. Do not use quotes.
3. A summary should contain all of the major points (audience + purpose) of the original text. Do not focus entirely on the fine details, examples, or illustrations.
4. A summary must contain only the ideas of the original text. Do not insert any of your own opinions, interpretations, deductions, or comments into the summary.

15. Any questions?

16. Summary Exercise
You will write a paragraph summary for each article: Prensky, Marc. “Games Are NOT the Enemy” Gee, James Paul. “Learning and Identity: What Does It Mean to be a Half-Elf?”

17. In your summary, include the following:
Mention the title of the article and the name of the author.
Mention and discuss a specific audience / Mention and discuss the purpose.
Provide context for article and comprehensively yet selectively explain author’s reasoning or how they make the argument. Your goal is to explain the argument for the reader, but you can’t include EVERYTHING. What is important and relevant?
Summary must accurately, fairly, clearly convey the author’s main point(s), thesis, or claim, usually using an active transitive verb.
Include strong verbs. Include vivid and specific adjectives. (Example: Munnecke contends. Munnecke asserts. Munnecke challenges …)

18. Things that are due:
1.) Final draft of Mediated Values Essay, today by midnight. Revise based on feedback given.
2.) For Wed, come with the readings done. We will be doing more summaries.
3.) Friday – midnight – You will post your draft of the Summary & Synthesis Essay.