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Summarizing sources and embedding quotes
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Summarizing the source
To argue effectively, we must be in dialogue with others. Summarizing is central to this goal, whether we are arguing about current events, policy, or even themes in literature. As a general rule, a good summary requires balancing what the original author said Must be true to what the original author believed Respectful to the original author’s intent the writer’s own focus Emphasizes those aspects that interest you, given your own intentions
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Starting with what others say
Many Americans (or readers) assume that _________________ A number of literary critics have recently suggested that _________ It has become common today to _______________ Conventional wisdom has it that ____________ My whole life I’ve heard it said that _____________ (inappropriate for Lit. analysis) Upon a cursory reading of ____, it seems clear that _______________
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Playing the believing game
Not this: Matthew Crawford’s article, “The Case for Working with Your Hands”, is nothing more than a bitter rant in which he accuses productive American society of sending every warm body off to college like cattle, as if a college degree is a national conspiracy to make young people miserable. I disagree because a lot of young people like the careers that their college majors prepare them for. Crawford actually argues that our infrastructure requires manual labor as well as intellectual progress; his tone is never angry, and he never goes so far as to suggest that adults are conspiring against young people, but simply that young people’s natural talents are often ignored. With the above summary, truly only one sentence long, the writer has betrayed her hasty, superficial reading of the article with a caricature, leeching her own credibility in her audiences’ eyes.
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SOAPSTone—Summarizing an argument
Author— appositive Joseph Campbell Subject— in his classic study of mythology Title— The Hero with a Thousand Faces, Occasion— when it was published/ responding to what arguments One sentence summary— claims the existence of the quintessential myth, or monomyth, regarding the search for meaning in human life. One sentence explanation— According to the monomyth, the hero is rewarded for his extraordinary courage and sent back to earth with gifts that will enhance human life forever after. Do Now: Summarize Reshma Saujani from “Teach Girls Bravery, Not Perfection” using the template above.
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Signal verbs—Agrees Weak Neutral Strong Admits Accepts Applauds Allows
Acknowledges Embraces Concedes Agrees Endorses Concurs Extols Confirms Praises Recognizes
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Signal verbs—argues Weak Neutral Strong Appeals Alleges Alerts
Apologizes Implies Argues Believes Encourages Boasts Pleads Interprets Claims Holds Justifies Contends Reasons Demands
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Signal verbs—believes
Weak Neutral Strong Assumes Attributes Asserts Considers Believes Assures Hopes Claims Defends Imagines Credits Guarantees Pretends Declares Insists Suspects Expresses Promises
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Signal verbs—disagrees
Weak Neutral Strong Doubts Challenges Accuses Suspects Debates Attacks Wonders Disagrees Complains Distinguishes Contradicts Downplays Denounces Positions Discounts Questions Dismisses
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Signal Verbs—Discusses
Weak Neutral Strong Comments Discusses Reasons Considers Explores Debates Mentions Examines Reiterates Refers to Ruminates Studies Treats Contemplates
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Signal Verbs—Emphasizes
Weak Neutral Strong Downplays Acknowledges Highlights Recognizes Alludes to Singles out Subordinates Emphasizes Underscores Mentions Warns Refers to
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Signal Verbs—Examines
Weak Neutral Strong Touches on Analyze Delineates Alludes to Compares Ignores Contrasts Scrutinizes Distinguishes Seeks
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Signal verbs—Presents
Weak Identifies Observes Lists Illustrates Remarks Speculates Implies Reports Neutral Indicates Shows Comments Informs Strong Defines Introduces Announces Describes Mentions Confers Estimates Notes Declares
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Signal Verbs—suggests
Weak Neutral Strong Alleges Advocates Asserts Hints Encourages Evinces Intimates Posits Evokes Speculates Postulates Urges Wonders Proposes Recommends
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As He himself puts it… The Art of Quoting:
Lends the writer credibility. Gives the reader the sense that the writer dealt with her sources fairly Gives the reader the sense that the writer is even-handed, honest Quotes need to be accurately documented. We will get to proper documentation in coming weeks. For the purposes of this essay, we will simply use the parenthetical citation after quoted or paraphrased material.
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As He himself puts it Do Now: Choose a quote from Matthew Crawford that reflects or expands on the sentiments you have introduced to your reader up until this point. Use one of the following templates: He advocates, ____________________________________________ As he himself puts it, _____________________________________________ He celebrates the fact that _____________________________________ ___________________________________________, he admits. He himself writes, __________________________________________
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Or one of these According to Crawford ______________________________________ In his article, Crawford maintains that ______________________________ In Crawford’s view, _________________________________ Crawford agrees when he writes _____________________________ Crawford disagrees when he writes _______________________________ Crawford complicates matters further when he writes ______________________________________________________________
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Templates for explaining quotes
Basically, X is warning __________________________________ In other words, X believes ______________________________________ In making this comment, X urges us to __________________________________ X is corroborating the age-old adage that ___________________________ X’s point is that ________________________________________ The essence of X’s argument is that ___________________________________
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Yes / no / okay, but Only 3 ways to respond: 1. I agree 2. I disagree
3. I am of two minds. I agree that __________, but I cannot agree that ________. NOTE: There is absolutely no need to use I-statements like “I agree” or “I disagree”. Since this is your paper, your argument is implied. If you must, write the I-statement, complete your sentence, then draw a line through the I-statement. Your prose will be better for the omission.
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Templates for agreeing
X is surely right about _________ because, as she may not be aware, recent studies show that ______________. X’s theory of __________________ is extremely useful because it sheds light on the difficult problem of _________________. Those unfamiliar with (this school of thought) may be interested to know that it basically boils down to ___________________. I agree that ___________, a point that needs emphasizing since so many people still believe ___________________. If group X is right that __________, as I think they are, then we need to reassess the popular assumption that ____________________.
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Templates for disagreeing
X is mistaken because she overlooks ______________________. X’s claim that ____________ rests on the questionable assumption that ______________________. Rather, as resent research has shown, _______________________. X contradicts herself. On one hand, she argues ________________. On the other hand, she also says ____________________. By focusing on _______________, X overlooks the deeper problem of _________________.
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Templates for agreeing and disagreeing simultaneously
Although I agree with X up to a point, I cannot accept his overriding assumption that _________________. Although I disagree with much that X says, I fully endorse his final conclusion that ____________________. Though I concede that ______________, I still insist that _______________. X is right that ______________, but she seems on more dubious ground when she claims that _________________. While X is probably wrong when she claims that _______________, she is right that _______________.
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And a few more Whereas X provides ample evidence that ______________, Y and Z’s research on ____________ and _______________ convinces me that ______________ instead. I’m of two minds about X’s claim that ________________. On the one hand, I agree that ________________. On the other hand, I’m not sure if ______________. My feelings on the issue are mixed. I do support X’s position that ______________, but I find Y’s argument about ___________ and Z’s research on _____________ to be equally persuasive.
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So what’s next? The analysis portion of this paragraph comes in your response to, or expansion on the ideas presented in the source.
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