English 1301 Freshman Composition I, Fall 2014
Instructor Name: Sampada Chavan
Email Address: sampada.chavan@hccs.edu
Assignment #3: Summary/Strong Response
Description of Assignment
The Summary-Strong Response essay is just what the title says. It is the summary of an article
and your response to the article’s arguments. In order to write this assignment, first of all you
will have to understand the argument or points that the article’s writer makes. Your summary
of the article will reflect your complete understanding of it, whereas, the response will be a
piece by piece analysis of the writer’s argument/s. In both these activities, you will have to
show a good comprehension of the article in hand, as well as show your own views regarding
the ideas posed by the writer.
Requirements
You will have to choose one of the articles that I have chosen for this assignment (either
Overall, Deresiewicz, Frazen, or Martin). Choose an article that you identify with the most
and one that you have a significant knowledge of. You will use the text and our in-class
writing for help while writing your summary. The summary will be approximately 300 words
long, and you should develop it over time with rewrites. It should contain a few quotes from
the primary article and must not contain any of your views, i.e the summary should be
unbiased. Refer to the “How to Write Summary” handout when working on your summary.
You will save your opinions for the response. Use the skills you learned in the belief/doubt
game and make three distinct points to respond to the article. You will not make these points
in the form of bullets or numbers, but they will be obvious from the way you write and your
paragraph formation. When you make your three points, make sure that at least one point
believes the writer, and one point doubts him/her. The third point can be either believe or
doubt, which would show that you lean on one side of the argument rather than on the fence.
You might need to look at outside sources to support your claims. Be prepared for your ideas
to change and grow with research you do. You are required to use at least one outside and
scholarly source for this essay.
Format
You will follow the MLA format in order to write this assignment. Feel free to search the
internet for sources as well as guidance with the MLA format. Use Times New Roman pt. 12
font. The essay need not be a five-paragraph essay, but for all intents and purposes use this
following format:
Para
Para
Para
Para
Para
1 : Introduction (i.e. Summary)
2: Belief
3: Doubt
4: Belief/Doubt
5: Conclusion
You may increase the number of paragraphs you dedicate to each belief/doubt, however,
make sure you only address one idea in each point. The response should be concentrated
toward only three distinct ideas of the original writer. Use quotes from the article to indicate
which point you are responding to and state why you agree or disagree with them. Use
outside research and your own thoughtful ideas to make the reader understand how you are
reacting to the author.
Grading Criteria
I will grade your final draft on the following criteria:
 3-5 pages long
 A succinct summary of the article
 Valid and knowledgeable response points
 Validity and use of outside sources to support your points
 Correct use of MLA format
Due Date Check turnitin.com and class instructions