ENGL&101 – English Composition I (Hybrid)
Essay #2: Summary & Response: Have I Lived This Story?
Assignment: For the second essay this quarter you will wrestle—figuratively, of course—with
an author from 50 Essays. This wrestling will take the form of a thesis-driven Summary &
Response essay in which you summarize an author’s major assertions and then respond with an
assertion of your own that establishes whether or not you support the author’s ideas and why.
In this way, your response will be an argument.
The bulk of your essay will be comprised of presenting the author’s assertions, explicating those
assertions, and then responding with your own experiences and observations. In other words,
you will use personal narrative (rather than research, facts, or data) to support your argument.
Since this type of text-based essay requires you to accurately present and then respond to an
author’s ideas, quoting, paraphrase, and summary will all be important. We will spend class
time discussing what defines these analytical tools and how best to use them. Over the next
few weeks we will explore the tools of academic writing, including summary, paraphrase,
quoting, body paragraphs, transitions, introductions, conclusions, etc.
.
For this essay you will do the following TWO things:
1. Thoroughly summarize an author’s assertions (arguments, themes, opinions).
2. Respond to the author’s assertions with your own, while accurately using and effectively
placing quotations, paraphrase, and summary, as well as you own examples.
Requirements: 4-5 pages; double-spaced; 12-pt font; 1 inch margins; title, page numbers,
heading that includes your name; at least four quotations from your primary source; summary;
paraphrase; your own examples. Follow the “Formatting Your Essay” document.
Important Dates:
Rough Draft due Tuesday, May 10 at 6:00 PM.
We will peer review these drafts in class. Print out and bring with you to class that night two
documents. You will bring both of these home with you at the end of class.
1. A complete draft of your essay (to be reviewed by your classmates)
2. A second copy of ONLY the first page (to be reviewed by your instructor)
Final Draft due Sunday, May 15 at 11:59 PM
This will be submitted via a drop box in Canvas.