Assignment Sheet—Summary and Synthesis Papers
ENGL 4342: Ecocritical and Social Justice Theory
You will write four of these short (5-6 page) papers throughout the semester,
one for each Unit. Each paper is worth 20 points.
A summary (sometimes called a précis) is a shortened version of a text. It
contains the main points in the text and is written in your own words. It is a
mixture of reducing a long text to a short text and selecting relevant
information. A good summary shows that you have understood the text and
aren’t simply copying it (that would be plagiarism, not summary). For this
class, you will perform a summary of the primary scholarly, or overtly
theoretical texts for each Unit. Think through the following stages as you
prepare your Summary:
1. What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?
2. Who is the author’s target audience?
3. Which information is most relevant—not every single point an author
makes should be included in your summary
a. Distinguish between main ideas and supporting or subsidiary
information.
4. Rewrite the main ideas in complete sentences. Combine your notes
into a piece of continuous writing. Use conjunctions and adverbs
such as 'therefore', 'however', 'although', 'since', to show the
connections between the ideas.
5. Check your work.
a. Make sure your purpose is clear.
b. Make sure the style is your own.
c. Remember to acknowledge other people's work—always cite.
Synthesis involves utilizing ideas from one text and demonstrating how they
contradict, illuminate, highlight, expand, build on, move beyond, or enter
into conversation with ideas from another text. You will take the ideas you
summarized and apply them to the secondary, or less “academic” texts like
novels, films, memoires, or essays from mainstream or popular sources.
You may end up spending the first half of your Paper summarizing and the
second half synthesizing, or you may do both summary and synthesis as you
move from author to author, whichever seems better to you.
Of these two components, Synthesis is the most important. Aim for
making at least half or more (about 3 pages) of your paper Synthesis. Each
paper is worth 20 points (9 possible points for summary, 9 possible points for
synthesis, 2 possible points for spelling, grammar, sentence structure, etc.).
Summary and Synthesis Paper 1


Summarize the following Unit 1 authors: Noel Sturgeon’s Intro and
Chapter 1, William Cronon, and David Mazel
Synthesize their ideas with the following Unit 1 authors: Michael
Pollan, Barry Lopez, and Sean Penn
Summary and Synthesis Paper 2


Summarize the following Unit 2 authors: Carolyn Merchant, Jace
Weaver, and Brit Russert
Synthesize their ideas with your choice of three of the following Unit 2
authors: Charlie Mann, Ginger Strand, Kevin Costner, James
Cameron, Leslie Silko, Linda Hogan
Summary and Synthesis Paper 3


Summarize the following Unit 3 authors: Nancy Unger, Gloria
Anzaldua
Synthesize their ideas with the following Unit 3 authors: Ursula K. Le
Guin, Mary Hunter Austin, Steven Soderbergh
Summary and Synthesis Paper 4


Summarize the following Unit 4 authors: Noel Sturgeon’s Chapters 4
and 5, Priscilla Ybarra, Mortimer-Sandilands & Erikson’ Introduction
Synthesize their ideas with the following Unit 4 authors: Edward
Abbey, David Oates
ORAL PRESENTATION
You will each be required to give an oral presentation of one of your
Summary and Synthesis Papers to the class. Yes, you may read directly
from your paper if you prefer. Yes, you may choose to expand one part of
your paper by bringing in some other text you’d like to synthesize (an ad, a
film, a poem, a novel, a website, etc.) No, this is not simply to torture those
of you who dislike public speaking. Like any other skill, speaking in public
requires practice to do well, and it is one of those life skills we all need to
master sooner or later no matter what career we end up in. Look on this as
a chance to practice speaking in front of a sympathetic, non-judgmental
audience who will not be deciding whether or not you get hired, promoted,
funded, accepted, etc.
You will, however, get graded. The presentation is worth 10 points. It
should last between 10-12 minutes.
Tips for Public Speaking:
1. SLOW DOWN!! Nearly everyone speaks too fast when they’re
nervous. No matter how slow your talking speed feels to you, it seems
much faster to your audience. Time yourself reading your
presentation aloud. It should take approximately two minutes to read
a typed, double-spaced page.
2. Make eye contact. Set your papers down on the podium as your
read, keep your place with your finger, then every two or three
sentences pause for a moment, take a breath, look up at your
audience, then look back down and begin reading again. Also do this
at the end of each paragraph. The pause will seem to last forever to
you, but will go by in a flash for your audience. If you think looking
your audience in the eye will make you even more nervous, sweep the
room with your gaze, look at people’s forehead instead of in their
eyes, or pick two or three friendly faces you can look at each time
without feeling uncomfortable.
3. Speak clearly and loudly enough for even people in the back of the
classroom to hear you. Generally, the faster you speak, the more you
mumble, and the harder you are to understand.
4. Don’t fidget. That means don’t click a pen, lean on the podium,
jingle the change in your pocket, twirl your hair, fidget with your
jewelry, interject a lot of “um’s” and “uh’s,” or shift your weight back
and forth. This is difficult because these are nervous habits and
people are naturally nervous speaking publicly, but you can minimize
this sort of thing by standing up straight, resting your hands lightly on
the podium, following each line with one finger (that keeps one hand
busy and out of trouble), and using the other hand to gesture as
naturally as possible. If you’re comfortable enough to speak from
index cards, go ahead, but it is perfectly acceptable at scholarly and
professional conferences to read directly from a prepared presentation.
Oral Presentation Grade:
/10
Name:___________________________
Length of presentation:_________ (up to 2 points)
Summary/Synthesis:______ (up to 5 points)
Oral Presentation Skills:______(up to 3 points)