MICROTHEME 1: TWO SUMMARIES OF MARTIN LUTHER KING’S
“LETTER FROM BIRMINGHAM JAIL”
Due: 20 Jan. 2011
Length: 250 words + 1 sentence
25 points
Sources: King’s “Letter” (WA, pp. 623-625)
Assignment: Write two summaries of “Letter from Birmingham Jail” (Option 1 in WA, p. 50). The first
summary should be a paragraph of 250 words, and the second should be a single sentence. Use pages
40-50 in out textbook as a guide for this assignment. Like all of our assignments, this microtheme
should be typed and should follow MLA format.
What to do: For this response, you’ll write two summaries of Martin Luther King’s “Letter from
Birmingham Jail.” Begin by first reading and annotating your article carefully. Once you’ve gained a
firm understanding of its argument, proceed to write a 250 word summary of King’s argument. Then,
condense that summary even further by writing a one-sentence summary. (Please use spacing or
subheadings to clearly distinguish between the two – don’t make me go hunting for the one-sentence
summary.) Do not quote King in either summary; use your own words instead.
Remember that an effective summary, as Ramage, Bean, and Johnson put it, is one that presents “only
a text’s major points and eliminates supporting details” (40), that remains “neutral and objective” (42),
that gives the writer’s main ideas the “same emphasis as in the original,” and that also provides
“transitions to indicate structure and create a coherent flow of ideas” (42).
In other words, effective summaries cut down on details from the source text while still giving the
reader a sense of the whole by reflecting the original’s proportions and connecting logic.
Criteria for Evaluation:
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Accuracy and Completeness: Does the summary accurately reflect the content of the original?
Does it identify the author’s main points and avoid any distortion of details? Has the writer
remained objective and excluded all personal or evaluative commentary?
Proportion and Balance: Does the summary maintain the same proportions as the original,
devoting about the same percentage of space to each part of the article as did the original?
Precision and Efficiency: Does the summary use language precisely and economically to say as
much as possible in the allotted space? Has the writer here represented the article primarily in
his or her own words?
Clarity and Form: Is the summary easy to follow? Is it unified by a topic sentence that identifies
the article’s title, the author, the author’s purpose and thesis or claim? Is it organized and
coherent? Does the writer make use of attributive tags? Does the summary make sense to
readers who have not read the original?
Readability: Is the microtheme free of distracting grammatical and mechanical errors?
Course Rational:
In order to respond effectively to the arguments of others – an absolutely essential skill in
constructing a strong argument of your own – you first have to learn how to represent opposing
viewpoints fairly, accurately, and concisely. Summary writing is an effective way to practice all of these
skills. Additionally, all of our longer essays will include summaries of various lengths, hence the one
paragraph/one sentence combination.