Summary and response
This assignment is due on October 27. The assignment must be submitted in paper and through SafeAssign on Blackboard.
Choose one of the essays listed below. Write one substantial paragraph that summarizes the essay and one substantial paragraph that responds to the essay.
Your assignment must use the Times New Roman font, 12-point in size. There must be one inch (2.5 cm) margins on
all four sides of the assignment. The assignment must have double-spaced lineation. The assignment must include a separate
page for a Works Cited list. The assignment should not have a title page. The assignment should be justified on the left margin only: no full justification.
Your assignment must follow the Modern Language Association (MLA) bibliographic, citation, and presentation guidelines.
You can consult the Purdue Online Writing Lab for
information about using MLA format. See especially the example essay
and the sample Works Cited page they have on their site.
Your first paragraph is a summary of the essay you choose. Summarize the main argument of the essay and any secondary arguments. Include the main points
the essay makes and a description of the methodology the author uses for supporting the main argument. Do not quote from the essay, except for particular
words and phrases that the author uses that cannot be properly paraphrased. Your paragraph should be written in such a way as to make it clear that your
paragraph is a summary of the essay.
Your second paragraph is a response to the essay. You are asked to evaluate how strong the essay’s argument is and to respond to the argument in some way.
You may agree or disagree with the essay: you must be clear about why you agree or disagree. You may also partly agree and partly disagree. You may use
quotations from the essay to help your argument. Note that you are responding to the essay: you are not just writing about your own opinions on the same
issue.
The two paragraphs together should be between one and two pages in length. Do not include section titles (“Summary” and “Response”) with this assignment.
Please use the PDF Full Text versions of these essays: the versions that are images of the print editions (with the page numbers).