Summary Assignment

Summaries serve the purpose of relaying information in a short and concise manner. A summary focuses on general details rather than specific details, so it is important not to get off track by providing too many details.  Consider The Wizard of Oz and what the movie is about at its core.  The movie shares the story of an adolescent girl who is bored by the restrictions found on her grandparents’ Kansas farm. Thinking that life would be better anywhere other than on the farm, Dorothy sets off an adventure that takes her to a magical place where what is normal is anything but normal. Through the course of her adventures, Dorothy learns that while life on the farm is not always exciting it does represent safety and love.  In 77 words, the movie The Wizard of Ozhas been summarized.  There are little to no details, save for the main character’s name and her current location, and for anyone who has watched the movie can agree that those 77 words reflect a basic summary of the movie that runs almost two hours.

For this assignment, select two articles from the list found in the Combined Reading List folder, specifically under “Summary Choices.”  Read the two articles at least twice, a third time could not hurt, and then prepare a summary for each article that is at the minimum 150 words but no more than 300 words.   The first sentence of your summary should identify the title and author of the article as well as some mention of the general topic. An example of an opening sentence might read like this:

John Smith’s article “The Art of Argument,” addresses the issue of how to have a discussion that does not turn into an argument. (Italics added for emphasis only.)

The remainder of the summary would then focus on the major points found in the article.  Remember, a summary is not about specific details nor is it about you, the writer’s opinion of the article.  Reveal the major details only, and avoid providing any type of specifics i.e. statistics, names of people discussed, etc.

The final draft is to follow MLA style and format guidelines, which include the following:

• Header and heading
• Double spacing, size 12 font (Times New Roman, Calibri, Arial)
• One inch margins on all four sides
• No contractions, first person pronouns, or second person pronouns, or slang

The two article links are listed below: