English Question
Your two-page weekly summary essay should have three main parts:
Summary: After completing the assigned readings ask yourself: What are the main arguments? What is the point this book/article/chapter is trying to make? What topics are covered? If someone asked what this article/book/chapter is about, what would you say? If someone asked what are the topics in the subject/topic area that this article/book/chapter discussed, what would you say? Are there vague or sweeping generalizations that aren’t backed up with evidence? Are arguments very one-sided with no acknowledgment of other viewpoints?
Assessment: After summarizing, it is helpful to evaluate/assess what was read. Reading materials are divided into logical presentation sections (i.e. a beginning, a middle, and an end). Summarize the main points of the section(s) you evaluate as having the most relevant/important material.
It might be helpful, the following questions are suggestions: What have you learned about the subject? What is(are) the issue(s)? Is there consensus/disagreement: in what areas, what about that consensus/disagreement? What areas are still being researched? Is the information reliable? Is this source biased or objective? Is the evidence based on a few studies or many? Does the author use a good mix of sources of information (primary and secondary)?
Format: Typed and double spaced with appropriate citation. There is a required number of pages, two pages per week, of high-quality work, which should be sufficient. You can go over the page limit by half of a third page. Writing more than the required 2 pages will not result in a better grade, especially if valuable space is used addressing tangential issues (albeit important to the writer).
