W131 Hannah-Hansen Summary Paper

First draft due:

Final draft due:

Total: 50 points

**Please attach this sheet to your final draft.

Paper assignment: Write a 2 page (500 word) summary that develops from a close reading of the assigned article. The summary must indicate the author’s key ideas, concepts, and arguments. It must report accurately what the author wrote, not evaluate or offer an opinion. The goal of a summary is to help the reader learn the essential information and line of argument contained in the source article in a concise, objective, and accurate re-writing. You must use direct quotes sparingly and all must be cited properly in MLA style. The paper should also include a Work Cited Page.

Grading Criteria:

Accuracy, Completeness, Objectivity: /15

Writer has a)accurately presented the ideas of the author and captured the tone of the article; b) summarized the whole article and avoided a disproportionate emphasis on ideas expressed by the author; and c) maintained an objective representation of the author’s ideas. The author’s thesis is presented within the first two sentences in the introduction.

Coherence and Logic of Organization: /10

Writer demonstrates an understanding of the logic of the argument presented by the author and utilizes transitional words and phrases that demonstrate an understanding of the author’s line of reasoning.

Paragraph Development: /10

Writer has well-developed paragraphs that are coherent and stick to a main idea.

Readability: /10

Use of language and writing style is competent, that is not distracting to the average reader. Essay contains few, if any, grammatical or sentence level errors.

Format: /5

Paper is formatted correctly and writer has used proper in text citation style as well as proper format for the works cited page.