English 51

Monday, March 3, 2014Melissa GunbyEnglish 350 and 355Todays AgendaCritical ReadingWriting Summaries

Critical Reading

Youre already practicing critical reading skills when youre working in the lab.However, we need to expand on those skills a bit in order to prepare you for the tasks of the CME and English 370What is Critical ReadingCritical Reading means reading with a critical eye, or reading for meaning, and doing so activelyCritical Reading does not mean challenging and arguing with everything.Things to look for when reading actively and critically: The main ideaSupporting detailsSpecific evidence or examplesUnfamiliar or technical languageSteps in the Reading ProcessPreviewingHighlightingAnnotatingOutliningSummarizingWriting a Response ParagraphFinding Main IdeasAll writing has structure. Expository writing, the kind well be doing in this class, follows a very specific structure.

This structure helps us to locate main ideas more quickly, as well as giving us a standard form to study and work from.Why do we need topic sentences?Because without topic sentences, its really hard to figure out what a paragraph is about.She was really annoyed, but she decided she had to go.Joanne received an invitation to her ex-boyfriends wedding. She was really annoyed, but she decided she had to go.The spectators enjoy the sun or the evening, chat, drink beer or soda, cheer or boo as the occasion demands, and hope for a victory by the home team. The analysts keep score, watch each pitch intently, note the strengths and weaknesses of the players, and follow managerial strategy with microscopic attention.Small Group Work:Im going to put up a paragraph on the following slide. Working with the 2 or 3 people around you, find the Topic Sentence of the paragraph, and locate the supporting details. Just make notes; well discuss it as a class.

From Looking Back: A Chronicle of Growing Up Old in the Sixties by Joyce MaynardWe [students] were forever being organized into activities that, I suspect, looked good on paper and in school board reports. New programs took over and disappeared as approaches to child education changed. One year we would go without marks, on the theory that marks were a poor motivating factor, an unnatural pressure.Another year every activity became a competition, with posters tacked up on the walls showing who was ahead that week, our failures and our glories bared to all the class. Our days were filled with electrical gimmicks, film strips and movies and overhead projectors and tapes and supplementary TV shows, and in junior high, when we went audio-visual, a power failure would have been reason enough to close down the school.More Practice!Silently read the short essay handout. Find the main idea for each paragraph (this should be a bit of review based on where you are in the lab at this point).When were done, well compare.Writing a Summary

Writing SummariesWhat is a summary?A summary is a restatement, in your own words, of another longer document.Summaries must:Maintain and communicate the meaning of the original documentNOT contain your opinion or views on the originalstick strictly to what the original writing had to sayContain ALL the main points the original author includedWill usually not contain all the details, unless of importance.Good Summaries Should Answer 3 Questions1. What is the subject of the original? What problem or situation is the writing addressing?When writing a summary, you may want to make this question/answer like an introduction to set up the rest of the piece2. What are the main points of the original? The summary may nor may not follow the same order as the original. Usually, a summary hits the most important points first. Summaries of pro/con will generally list all the pros together and all the cons together for claritys sake.3. What conclusions does the original reach?Steps in Writing a Good Summary1. Read the whole piece. On a separate page, write your own words of the main ideas.2. Reread and underline/highlight the important ideas.3. Write the introductory statement, explaining what the original is about.4. Decide on the order in which you want to present the main points.5. write the body of your summary, using your own words.6. write your last part, which tells about the authors conclusions.7. PROOFREAD!Aside: Why its important to proofreadSomeone tell me whats wrong with this sentence:

I whore those shoes until they fell apart.

Microsoft word (and other software) can only tell you if the word is spelled correctly. It cant tell you if youve chosen the right word. Make sure to take the time to read through your document before turning it in.

Turn to page 692 for an example of annotationHomework!Complete Narrative Paragraph (if not already turned in)If youve completed it, you may continue to revise it until the final submission in the portfolioComplete Descriptive Paragraph (if not already turned in)Rough Draft Process Paragraph (if not already turned in)Read: My Grandmothers Dumplings pg 730Along with the Focus On questions (due 3/17), write a summary of the text. The summary is due on Wednesday

Homework Packets are due on Monday 3/17. I will give you a checklist next Monday (3/10)