Summary Papers

This semester you will write a series of short summary papers. Summary is often a necessary foundation for formal literary criticism (which we will do later this semester). Writing a summary is a simple process that is challenging to produce. Basically, a summary is a short version of the original text. Summaries all of the essential information in a reduced, condensed form. The important tasks for the summarizer are to a) identify which elements have to be included and b) reproduce those elements in trim, streamlined, clear language.

Here are some additional features of summaries:

· Summaries are always shorter than the original.

· Summaries move chronologically through the original.

· Literary summaries use literary present tense.

· Summaries are objective, not analytical or subjective (i.e. opinion)

Completing this assignment, you will write three separate summary papers. Each paper must be typed, double-spaced, in a plain 11-12 pt font with one inch margins all around. It must conform to MLA style for format, in-text citation, and Works Cited page.

Summary Paper #1: For the first summary paper, you will write a 400-500 word summary of “The Partnered Ship” from Anne McCaffrey’s The Ship Who Sang. It will be due on Feb. 4^th. Please note that this section of the text will also be discussed that day.

Summary Paper #2: For the second summary paper, you will write a 400-500 word summary of   Gray’s “Man Plus: Enhanced Cyborgs and the Construction of the Future Masculine”(CD). As a secondary article rather than literature, it will require a different focus. Your summary will focus more on the argumentative points he makes rather than essential details and “plot.” It will be due on Feb. 18^th.

Summary Paper #3: For the final summary paper, you will write a 300-400 word summary of a critical article (to be determined) and then write a 100-200 word analysis of that article. This analysis should state what you find to be the article’s strengths and weaknesses. This analysis should be supported by evidence from the primary source being analyzed. For instance, if the article focuses on The Ship Who Sang, your analysis will use the novel to support your analysis. This support needs to go beyond the evidence used by the article itself. This paper will be due on March 25^th.