Chapter 2: The Art of Summarizing- Chapter Two is the focus of summarizing. Summaries should be shaped with your own twist, but also should address the main idea in a clear way. When summarizing what they say, use action verbs to explain what is going on. Be sure to be judgement free because your summary is based on someone else’s perspective.
Example: If you are writing a response to the essay by Zinczenko, you should see that the topic written about is a different type of essay summary that addresses the issue and solution, but in your perspective and judgement free.
In his article Don’t blame the eater, David Zinczenko blames the fast-food industry for fueling today’s so-called obesity epidemic, not only failing to provide adequate warning labels on it’s high-calorie foods, but also by filling the nutritional void in children’s lives left by their overtaxed working parents. With many parents working long hours and unable to supervise what their children eat, Zinczenko claims, children today are easily victimized by the low cost calorie-laden foods that fast-food chains are all too eager to supply”.
- Templates for introducing summaries and quotations:
- X advocates…….
- They celebrate the fact that…….
2. Verbs for introducing summaries and quotations:
Verbs for making a claim: argue, believe, claim, suggest, insist, emphasize
Verbs for expressing agreement: agree, support, admire, celebrate the fact that, endorse
Verbs for questioning or disagreeing: complain, complicate, question, reject, contradict
Verbs for making recommendations: demand, implore, urge, warn advocate, recommend
Chapter 3: The Art of Quoting- Chapter three is the Art of Quoting. Quoting exact words is the best way to launch an effective argument. When quoting you should put it in quote sandwich form. Be careful with quoting because you don’t want to quote it in the wrong way, and loose the reader.
Example: To frame a quotation, you need to insert it into a quote sandwich. The introduction and claim is the top slice of the bread, the quote is the middle, and the explanation is the bottom of the bread. The follow up statement should explain why you consider the quotation to be important and whether or not you agree with what is being said.
Tannen is alarmed by the culture of attack that she describes it would be more accurate to use language that reflects that alarm. Deborah Tannen a prominent linguistics professor, complains that academia is too combative. Rather than really listening to others, Tannen insists, academics habitually try to prove one another wrong. As Tannen herself puts it, “we are all driven by our ideological assumptions that intellectual inquiry is a metaphorical battle, that the best way to demonstrate intellectual prowess is to criticize, find fault, and attack.” In short, Tannen objects that academic communication tends to be a competition for supremacy in which loftier values like truth and consensus get lost. Tannen’s observations ring true to me because I have often felt that the academic pieces I read for class are negative and focus on proving another theorist wrong rather than stating a truth.
1.Templates for introducing quotations:
- X states……..
- According to X……..
- In X’s view……..
2. Templates for explaining quotations:
- In other words X believes……….
- In making this comment, X urges us to……
- X’s point is that………..
- X is corroborating………
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