| Summary
Paper For your first paper, you will summarize “Towards a Definition of Film Noir,” by Raymond Borde and Etienne Chaumeton, Film Noir Reader (p. 37-51). A summary should include the thesis of the article being summarized, the main subordinate ideas, and important details. A summary should NOT include editorial commentary; this is the one essay for which I’ll ask you to keep your opinions to yourself. There are two main purposes of a summary essay. 1) To inform a reader who has not read the article what it’s about, so the reader can determine if it’s an article he or she would wish to pursue further. 2) To help a reader who has already read the article understand it, particularly if the article is difficult to understand or its main points are hard to determine because of length, poor writing, or poor organization. If the article is confusing or poorly organized, it’s up to you to bring order and coherence to it in your summary. Remember—don’t mention that the article is hard to understand (that’s the kind of editorial commentary to be avoided). However, if you have to present the points of the article in a different order than the author does, feel free. What I will evaluate: Accuracy—this is the most important quality of a good summary. You must reflect the article accurately. If you don’t, then your summary will not fulfill either purpose of a summary. Inaccuracies in reporting the article result in an automatic “C,” so read carefully. Clarity—summaries should be easy to understand. One of the purposes of a summary is to shed light on a difficult piece; you will negate this purpose if you make it difficult for the reader to follow your summary. Brevity—summaries should be free from clutter, unnecessary words and details. Use concise language. Discuss only the most important parts of the essay. Leave the minutiae for another day and another essay. Thoroughness—although you’re trying to be brief, you want to make sure you cover all major points. Style—summaries are tedious reading at best. Furthermore, since this a summary assignment, each essay should cover approximately the same material. The best essays will stand out by virtue of the quality of their writing, not just by what they say. In addition to being grammatically correct and concise, you should try to work on creating effective variety in sentence length and structure. Subordinate. Coordinate. Since you don’t have to worry about creating brilliant thoughts for this essay, you can work on demonstrating your ability to create effective prose. This does NOT mean using big words for the sake of using big words. Nor does it mean you should try to be vague and/or abstruse for the sake of looking intelligent. Above all, be clear and concrete. Other: 1) In your introductory paragraph, you should at least introduce the author and title of your essay. The reader needs to know what article you’re summarizing. The reader should also know the origin of the article, particularly if it’s a chapter from an author’s larger study. 2) Even though the only source you’ll use is in the textbook, you should cite it as you would any source, including both parenthetical citations and a works cited page in MLA format. 3) Your essay should be about 750-1000 words. 4) Authors, both male and female, are referred to by their last names, i.e. Asch's experiment broke new ground in social psychology. 5) Spell check and proofread. Sloppiness, although not my primary concern, detracts from your authority as a writer and my enjoyment of your essay. Due: Wednesday, January 12 |
