The Summary and Analysis Essay
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- Category: English
- Date Submitted: 10/27/2010 01:09 AM
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THE SUMMARY ANALYSIS ESSAY
As the name suggests, the goal of this type of writing is to summarize an assigned piece of writing and then analyze that piece of writing, informing your audience of your position on the issue being raised.
The first element of Summary/Analysis writing is to inform your audience, generally, what you think an author is saying in an assigned essay or article. This is the summary. Remember: your goal is not to retell but rather, to identify generally the high points and what you think he means.
The second element of Summary/Analysis writing is to establish for your audience your position on the issue raised in the assigned essay. Think in these terms: do you agree or disagree with the author’s position, and why? And while you will not use the first-person “I” in this essay, you will be making clear what you believe to be valid or invalid about the what the author has to say by using declarative sentences.
o-o-o-o-o
Introductory paragraph – Should NOT refer to the assigned essay. Instead, it
should focus generally on the issue that is raised in the essay. You may use as your introduction one of the following: an anecdote, either personal or 3 rd person, that you can relate to the subject to be discussed; a statistic that you can relate to the subject; a fact that you can relate to the subject; a quote, from either a famous person or someone non-famous, that you can relate to the subject; or a question that functions as a lead-in to your discussion of the essay. You may also
use some other form of introductory device.
Summary paragraph – Example : Should begin with the sentence:
In his essay “Bones Break, but Boys Endure,” author John Vorst . .
You should finish this sentence with a general statement of what main point – or thesis – you believe the author is making with his essay. This is the...
As the name suggests, the goal of this type of writing is to summarize an assigned piece of writing and then analyze that piece of writing, informing your audience of your position on the issue being raised.
The first element of Summary/Analysis writing is to inform your audience, generally, what you think an author is saying in an assigned essay or article. This is the summary. Remember: your goal is not to retell but rather, to identify generally the high points and what you think he means.
The second element of Summary/Analysis writing is to establish for your audience your position on the issue raised in the assigned essay. Think in these terms: do you agree or disagree with the author’s position, and why? And while you will not use the first-person “I” in this essay, you will be making clear what you believe to be valid or invalid about the what the author has to say by using declarative sentences.
o-o-o-o-o
Introductory paragraph – Should NOT refer to the assigned essay. Instead, it
should focus generally on the issue that is raised in the essay. You may use as your introduction one of the following: an anecdote, either personal or 3 rd person, that you can relate to the subject to be discussed; a statistic that you can relate to the subject; a fact that you can relate to the subject; a quote, from either a famous person or someone non-famous, that you can relate to the subject; or a question that functions as a lead-in to your discussion of the essay. You may also
use some other form of introductory device.
Summary paragraph – Example : Should begin with the sentence:
In his essay “Bones Break, but Boys Endure,” author John Vorst . .
You should finish this sentence with a general statement of what main point – or thesis – you believe the author is making with his essay. This is the...