On todays agenda

1
Writing Summaries

• On todays agenda
• Brief Assignment 1 Reactions
• Writing summaries overview The Backstreet Boys
  and Mrs. Blackwell
• Summarize If Black English Isnt a Language,
  Then Tell Me, What Is? Figures from the 2004
  WHO Report on Alcohol, Gender, and Drinking
  Problems
• For next week

ENGL 1301.59 ENGL 1301.65
2
Summary

• Is a brief restatement, in your own words, of an
  essays or a figures content
• Should focus on central idea
• Should not include minor details or repeat points
• Is a personal interpretation, objectively stated
• Is a multipurpose product
• Helps you understand what you are reading
• Helps your readers understand what you have
  read/examined
• Demonstrates your knowledge of the topic/passage
• Is frequently used in college and professional
  writing
• Requires careful, critical reading

3
Critical Reading for Summary

• Context authors credentials, occupation,
  publication history source
• Type, structure, and purpose
• Type Expository (inform/persuade), narrative,
  personal essay? Figure?
• Structure and organization
• Titles, subtitles, sections
• Deductive/inductive presentation
• Main and subordinate points
• Points, examples, counterarguments
• Purpose
• Present facts/information?
• Persuade readers?
• Relate personal history or experience?
• Look up unfamiliar terms note confusing or
  troublesome passages underline/highlight
  sparingly. READ RECURSIVELY!
• Divide essay into sections/stages of thought

4
Summarizing

• Write one-sentence summaries of each stage of
  thought
• Write a thesis one or two sentences summarizing
  entire passage--what, who, why, where, when, how
• Write a first-draft summary (about ¼ essays
  length)
• Identify hypothetical purpose and audience for
  summary
• Authors name and credentials, essay title
• Thesis one-sentence stage of thought
  summaries
• Significant details ONLY if necessary (dont be
  repetitive)
• Check summary against original passage adjust as
  needed
• Revise writing for technical correctness and
  style
• Weed out spelling errors (including homophones)
  and typos
• Eliminate I statements and personal opinions
  BE OBJECTIVE!
• Check your work for grammar and punctuation
  errors (note your diagnostic results and the
  Top 20 will come in handy here)
• Improve style include transition phrases avoid
  short, choppy sentences make sure writing flows
  from one idea to next

5
For example The Backstreet Boys A Popular Rock
Band

• Rock bands are as popular today as they were in
  the 1950s, when rock n roll was born. The fans
  get wild when they see their favorite group. The
  girls scream and faint at concerts and record
  sales explode. The decade of the 90s has
  produced many popular bands. One band in
  particular is The Backstreet Boys. The group is
  made up of five young men Kevin, Brian, Howie,
  A. J., and, the youngest, Nick. The listeners
  range in age, but the largest group is
  teenagers.  The Backstreet Boys are popular
  primarily because of their image, but they also
  have the ability to manipulate the media
  successfully and to write engaging lyrics to
  upbeat music.
• The Backstreet Boys have created a nice image for
  their young fans to follow. One example is the
  way they look. Their fashionable clothes are cool
  and up-to-date. Teenagers relate to their baggy
  jeans, oversized shirts, and top-of-the- line
  shoes. A. J. and Howie have goatee beards and all
  of them have short, sometimes colored and spiked,
  haircuts. Young fans feel they can relate to
  these guys because their appearance is
  interesting and attractive to them. The
  Backstreet Boys are also polite during
  interviews. They all thank God and their families
  for their success and talents. They participate
  in charity events, and they avoid setting bad
  examples for young people to follow, such as
  promoting alcohol and tobacco products.

• Introduction Popularity stems from image, media
  manipulation, music listeners mostly teens
  but other ages, too
• Image cool clothes, hair, etc. polite,
  appreciative behavior charity good example for
  young fans

6
Backstreet Boys continued

• The media and the managers for the group play a
  huge role in the promotion of  The Backstreet
  Boys. For instance, the group is on many covers
  of Teen, J-14, Teen-Idol, and other magazines.
  They release information about their personal
  lives, their favorite foods, their concert dates,
  and any other pertinent information they can find
  on a regular basis. These magazines offer
  photographs and posters of each member of the
  band. This type of publicity keeps the fans
  excited and wanting more. The television is
  another source of media for bands. Stations like
  MTV and VH1 play their music videos and invite
  them into the studio for interviews. This action
  helps promote the songs and albums they produce
  meanwhile, the band becomes even more popular.
• On a last note, the lyrics and music The
  Backstreet Boys create is a definite reason they
  are popular. Their music attracts all ages. They
  sing slow love songs that will touch a couples
  hearts. For example, Anywhere for You is
  written about a person ready to make sacrifices
  for the one they love. The chorus is straight
  forward and touching

• Media magazine covers, photos, posters personal
  details concert dates TV music videos
  interviews but what about radio????
• Music touching love songs appeal to all age
  groups (slow music)

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Backstreet Boys continued

• upbeat dance music is fun and is played on
  various radio stations (oh, theres the radio!)
• Conclusion repeats main points from intro
  (thesis)

• Id go anywhere for you. / Anywhere you asked me
  to. Id do anything for you. / Anything you
  want me to. Your love as far as I can see. / Is
  all Im ever gonna need. Theres one thing for
  sure. / I know its true. Baby, Id go anywhere
  for you.
• On the other hand, songs like Everybody
  (Backstreets Back) and Larger than Life are
  more upbeat. They make a person feel good and
  want to dance. This type of music is versatile.
  Disc jockeys play it on easy listening, light
  rock, and top-40 radio stations and radio
  promotion also helps a group become popular.
• There are several reasons why The Backstreet Boys
  have become popular. The manipulation of the
  media and the wonderful lyrics and music play a
  large role, but the most important issue is their
  image. Young people have enough negative
  distractions in their lives. Peers,
  advertisements, music, and television programs
  and commercials all play a part. Therefore, it is
  nice to find a group that does not participate in
  a negative image.
• Essay by Rebecca Davis, Writing Tutor at the
  Roane State Community College Online Writing Lab

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Analyzing our example

• Author, credentials, essay title, and source
  Kimberly Davis, Writing Tutor, The Backstreet
  Boys A Popular Rock Band, RSCC Online Writing
  Lab
• Sections
• Introduction
• Image
• Media manipulation
• Musical offerings
• Conclusion
• Thesis The Backstreet Boys varied music and
  skillful advertising tactics attract listeners of
  all ages, but the band has gained much of its
  popularity by generating a refreshingly positive
  image.
• Subordinate points
• Band first emerged in the 1990s and is popular
  with many age groups, primarily teens
• Band conveys positive image cool clothes, polite
  behavior charitable participation
  alcohol/tobacco abstinence
• Band and managers take advantage of media
  coverage to market the group through magazines
  (covers, photos, poster inserts, personal
  information), television (music videos,
  interviews), radio
• Bands variety of music (slow, romantic ballads
  and faster dance numbers ) appeals to diverse
  listeners

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So how might our summary look?

• This is a summary of The Backstreet Boys A
  Popular Rock Band by Kimberly Davis, a writing
  tutor at the Roane State Community College Online
  Writing Lab. My audience for this essay might be
  my instructor and classmates in an American Pop
  Culture course.
• The Backstreet Boys varied music and skillful
  advertising tactics attract listeners of all
  ages, but the band has gained much of its
  popularity by generating a refreshingly positive
  image. While the groups trendy clothes and
  hairstyles appeal to teenagers, the media helps
  keep the band in the public eye. The Boys
  photographs appear on teen magazine covers and
  posters, their music videos are often featured on
  television, and their songs are played by a wide
  range of radio stations. By releasing concert
  dates and personal information in magazine and
  television interviews, Davis says, band members
  keep the fans excited and wanting more. Their
  music has the same effect since the 1990s,
  widely diverse audiences have been drawn to the
  Boys romantic ballads and fun dance mixes.
• Best of all, the band is careful to set a good
  example for its young fans by shunning tobacco
  and alcohol. This wholesome image is also boosted
  by polite and thankful behavior during interviews
  and by charitable activities. Through these
  actions, the band helps its teenaged fans avoid
  negative media and social influences. Positive
  image has made the Backstreet Boys one of the
  most popular bands of the era.

10
Summary Now you try it

• In your appointed groups, please read, If Black
  English Isnt A Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?
  This article is found on page 339 of your
  textbook.
• Please take several minutes to read the passage
  RECURSIVELY.
• Review the strategies for summary on pages 8 and
  9 of your textbook and page 267 of your handbook.
• Work as a group to formulate a summary of this
  article.
• Please be prepared to share elements of your
  summary with the class.

11
Summarizing Figures and Tables

• Your summary of figures and tables should
• Identify hypothetical purpose and audience for
  summary
• Include authors name and credentials (if
  provided), figure or table number (if provided)
  and title, and source
• Be about one paragraph long
• Combine categories of data in a logical fashion
  (see textbook p. 24 for an example)
• Be checked carefully for technical and
  grammatical errors
• AS A GROUP, summarize these two tables from the
  2004 World Health Organizations study of
  Alcohol, Gender, and Drinking Problems.

12
Brief Assignment 2

• Article Summary Assignment
• The following three articles are located in your
  textbook. To complete your article summary,
• select one of the articles from the list below.
  Your summary of an article should follow the
• summary writing guidelines discussed in Ch. 1.
•  Articles to summarize
• Bettelheim, Bruno. The Holocaust. First-Year
  Writing Writing in the Disciplines. Boston
  Pearson Custom, 2008. 363-65.
• Frye, Northrop. Dont You Think Its Time to
  Start Thinking? First-Year Writing Writing in
  the Disciplines. Boston Pearson Custom, 2008.
  351-52.
• Orwell, George. Politics and the English
  Language. First-Year Writing Writing in the
  Disciplines. Boston Pearson Custom, 2008.
  371-81. 
• Visual Summary Assignment
• To complete your second summary, you will choose
  one of the visuals available from the
• following link and write a summary of the data
  contained in that visual. Follow the summary
• writing guidelines discussed in Ch. 1.

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Recap

• Brief Assignment 2
• DUE ON TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 9 AT 1159.59 P.M.
• For Thursday, September 11
• Please read Textbook pp. 29-32 and Handbook pp.
  23-35 and 262-265.
• Please complete Exercise Central quizzes (links
  will be posted in the Instructor Announcement
  area of TOPIC/Raider Writer).
• Print out the results of your Exercise Central
  Quizzes and bring them with you to class.

ENGL 1301.59 ENGL 1301.65