Step 2:
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Summarize each of your sources.
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Note: Summaries follow a very particular structure. In other words, there are “rules” for writing a good summary. If you want help making sure your summary is correct, you can find more information on the Writing a Summary Page. Because I am linking to this page, I expect your summary to be written correctly.
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Then, discuss how their arguments compare: What do they agree on? How did they build on each other? What did you learn from one source that you didn’t learn from the other source? Which do you think was most useful to helping you understand the topic and why? Was that related to the information included, or the way that information was “packaged”?
Step 3:
Analyze the rhetorical choices made by each text, paying particular attention to how the sources are different from each other. You’ll want to consider how they are different (in terms of audience, purpose, and genre), what stylistic choices they make, and how their differences shape how these texts can participate in the conversation. To help you write your answer in this section, please see these guiding questions, which I have provided for you. Please use specific examples from the text to support your analysis. Your answer to this section should be at least 300 words long.
Note: Include the link for your source or include it as an attachment.
Writing a Summary Summaries follow a very particular structure.
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The first sentence should identify the author (first name and last name) and title of the text and the core idea of the author’s overall argument. (see the purple sentence below)
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The rest of the summary should go over the main arguments of the text. For example, what are some of the main ideas that the text spent time discussing? These would be the major subsections of the text.
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Each sentence of a summary is careful to give credit to the original writer for their ideas. Therefore, the sentences often start with phrases like “Jones states” or “she explains”. This is important, so we don’t think you’re giving your opinion. (see examples in red)
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Your summary should remain an objective report of the text, without your commentary or your opinion of the author’s argument/information.
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Summaries do not typically use quotes–the author of the summary must paraphrase the original text. Paraphrase means completely repackaging the information in your own words for your audience.
Here’s an example summary:
Guiding Questions for Researching Rhetorically #1
Below are some questions to help you write your answer. Do not answer these questions in bulleted form. Instead, use the questions below to help you write your answer.
Guiding Questions For Researching Rhetorically 1:
1. For each of the texts, you may look closely at these questions, paying particular attention to how the texts are similar or different in these areas:
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Who is the audience for the text and what was the author’s purpose? Remember that the audience cannot be “everyone”. (For example, does the audience belong to a particular age group? To a specific geographical location? A political affiliation? A specific career or degree of knowledge? Look for clues in the text as to who the writer is writing for.) What is the context for their argument? What is the writer responding to? What do you know about the author/place of publication?
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How does the writer use evidence/information? Are there any differences in the way the two sources use information? Is the evidence/information reliable? Why or why not?
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How does the writer establish credibility/authority? Is that authority appropriate in this context and/or for this audience?
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What is the level of bias or degree of advocacy in the medium where this source was published? For example, if your source is a newspaper article, does the newspaper have strong political beliefs, to the point that they are very selective in the information they share, or is that newspaper trying to be “neutral”. If you look into the newspaper/website/etc, you might get clues. What might you say are the medium’s values? Try to understand if this author is advocating a specific position (or is “neutral”) and/or if the place where this source was published advocates a position (or is “neutral”).
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Tips: for an article, you might read the Wikipedia page to learn more about the magazine or newspaper in which it is published. For a social media post, you might click on the profile and see if the other posts indicate a bias. For a website, you might look at the “about page” or read other perspectives on this website.
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Look at the WAY the author makes the argument. What stylistic choices does the author make? What content choices? What choices regarding images, layout, etc? Are their photographs or graphs? Long or short paragraphs? Lots of quotes? How do such choices relate to their rhetorical purpose/s? For example, how do their choices help develop their ethos/credibility? How do the stylistic choices support their argument? How do their choices help them connect with the audience? Again, considering what the sources do similarly or differently can help you identify these elements.
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Given the audience, purpose, genre and the message of the text, what do you think might be the limitations of the text? What can that source not do? For example, a letter is usually addressed to a specific audience and does not usually include images; a news article is addressed to a more public audience and sometimes includes images. One limitation of a news article, then, is that it can’t usually address a single specific person about a personal issue. Texts can be limited do to their genre, due to their audience, due to their purpose.
2. You should be sure to consider in your answer how the differences between the texts impact the texts overall. For example, is one source more useful in terms of how much or what kind of information it provides? Is one text packaged in a way that’s easier for you to read or understand? Is one text more engaging? Be specific in your answer.