《英语基础写作教程》：
Step 2 Read the article. First of all, we need to read and study the article carefully. When reading, we can underline or summarize its thesis and the main ideas of its body paragraphs, important claims, and supporting evidence. If having enough time, we may annotate our reac-'tions to the main idea, its development and reasoning.
Step 3 Write the summary. Then, we can write a brief summary of the article. When doing so, in our first sentence, we are advised to present the author's name, the full title of the arti-cle, and its thesis to show our readers that we are writing a summary (e.g. In his article Why I Teach , Peter G. Beidler explains that ...) . And then we present the main ideas of its body par-agraphs. Throughout the summary, we need to use our own words, not the original words or phrases in the article, to objectively present its main idea, chief points and whatever is worth including in the summary. If we mean to quote the original words/phrases to clarify or emphasize the idea conveyed by them, we put them between a pair of quotation marks.
Step 4 Write the response. After the summary, we come to write the most imp《》rtant part of the summary-response essays - our response. We need to handle it carefully:
First, decide on our overall reaction to the article and prepare for our response part.Before writing about our " response" , we can read once again the underlined sentences and the annotation made on the article. And we may ask ourselves such questions as : What's our general impression of the article? Do we agree or disagree with the author? Why? Do we have personal examples, or more desirably, facts, statistics, testimony, or other information to support our position.? Perhaps we only agree with some points but disagree with others? What reasons make us accept or reject only part of the author's opinion? Or perhaps we agree with the main ideas but think that those ideas can be better developed? Do we like the author's logic, style, or tone? By answering these questions, we may eventually decide on our overall response and get prepared to write our body paragraphs.
Then, indicate the beginning of our response. Our first paragraph of the summary-response essay is usually the summary of the article. We may start a new paragraph with a sentence that clearly indicates the beginning of our response. And at the same time we claim our general opinion about it. Ideally, we indicate to our readers what points we will discuss in the response part. For example, we may indicate the beginning of our response this way :
Although in his article Higher Entrance Fee Is Reasonable" Peter correctly identifies three benefits of raising the entrance fee of places of historical interests, he only argues for the rich. Higher entrance fee denies the poor the right to go to such places.
This two beginning sentences not only once again summarize the writer's approval of the opinions about the benefits of raising the entrance fee, but also point out its harm to the poor, indicating that the writer may talk about the unfair side of such practice.
Next, make clear what we support or refute and offer convincing evidence. When writing our response, in each of our own body paragraphs, we need to remind our readers of which claim or idea we are refuting or supporting by using " tag lines" like:
Although Peter argues that the increased entrance fee will limit visitor flow, he doesn't realize who will be
more likely to be excluded.
After we signal the point in discussion and state our position, we need to support our posi-tion with sufficient specific evidence, convincing our readers. If we disagree with a point, we must explain why we disagree clearly, logically, and thoroughly, and proceed to state our own opinion. If we agree, we can't simply repeat it (like, "I think Peter is right when he says raising the entrance fee is reasonable. He is also right about the benefits of doing so ..." ).Instead, we must offer more incontrovertible examples, convincing reasons, or other persuasive information to strengthen the points that we share with the author. Or we may try proving the point from a different but conclusive perspective.
Finally, write a brief concluding paragraph. After finishing our response, we may briefly mention the value or the imperfection of the article in question again before we call for action for or against the article's ideas, or project its effects into the future. However we end our essay, our conclusion should always be consistent with our overall assessment of the article and its ideas.
The following article Our Youth Should Serve was written by Steven Muller. It was assigned to students who were asked to write a one-paragraph summary and a response essay, expressing their opinion of the article's proposal. The essay Youth Service: An Idea Whose Time Has Come following it is a sample student essay. The student author thought the article itself could have been stronger, but s/he liked Muller's proposal for a volunteer youth service, and supported her/his approval with her/his own experience.
Our Youth Should Serve
1 Too many young men and women now leave school without a well-developed sense of purpose. If they go right to work after high school, many are not properly prepared for careers. But if they enter college instead, many do not really know what to study or what to do afterward. Our society does not seem to be doing much to encourage and use the best instincts and talents of our young.
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