summary

Rubric for Academic Summary Professor Carlisle, FSCJ

You are expected to be able to write clear, effective, grammatically correct summaries. You are expected to be able to write not just what a text is “about,” but to understand how a

text works to produce a particular meaning. You are expected to be able to identify and differentiate the major and minor points that support the central idea of the text. You are

expected to know that a summary should be written in third-person and should exclude your own opinions.

Academic Summary Rubric Unacceptable

or Poor Summary

Marginal Summary

Successful Summary Good Summary Great

Summary

An

unacceptable or

poor

summary…

may show

evidence that

the reader

failed to

understand the

text, or

may fail to

identify the

context of the

text, or

may incorrectly

quote or

paraphrase the

text,

may include

opinions

outside of the

text or

misrepresent

opinions from

the text, or

may be poorly

written and

incorrectly

formatted.

A marginal

summary…

may fail to

concisely restate

the central idea, or

may fail to fully

identify the context

of the text, or

may fail to

differentiate

between major and

minor ideas or

evidence, or

may not convey the

logic of the original

argument, or

may rely too much

on quotation or

may fail to

accurately

paraphrase,

may include

opinions from

outside of the text,

or

may have writing

or format errors.

A successful summary ...

 1.includes the full and correct title of the text being summarized,  2. introduces the author of the text by full name and credentials or

other relevant source of credibility,

 3. identifies the type of publication (article, book, conference presentation) and the year of publication,

 4. identifies the original intended audience,  5. identifies the original purpose of the text,  6. defines key terms  7. includes a concise restatement of the of the central idea or

argument (thesis),

 8. identifies the major evidence and supporting evidence used to explain the central argument, differentiating between major and

minor points, and accurately and without bias representing the logic

of the argument or central idea (connecting the evidence to the

thesis),

 9. expresses the ideas presented in the text in the summarizer’s own words (NO plagiarizing, and minimal paraphrasing and quoting),

 10. excludes opinions and/or conclusions from outside of the text – even those opinions and/or conclusions that are in agreement or in

alignment with those expressed in the text (No “I” or “you”),

 11. is grammatically correct, using appropriate tone and language, and

 12. is in MLA format (including correct margins, header, title, spacing, work cited, etc.)

A good summary

…

exhibits the same

traits as those

found in a

successful

summary,

 plus it demonstrates

a more

complicated

or nuanced

understand-

ing of the

text’s central

argument.

A great summary

…

 exhibits the same traits as

outlined in

the successful

and good

summaries,

plus it

achieves a

level of

artistic

mastery

evident

through the

expression of

profound

engagement,

or

 exhibits innovative

thinking

about the

meaning of

the text being

summarized.

S u

m m

a ry

o f C

o n

te x t

S u

m m

a ry

o f T

e x t

W ri

ti n

g

These errors will cost you points on your papers. College-level writing does NOT include unintentional fragments, run-ons

(including comma splices), incorrect apostrophe use, wrong word errors, or subject-verb agreement errors. (Consult Little Seagull Handbook and the grammar videos on Blackboard for additional explanation and help.) Symbol/ Notation Error or problem Explanation of common writing error

Frag

Fragment (incomplete

sentence)

A sentence is a grammatically complete idea. A fragment is an incomplete sentence, missing its

subject (noun or pronoun that the sentence is about) or its predicate (verb clause that explains

what the subject is or what the subject is doing), or its meaning is somehow incomplete.

R-O

(simple) run-

on

A run on is two or more complete sentences that are fused together to form one grammatically

incorrect sentence. A comma splice is a type of run on.

C/S

Comma splice

run-on

A comma splice is two complete sentences that are fused (by a comma) into one grammatically

incorrect run-on sentence. Complete sentences cannot be connected together with just a comma.

Insert

comma

You need a

comma

Use a comma after an introductory phrase, between items in a series, before a coordinating

conjunction (FANBOYS) connecting independent clauses, and to separate a dependent, non-

restrictive clause from the rest of the sentence. Use commas also separate cities from their

regions and, in dates, to separate day from month and, in a sentence, before and after the year.

comma NO comma Do NOT use a comma when you don’t need it (see above).

semicolon

Do NOT use a

semicolon

Semicolons are used to connect complete sentences. You CANNOT use a semicolon to connect

a sentence to a fragment (or vice versa).

S/V Subject-verb

error

Subjects and verbs must AGREE with one another in number (singular or plural). If

a subject is singular, its verb must also be in singular verb form; if a subject is plural,

its verb must also be in plural verb form. Unlike subjects (nouns), the singular verb form most

often ends in S, while the plural verb form does NOT end in S. Thus, “she (singular) sits

(singular)” and “they (plural) sit (plural).”

P/A

Pronoun-

antecedent

error

Pronouns and their antecedents (the words to which the pronouns refer) must AGREE with one

another in number (singular or plural). If a pronoun is singular, its antecedent must also be in

singular; if a pronoun is plural, its antecedent must also be plural. The pronouns “they,” “their,”

and “them” are PLURAL and must refer to plural antecedents. Thus, “the student (singular

antecedent) got in trouble for his or her grades (singular pronoun),” not “the student (singular

antecedent) got into trouble for their grades (plural pronoun).”

apostrophe

No apostrophe

necessary

Apostrophes are used to indicate possession or contraction. Do not use an apostrophe to make

simple plural nouns. Thus “the students went out,” not “the student’s went out.”

apostrophe

Apostrophe IS

necessary

Apostrophes are used to indicate possession or contraction. Plural possession is indicated with

the apostrophe AFTER the plural S. Thus, “parents’ kids” = kids belonging to multiple parents.

= Capitalize Capitalize proper nouns, the first word in a sentence, and the words in a title.

= Don’t capitalize Do NOT capitalize common nouns or occupations (unless a formal title PRECEDING a name).

Combine

Combine

sentences

together

Sentences must do real work. If this annotation appears on your paper, you must work on

crafting sentences that are substantial. This annotation is used for short choppy sentences that

should be combined to form a single meaty sentence.

Concision

Work on

concision

Sentences must do real work, but they should only be as long as necessary to accomplish their

task. Don’t write overly long or needlessly convoluted sentences.

Overwriting

Do NOT

overwrite

Do NOT overwrite. Your goal is to communicate clearly. Do not bulk up your sentences with

impressive sounding language that does not directly contribute to clarity or meaning.

This

Do NOT use

“This”

Do not use “this.” Name, categorize, or specify what “this” is, or rephrase the sentence to

eliminate “this.” If you begin a sentence with “this,” consider eliminating “this” and collapsing

the sentence into the sentence that precedes it (where you name, categorize or specify “this”).

It Do NOT use “It” Avoid using “it.” Name, categorize, or specify what “it” is, or rephrase the sentence to eliminate “it.”

Thing NO “thing” Be clear and specific. Do not use “thing” or any word that contains “thing.”

You

Do NOT use

“you”

Avoid using “you” as general address. Your ENC paper has a specific “you”: me, your English

professor. “You” is great for persuasive papers, but not for our text-based arguments.

Wrong

word Wrong word

You have used the wrong word. Perhaps you have confused words that sound alike: there, their,

and they’re, for example, or your and your, or affect and effect. Or you’ve written the wrong word for the circumstance, such as “less” instead of “few,” or “amount” instead of “number,” or

“although” (or “though”) when you mean “however.”

Spelling Spelling error You have misspelled a word.

Title error Title error

Titles for shorter texts (articles, chapters, poems, songs) should be contained in quotes. Titles

for longer texts (magazines/journals, books, albums) should be italicized or underlined.

Cite/quote

error

Citation or

quotation error

You have made a mistake citing or quoting. Please consult the MLA-format section of your

Little Seagull Handbook.

What is an RE (Rhetorical Elements) Outline? Rhetoric refers to the study of the technique of using language

effectively, of using language to persuade or influence. An element is a component or constituent of a whole. A rhetorical

elements outline, then, is an analysis of how the parts of a text work together to create an argument. In other words, a

rhetorical elements outline lists the essential features of the text and how those features, elements, work together.

For each of the major texts assigned in class, you will complete an RE outline. The RE outline will serve as the

basis of your single-paragraph summary of that text. You will be submitting each of your summaries for a grade (via

“Turn It In” on Blackboard).

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

RE (Rhetorical Elements) Outline NOTE: Keep this RE outline description

I. MLA-format bibliographic entry (consult The Little Seagull Handbook for the correct format). The

MLA-format bibliographic entry will be the same as the work cited info on your single-paragraph

summary.

.

II. Context

1. Title: What is the name of the text?

2. Author/creator: By whom was the text written or created? What are his or her credentials?

3. Publication/occasion: When and where was the text published or performed?

4. Audience: For whom was the text written or created? How do you know?

5. Purpose: What is the purpose of the text (entertain, inform, incite change, etc.)?

III. Text

1. Key terms Are there special terms that must be defined or explained in order to

understand the argument? If so, what?

2. Argument/thesis: What is the central idea/argument of the text?

3. Evidence: What major evidence does the author use to prove his or her argument?

i. Supporting evidence (if any): What supportive or secondary

evidence does the author use to bolster or strengthen his or her

central argument or thesis?

The “when” (the year is usually sufficient) and

“where” a text is published or performed can be

confusing. “When” is simple. It most often refers

to a year. The “where” isn’t usually a

geographical place. If your RE is for an article, the

“where” is the name of a publication –newspaper,

journal or website.