CYN E 1

Assignment require:

For every reading you do, located on course reserve, in this class you will be asked to write a Summary/Response. This should be at least two pages long where you delve into the text summarizing and analyzing it. See below for explanation of a summary and a response.

 

A summary is a concise paraphrase of the main ideas in a text. It not only cites the author and the title (usually in the first sentence); it also tells the text's thesis and supporting ideas. Furthermore, with a summary you may not have enough room to cover all of the points the author makes and thus you should focus on key points made throughout the text. You will need to synthesize the text and make sense of it before you take us into the text. It is always good to signal your reader and thus phrases such as "Smith says/notes/states," "According to Smith," and "for Smith, the solution appears to be," etc. should be used. The summary should take up no more than a third of the work being summarized.

 

A response is a critique or evaluation of the author opinions in relation to the article you summarized. Here you examine thoughts and ideas with which you agree or disagree with and identify the text good response is persuasive, therefore, it should cite facts, examples, and personal antidotes that either go against or support the text you are writing about (this will depend on what stance you take).

Two Typical Organizational Formats for Summary/Response Essays:

1.  Introduce the essay with a short paragraph that includes your thesis. Present the summary in a block of paragraphs, followed by the response in a block:

Summary (two to three paragraphs)

Agreement (or disagreement)

Disagreement (or agreement)

Conclusion

Note: Some essays will incorporate both agreement and disagreement in a response, but this is

not mandatory.

 

2. Introduce the essay with a short paragraph that includes your thesis. Then, each body paragraph summarizes one point and responds to it, and a conclusion wraps the essay up.

Summary point one; agree/disagree

Summary point two; agree/disagree

Summary point three; agree/disagree

Conclusion

Article require

Consider the following questions as you are writing your Summary Response of Holly Devor's "Becoming Members of Society:"

- Who is Holly Devor? Is she a credible source? Explain.

- Write a one-sentence summary of what you believe is the essence of Devor's essay. - What is the difference between gender as "socially-constructed" and "biological"? What are the social definitions of femininity and masculinity? Remember these questions are based off of what Devor writes. 

- At what ages do children begin to conceptualize gender? How do children associate certain factors with people's gender? What significance do these associations have on the children's upbringing? How do children learn what it means to be a female/a male? This about physical attributes vs. role information.

- Devor writes about how much of North American mainstream society holds common ideologies about gender roles, with guidelines for how men and women are expected to behave. Does Devor agree with these common ideologies/stereotypes? How do you know what her position/opinion is towards these mainstream beliefs? (Where in the article do you see where she gives her opinion?)

-How does ones speaking pattern relate to gender? What about body posture? Dress style?

- Think about your own cultural upbringing. What does your culture’s mainstream society think about gender roles? Are men and women expected to act in certain ways? What does society think about people who exhibit characteristics of the opposite gender?