Summary and Response Esssay. Prosecution of Destruction of the Earth as a Crime.

The Summary and Response Essay

Topics and Instructions

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Topics

Choose one of the articles below as your essay topic:

1. “Yet Another Study Finds Trigger Warnings May Be Harmful. It’s Time to Do Away with Them” by Katherine Timpf

2. “Ecocide: “The Destruction of the Earth is a Crime. It Should Be Prosecuted” by George Monbiot

3. “Nursing Shortage Is a Sign That Humanity’s Vital Signs Are Weak” by Christie Watson

4. “Canada's Negligence and Indifference Is Killing Indigenous People” by Pamela Palmater

Instructions

Write a 1000- to 1200-word essay that briefly summarizes your chosen article and then responds to it (agreeing, disagreeing, or both).

• The 1000-1200 words apply only to your actual essay: they do not include the words used for your title page or References page.

• Essays shorter than 1000 words or longer than 1250 words are unacceptable.

• This is NOT a research essay, so no research is required. However, should you wish to include a bit of research as support for your own claims, arguments, etc. (for example, a statistic or fact), you are free to do so: just be sure to cite the source in both your essay and References section.

• Important note: In any university paper, what most interests your professors is what you think, know, learn, reason, argue, support, learn, etc. Therefore, aim for brief introductory, summary, and concluding paragraphs that do their required jobs well and for longer, well-developed response paragraphs focused on clearly and completely explaining what you think and why.

The Essay

Documentation

• Whenever referring to your chosen author’s ideas or words—or to any other source, if you choose to include research—you must correctly adhere to the APA documentation style.

• For information on using APA in your essay and Reference page, consult Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

• Since the author’s arguments, ideas, support, etc. are the topic of your essay, aim to cite the author in your sentences, not in parentheses.

Formatting

Your essay must adhere to the following formatting guidelines:

• Use the Times New Roman font, 12-point in size.

• There must be 1-inch (2.5 cm.) margins on all four sides of the essay.

• The essay must use double-spaced lineation: set your line spacing at 2.

• Indent each paragraph (use the TAB key), and leave no extra spacing between paragraphs.

• Since this is an Arts course, not a Social Sciences course, do not use section headings such as “Introduction,” “Summary,” “Response,” or “Conclusion.”

Summary and Response Paragraphs

Summary Paragraph: What Do "They Say"?

• Immediately following your introduction, provide a brief, objective overview of the article, identifying its main argument (thesis, claim, point) and its main secondary arguments (claims/support): be selective and choose only two or three secondary arguments, those that are the most relevant to your thesis/focus and that you will respond to in individual paragraphs.

• Your summary of the article must be accurate and substantial, but not overly long or detailed: you can later provide more relevant detail in your response paragraphs.

• Your summary section should not include any of your own opinions, analysis, commentary, or evaluation.

• Your summary cannot use more than two short direct quotations from the essay: your goal is to paraphrase, to accurately summarize the author’s arguments in your own words.

Response Paragraphs: What Do "I Say" in Response?

• You must respond to the article and its arguments: NOT to the topic being discussed.In other words, you are not writing your own essay on the topic but, instead, interacting with the article and its components: its arguments, claims, support, assumptions, etc. as expressed by the author.

• Your opinions about your article’s arguments, claims, support, assumptions, etc. form the basis of your response.

• You will discuss the arguments that you outlined in your summary and explain your own attitude towards them as expressed by the writer. Is there something in the article with which you take issue? You can discuss elements of the article’s arguments that are strong or weak, or point to specific problems with the article’s claims and support, even things that could or should have been taken into account for a stronger argument. Refer to Chapter 4 in They Say/I Say for more response ideas.

• Ultimately, you are making clear whether you agree, disagree, or both with the article’s main argument(s) and various components, and explaining why in sufficient specific detail while adding something new to the conversation.

Penalties

For late penalties, refer to "Late Work and Extensions" in our syllabus.

Points will be deducted from the final mark for the following omissions/errors:

• 10 points if there is no References page

• 2 points if the margins are incorrect

• 2 points if the font (type and/or size) is incorrect

• 2 points if the lineation (spacing between lines) is incorrect

• 1 point if one or more paragraphs are not indented properly

• 2 points for two or more errors with indicating titles in the text (quotation marks vs italics)

• 3 points for poor adherence to APA in-text citations

• 3 points for poor adherence to the APA style guide for the presentation of the References page and individual entries