STIFF Summary/Strong Response Essay

Summary/Strong Response Essay

OVERVIEW:

Plan an essay on the book STIFF: The Curious lives of Human Cadavers and not the NOT THE WHOLE BOOK. Only write from the INTRODUCTION and CHAPTER 4 which is scanned from my book, attached, and sent to you. It should be is 3-4 pages, typed and double spaced.

As you work through your writing process keep all of your notes and drafts. PLEASE SEND AN ATTACHMNT OF ALL YOUR NOTES AND DRAFTS. PLEAASEEEE!!!!!!!

PLEASE MAKE YOUR MAIN IDEAS AND THESIS BOLD IN THE ESSAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Also Type of 5 Main Bullet Points from the overall STIFF Intro and Ch. 4. In a separate attachment.



POSSIBLE OUTLINE OF THE PAPER:

I. Introduction that provides a context for the essay and your strong response by referring to STIFF: Introduction

II. A summary of the STIFF: Ch.4. of between 150 and 250 words

III. Provide a thesis and support for your thesis using points and particulars (this part will be the largest part of the essay)

IV. Conclusion



ASSIGNMENT DETAILS:

Write a "summary/strong response" essay that includes (a) a summary (approximately 150-250 words) of a reading and (b) a strong response to that reading in which you speak back to that reading from your own critical thinking, personal experience, and values. As you formulate your own response, consider both the author's ideas and the author's rhetorical choices concerning audience, purpose, genre, and style. Think of your response as your analysis of how the text tries to influence its readers rhetorically and how your wrestling with the text has expanded and deepened your thinking about its ideas or about one particular idea.



When you write a response essay that uses a single source, you must be careful to balance the writer's ideas with your own. Imagine yourself in partnership with the author, using his/her ideas and arguments as a base from which to launch your own. Overall, though, it is your voice that should dominate your draft. Your thesis and the points that support your opinion.

RESOURCES:

MLA Guidelines: http://owl(dot)english(dot)purdue(dot)edu/owl/resource/747/01/

Check your attachments for the STIFF Intro and Ch.4.

Paper grading rubric



1. Significance [SIG]: If everybody would agree with what you're saying, then it's not significant. If it's not related to the topic of your paper, then it's not significant.

2. Specific examples [S]: You're not going to win me over with broad generalizations. Be specific, cite evidence, point to exact places in the text (like sentences or how the author has selected certain words) that support the point you are making.

3. Unity [U]: Does one sentence follow from the previous one? Are your body paragraphs developing the topics your thesis said they would, and in that order?

4. Development [D]: Are your body paragraphs presenting a clear and strong case, proving what they are supposed to prove? Have you explored the topic from all sides? Are you probing deeply into the text or simply staying on the surface? Are your sentences adding or clarifying a new aspect to the case you are presenting, or simply restating things you've already said?

5. Language [L]: This concerns errors that should be eliminated in proofreading--incomplete sentences, incorrect word choice, punctuation and grammatical errors. It also concerns clarity. Are you expressing your ideas clearly?



Each of these counts for about 20% of the paper.







Summary and Strong Response Essay Rubric Good Adequate Needs Improvement

Introduction:

- Sets up the topic/problem

- Introduces the article, its author, main claims

- Thesis statement has tension and is significant (someone might disagree with it), provides road map for reader

Summary:

- Unbiased/neutral tone

- Retains balance of original article (even coverage), with a combination of details and broader paraphrase

- Attributive tags

Strong Response Paragraphs:

- Responds directly to the article

- A main point, or clear topic for each paragraph

- Evidence that logically supports your claim or topic

- Analysis that explains the evidence, and adequately connects the evidence to the main point of the paragraph

- A transition to the next paragraph, or a link to the thesis

Conclusion:

- Concludes essay without introducing new information

Extras:

- MLA formatting

- Title, name, date

- Errors





Book resource information

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach

Chapter 4: Dead Man Driving: Human crash test dummies and the ghastly, necessary science of impact tolerance

city of publication: New York

publisher: Norton

year of publication: 2003