LITERARY CRITICISM/PRECIS ASSIGNMENT:



Dante Academic Article Precis assignment:

PRECIS: a severe abridgement of the principal ideas or arguments advanced in a much longer work, retaining the order of the original. (Note: a précis is neither a paraphrase nor a summary of the work.) When writing a précis of literary criticism, the student should be sure to include 3 – 4 original points presented by the critic. Your précis must be typed and submitted to your “Dropbox” no later than Wednesday, 12/12 6:00 P.M. Late submissions will not be accepted.

1. First paragraph: an objective summary or abstract of the article. This paragraph should present the information as objectively as possible. You’ll have a chance to critique the argument in the second part of your précis. You should not use the abstract published with the journal article. The first paragraph should contain the following information:

1. The overall argument that the author is making, including the author’s thesis, the logical thread of the argument, the kinds of support provided, and so forth. If the author invents or uses special terms to argue the case, mention and define them.

2. The context for the argument. What critics or points of view is the author attempting to refute? Where does the author’s argument fit into the larger critical discussion of the issue? Is the author attempting to overturn certain assumptions about the work, and, if so, what are those assumptions?

2. Second paragraph: a critical analysis of the article. In this paragraph, you’ll assess the strengths and weaknesses of the article and discuss the implications of its reasoning for future study of the work. These questions may help you get started:

1. What parts of the article were especially strong or insightful, and why?

2. In what parts of the essay (if any) did the author make claims that were not supported by the evidence? Were there any flaws in the logic of the piece?

3. In what ways is this article useful for understanding the novel? How significant is it?

You may use more paragraphs if you need to, but you should follow this basic format.

GRADING CRITERIA FOR PRECIS:

• Precis 60 points (30 points per précis)

--Must have a thesis statement, written in your own words and 3 – 4 points of insightful information gleaned from article, supported with quotes

--You are to read two academic articles chosen from the list of articles in the “Resources” page under the “Dante Research Project” Folder

• You are to provide a minimum one page typed précis for EACH article following MLA format for title page and citations 20 points

-- Minor error in format – minus 5 pts.

-- Missing information – minus 10 pts.

-- Major errors – no credit to minus 20 pts.

Each précis will not receive extensive comments; instead, each of the two you submit will be graded using the following scale:

|Category |Possible Points |Actual Points |

|Full citation in MLA format of the article. |5 | |

| | | |

|Summary of article (first paragraph) |10 | |

| | | |

|This includes the overall argument that the author is making, the author’s thesis, the logical thread of the | | |

|argument, the kinds of support provided, and so forth. It also includes the context for the argument. | | |

|If the author invents or uses special terms to argue the case, mention and define them. | | |

|What critics or points of view does the author attempt to refute? | | |

|Where does the author’s argument fit into the larger critical discussion of the issue? | | |

|Is the author attempting to overturn certain assumptions about the work, and, if so, what are those assumptions? | | |

|Critique of article (second paragraph). |10 | |

|What parts of the article were especially strong or insightful, and why? | | |

|In what parts of the essay (if any) did the author make claims that were not supported by the evidence? | | |

|Were there any flaws in the logic of the piece? | | |

|In what ways is this article useful for understanding the subject? How significant is it? | | |

|Quality of writing (style, grammar, punctuation, etc.) |10 | |

|Final Total |35 | |

| | | |

| | | |

Precis Format: Due Wednesday, December 12th in Dropbox

You are to provide a précis for each of the two academic articles you have chosen. When submitting them to Dropbox, please provide one file with both preci. You are expected to provide a minimum one typed page for EACH article. The page should follow MLA format and be double-spaced. You will be evaluated based on the rubric.

1. (Author’s credentials), (author’s first and last name) in his/her (type of text), (title of text), published in (publishing info) addresses the topic of (topic of text) and argues that (argument).

2. He/she supports this claim by___________, then___________, then_____________, and finally____________. (Here is where you should offer at least one quotation and analysis

3. (Author’s last name)’s purpose is to (author’s purpose in writing) in order to (change in reader/society the author wants to achieve).

4. He/she adopts a(n) __________ tone for his/her audience, the readers of (publication) and others interested in the topic of______________.

SAMPLE RHETORICAL PRECIS

EXAMPLE 1:

“Sheridan Baker, in his essay "Attitudes" (1966), asserts that writers' attitudes toward their subjects, their audiences, and themselves determine to a large extent the quality of their prose. Baker supports this assertion by showing examples of how inappropriate attitudes can make writing unclear, pompous, or boring, concluding that a good writer "will be respectful toward his audience, considerate toward his readers, and somehow amiable toward human failings" (58). One can see in this quotation his argument that the attitude of the reader is of central importance when considering how the information is processed.

The assumption is that a good reader must bring to a given text a positive attitude because a contrary attitude will limit absorption of the material; it seems a straightforward proposition, but it is, he reminds us “something that when overlooked will make new knowledge inaccessible” (45). His purpose is to make his readers aware of the dangers of negative attitudes in order to help them become better writers. He establishes an informal relationship with his audience of college students who are interested in learning to write "with conviction"

Baker, Sheridan. “Attitudes.” Psychology Today: 5 March 1970. 44-60. Print.

NOTE that the first sentence identifies the author (Baker), the genre (essay), the title and date, and uses an active verb (asserts) and the relative pronoun that to explain what exactly Baker asserts. The second sentence explains the first by offering chronological examples from Baker's essay (including an analysis of a central quotation from the piece), while the next sentence suggests the author's purpose and WHY (in order to) he has set out that purpose (or seems to have set out that purpose -- not all essays are explicit about this information and readers have to put the pieces together). The final sentence identifies the primary audience of the essay (college students) and suggests how this audience is brought into/connected to the essay's purpose.

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