Final version due: Tuesday 2/9 in class or via email before class starts.
Your assignment for this essay is to:
1. Summarize one of the two essays we read during the first two weeks of class (2 page):
 Sherman Alexie’s “The Joy of Reading & Writing”
 Stephen King’s “Reading to Write”
2. Respond to the thesis and core arguments you identify in your summary ( 1 pages).
You may choose the essay you summarize from the list above. You should try to settle on an essay that
you have a nuanced understanding of and that you feel comfortable writing about. Your first task is to
recount the main ideas of the text for a reader who has not read the original. In order to indicate that
you’ve grasped the main ideas, you need to “chew” on them a bit and put them into your own words
and sentence structures. In order to avoid direct copying, try not to look at the text when making
generalizations. For this assignment you do not need to quote directly from the text. Remember what
we discussed in class: putting a text into your own words is an effective way to gain a deep
understanding of it.
Begin by indentifying the title and author, and then summarize the essay’s thesis or main argument.
Then include the main ideas of each stage of thought along with any supporting details that you think
are necessary for an audience unfamiliar with the original to follow the author’s reasoning.
Your second task is to briefly respond to the essay. Your response will, of course, be dictated by the
essay you choose to summarize. But regardless of the essay, I’m looking for responses that engage with
some of the text’s main ideas in a thoughtful and reflective way. For example:
If you choose Stephen King’s essay, you might reflect on your own writing process and your relationship
reading. How did you learn to write, and how have you tried to improve your own writing? Does
voracious reading make a better writer?
If you choose Sherman Alexie’s essay, you could reflect on how a system of education can resemble or
challenge a community’s values. Why does Alexie read and write so defiantly as a kid? Have you ever felt
similarly trapped by circumstance? Does education always offer a way out of that feeling? If Alexie
wanted to escape his reservation community so badly, why does he return so often as a teacher and
speaker?
Summary thesis/main points: 20 pts
Response: 15 pts
Organization: 15 pts
Process materials (you submitted a draft, engaged in a peer review): 5 pts
Grammar/usage: 5 pts