Summary Notebook
One of the requirements for this course is a summary notebook. You are required to make an entry for each assigned reading in your summary notebook. As part of your weekly tutorial sessions, you and I will be reviewing your summary notebook and working through any questions or issues that you have with the reading. (So yes, you are required to bring your summary notebook to tutorial every week.)
The summary notebook is designed to help you read actively (see page 114 in your Simon and Schuster book for an explanation of active reading). Active reading takes practice and can be challenging at first. This summary notebook should help you begin to dialogue with the text, and will give you a starting point for all the writing we will be doing in this class.
Completing the Summary Notebook
Active reading happens in several steps.
First, sit down with the text and read it through completely, from beginning to end. This will help you to get an overview of the essay and what the author is trying to say.
Second, go back to the beginning of the text and reread the first paragraph. After you have read the paragraph again, take some time to think about what the author has said. On the far left-hand side of your notebook, write the number 1 in the margin. On the left-hand side of the page, try to summarize the entire paragraph in one or two sentences. On the right-side of the paper, write what you thought about when you read this paragraph. Did it interest you? Do you agree/disagree with what the author is saying? Why or why not? Could the author have stated something differently? Did you get confused? Can you relate a personal experience to what the author is talking about in this paragraph?
Third, complete an entry for every paragraph like you did for paragraph one. Be sure and remember to put a new number (1, 2, 3, . . ., etc.) for each paragraph in the left margin.
Fourth, now that you have summarized and actively read each paragraph individually, go back and reread the entire essay from beginning to end. Compare what you got out of it this time to what you got out of it during your first reading. Has anything changed? Do you understand the point of the essay better? Why? Put down a few notes in your summary notebook about your third reading and what you think about the article now.
I have included a brief example of what your summary notebook should look like below.
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Thank Heaven for Little Boys by A. Veciana-Suarez - 9/1/2000 |
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1 |
1 |
1 |
|
1 |
She is proud of her sons. |
She seems defensive right from the |
|
1 |
1 |
start. |
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
1 |
1 |
Temerity - foolhardy disregard of |
|
1 |
1 |
danger; recklessness |
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
|
2 |
Her sons are great, unfortunately |
I do feel kinda sorry for men now |
|
1 |
they will still be victims of "male |
a days. They can never do anything |
|
1 |
bashing." |
right. Women want them to be |
|
1 |
1 |
macho yet sensitive. How confusing. |
|
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
3 |
The person quoted says that she |
This is just a stupid comment. I |
|
1 |
does not like a lot of men . |
think the person objects more to |
|
1 |
1 |
the number of kids than the gender. |
|
1 |
1 |
My sister has five girls and she gets |
|
1 |
1 |
stupid comments like this all the |
| 1 | 1 |
time. |
| 1 | 1 | 1 |
|
4 |
The author asks when we decided |
Have we done this? I don't think |
|
1 |
as a society that men are flawed. |
men are inherently flawed. I've met |
|
1 |
1 |
some that I like and some that I |
|
1 |
1 |
don't like, but I don't think the |
|
1 |
1 |
whole gender is ruined. |
| 1 | 1 |
1 |
|
5 |
The comment from paragraph 3 |
I've heard this a lot too. But doesn't |
|
1 |
is common. A list of common |
it also work the other way? Both |
|
1 |
complaints follow. |
genders bash eachother. Is it fair |
|
1 |
1 |
to say that men get it worse than |
|
1 |
1 |
women? |
A final note -- It is your choice what type of "notebook" to use. You may use either filler paper or a spiral notebook drawing a line down the middle of the page to create the two sides as demonstrated above. Another option is to buy "Summary Margin" filler paper or a "Summary Margin" spiral notebook (the UIUC Bookstore has both). This paper already has the lines drawn in for you.