HC 102H, Honors College World Literature

What's love got to do with it? Literature from the High Middle Ages to the Enlightenment

Guidelines for your article summaries (with thanks to Prof. Lisa Freinkel)

Summaries (200-250 words--longer if necessary) should follow the usual paper format with one exception: instead of a title, cite the article or book chapter using proper MLA documentation style. Generally you should

• Explicate the author's thesis as concisely and clearly as possible. Details of the argument should only be mentioned when they seem necessary for understanding the author's thesis. A good annotation will give a sense of "what's at stake" with the argument. Why is s/he writing this essay? To what critical trend or presumption is s/he responding?
• Occasionally a brief quote will be helpful to convey the author's position or his/her tone, but be careful! You want to explicate, not to re-cite. Be especially careful to paraphrase rather than quote directly if your author is using jargon, specialized or highly theoretical terms.
• Avoid editorializing. Be as neutral as possible. Your goal is not to critique but to explicate. You are presenting an argument - not demonstrating its weakness.

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This page created by Louise M. Bishop | Last updated 21 January 2002