In 1,000-1,200 words, compose a summary and critique of a scholarly article of your choice.  Write for an academic audience but one that is not necessarily specialized in the field of the article you have chosen.

The article you choose should be a report of primary research.  In other words, the article must be written by the scientist(s) or scholar(s) who conducted the original research described in the article.  An article written by a journalist who is reporting on someone else’s research is not acceptable.  The article must also be more than 3 pages long and must have been published within the last 5 years -- no exceptions.

As with PAPER 1, be very clear about what comes from the original article and what comes from you.  Use attributive tags (Writing Arguments, pp. 399-400).  Avoid plagiarism by writing in your own words.  You may quote the original, but don’t quote extensively -- only when absolutely necessary.  Avoid jargon and technical terminology but write with the formality and rigor associated with academic writing.

Evaluating a scholarly article is not easy.  You must come up with solid criteria for evaluating the article, and you must apply those criteria honestly and confidently.  As a result, you may find reading other scholarly articles on the same topic helpful -- to see how other people have approached the topic.  You are not required to do additional research or to find other sources beyond the article you’re summarizing, but if you decide that you need to do research in order to strengthen your evaluation of your article, be sure to document your sources appropriately (i.e., consult The New Century Handbook, pp. 276-346, and follow an appropriate documentation format outlined there).

When you evaluate the article, you should also focus carefully.  A long grocery list of all the positive and negative qualities of an article doesn’t really make for a very good evaluation.  Choose 1-3 aspects of the article that you feel merit your reader’s attention -- positive and/or negative aspects.  Focus on those aspects.  Give lots of evidence and explanation to support the point you want to make about each of those aspects of the article.  Don’t just say that the article is good (or bad) with respect to X and then move on to Y.  Expand at length (i.e., for a paragraph or two) on the reason(s) that the article is good (or bad) with respect to X before moving on.  Take your time, be selective and focused, and give a thorough evaluation of just a few important aspects of the article.

You are required to give me a printed copy of the complete article you’re summarizing when you submit your paper.

Keep in mind that your paper will be graded based on my usual grading criteria for papers.

I recommend that all students take advantage of the free tutoring services available through the Tutoring & Academic Enhancement Center.  Click here to go to the Center's homepage for more information.  For online assistance, go to the OWL (Online Writing Lab) at http://owl.department.tcnj.edu/.

Speech 1

Present the argument that you will be making in PAPER 2 to your classmates and your professor in a speech of 5-8 minutes.  Summarize and critique the article for an academic audience.  Avoid jargon, and don’t plagiarize the original.  Be creative, but don’t sacrifice substance.

Keep in mind that your speech will be graded based on my usual grading criteria for speeches.

I recommend that all students take advantage of the free tutoring services available through the Tutoring & Academic Enhancement Center.  Click here to go to the Center's homepage for more information.  The Center has tutors who work specifically with speaking and oral presentation.

Click here to go to the course syllabus.