Summary Checklist

1. What is the thesis statement? Is it an accurate reflection of the author’s thesis

statement? Is it stated in your own words? How could you refine it to be more clear

and concise?

The thesis statement is a brief introduction on our point of the paper.

2. How is the essay introduced? Do you mention the article’s title, author, purpose and

audience? Does it clearly set the tone for the paper and accurately reflect what is

discussed therein? Could it be improved?

Yes to all.

3. What are the main points of the summary? How do you recognize them? Do you

leave out minor points and repetitive points for emphasis? Most importantly, do you

leave out your own opinion, feelings or conclusions on the subject of the article?

Yes, writers are to objective unless it is a position paper.

4. How is the essay organized? Does it follow the organization of the original article?

What transitions do you use? Think of some additional possibilities for more logical

organization.

Introduction, Body Paragraphs, Conclusion

5. After your reading, can you say the thesis statement accurately reflects the topic and

focus of the essay? How is the essay concluded? What technique do you employ in

the conclusion? How is that effective or not?

Yes

6. Make sure to fix any major grammar, spelling, or punctuation errors.

Check. 

7. Is the sentence structure varied and interesting? Do you have any weak, overly

wordy, awkward, or confusing sentences? Does the essay strive to use active, direct,

present tense verbs?

Yes.

8. Were the textual passages (quotes and paraphrases) well-chosen? Remember you

should try avoiding direct quotations when writing a summary.

Correct.

9. Is the essay written in third-person? Are all instances of first- and second-person

removed from the piece?

"I" am only writing the paper, that is the only time it will be seen.

10. Is the draft two to three (2-3) pages typed, double-spaced? Are all the margins oneinch

(1”)?
Yes.

Oh the pressure!

Read William Zinsser's "College Pressures," on pg. 396 in your yellow Seagull Reader book.

What kind of pressures have you encountered in college? Economic pressures? Peer pressures? Parental pressures? Societal pressures? Work pressures?

How have you dealt with them? What sort of impact have they had on your courses and life?
One thing about college is that pressure is inevitable. Pressure is everywhere; school, work, relationships, family, money, deadlines, etc. I played college softball for four years-that in itself was enough pressure. Pressure to succeed, pressure to please everyone, pressure to win, pressure to practice and work out at full potential all the time, pressure from coaches, pressure from players, and pressures from all else not mentioned.

As if that weren't enough, pressure from my parents were tough to handle as well. All they want for me is to succeed and the second they see me not living up to my potential-they are on me like a bug on a windshield. We have many disputes, but if it weren't for them I don't know what I would do. They help me out when I need a friend or if I need some cash here and there.

Work isn't much of a pressure to me just because I love making money. Right now, I work two jobs at a bar and restaurant. Money is the only pressure because it always seems like there isn't enough of it and enough of bills.

With the pressures I have in my life, I must have a social outlet. My boyfriend and roommate are my immediate social outlets. My boyfriend is always there to show love and constructive criticsm. My roommate is always explaining different perspectives when life is troubling me. When something is really wrong, I call my parents. My dad is my best friend and my mom is my rock. We've definitely butted heads plenty, but I love my parents and appreciate everything they've done for me. If it weren't for their persistence, I probably would've given up everything along time ago.

The not-so-great classes...

Now, write a blog post where you tell me about a class where you had difficulty--either because the teacher wasn't very helpful in relating the material, or because you simply weren't inclined to grasp it entirely.

Throughout my college career, I've enjoyed primarily every class, but high school was different. AP History, Anatomy, and Chemistry were my least favorite classes. College professors should volunteer a few hours per week to enhance some high school teacher's teaching skills.

AP History was out-of-this world boring! My teacher was a great guy, but not the best lecturer. I got to class about ten minutes late consistently every day because I had to bring breakfast to class and eat it; necessity to pass the time. After I was done grubbing, I would listen for about five minutes and fall asleep until the bell rang. Occassionally, I would wake up to see that two-thirds of the class was asleep as well so I felt compelled to close my eyes and drift away to dream land once more. I passed the class with a B thanks in large part to the one-third of the class that stayed awake throught the monotonous and drawn out tone of our teacher. To negate my initial statement of the class being boring, I guess it really wasn't because I slept the majority of the time. To rephrase: it was boring when I was awake :).

Anatomy and Chemistry were taught by the same teacher. I did not grasp anything he said in either class. Anatomy was a joke because we had to dissect cats and have lab practicals based on the muscles of the laid-open cats. What a joke! Humans and cats are two very different species. I'm not trying to become an animal specialist; I'm trying to become something in the medical field! Hello! Chemistry was a little better, but still considerably bad. I wish that teacher the best of luck in the future.

Ok, I'm done being cynical. I will conclude my blog with the statement that I thoroughly enjoy college and learning about new and old ideas. I also appreciate the quality professors that I've had at Washburn and other colleges I've attended.

Blog #2 Response

Now I want you to talk about the idea of keeping a notebook (or, as we're 40-some years after she wrote this essay, a blog). Is it about "keeping in touch" as Didion says? Is it usually an exercise in narcissism? Do you keep a notebook (or blog) yourself? How do other forms of social media fit in? Do they change the way we record the world around us in a way that was unavailable to Didion in the 1960s? Or is it accomplishing the same thing?

I believe that notebooks are streams of consciousness-one can let everything out of their mind and onto paper. I believe that it could be an exercise of narcissism, but it would depend on the person's feelings at that excite time that they wrote in their notebook. As for myself, I do not blog nor do I keep a notebook. I have in the past, but only for classes that required it. My boyfriend gets to be the fortunate one that hears all my thoughts. Lucky guy. Other forms of social media that are used to "keep in touch" are the ever popular Facebook, Twitter, etc. In comparison to Didion and the social media outlets of today, they are accomplishing the same thing. They are letting the world know how one feels at that instant, whether it be indirect or direct. One can understand a person's implications or feelings just by what they post for the world to see. For example, if someone posted a joke or humorous YouTube video, it would be understood that the person that made the comment was in a mood that was light, airy, fun, comical, etc. The only difference about Didion's notebook and our Facebook is that the grammar might be better and the words or meanings less provocative.

Telling You About Myself

Hi there! So after completing this whole blog thing, I must say it's pretty cool! My roommate is very into creative writing and she has one so now we're in competition!

Ok, so about myself, I'm an only child from Wichita, KS, where I lived the majority of my life. It turns out that I was pretty decent at softball and played all four years; two at Butler Juco and two at Washburn. If it weren't for softball, I probably wouldn't have gotten as much school paid for as I did. As luck would have it, I even got my last year of my undergraduate degree paid for as well. This last year is going to be short and sweet. I have three classes in the Fall as well as a CNA class that I'm taking online and three classes in the spring (two of the three are considered an internship and synthesis class).

When I'm not busy with school, I work...a lot. I currently have two server jobs; one that I just work at one day per week. (For all college kids that want an easy job with fast cash, this is the way to go!) As soon as I get my CNA license, I plan on getting a job serving patients as well. My plans right now are to get into Occupational Therapy, but first I need to get some experience under my belt-a CNA job is the best way to accomplish that for me.

Furthermore, when I'm not at school or work, I play! For me, playing consists of blowing money at TJ Max, Best Buy, Wal-Mart, shops at the Mall, Amazon.com, etc. I also enjoy donating money to going out to eat all of the time. I don't typically go out to the major restaurant chains-I like to try restaurants that you can only find in a certain area or "Mom & Pop" places. I love to cook, but unfortunately with my busy schedule I have no time to spend in my fully furnished kitchen.

In my little amount of down time at home, I love watching movies! Redbox and Netflix creaters have me hooked! My boyfriend and roommate are always being coerced to watch a movie with me, but fortunately for me, they don't put up too much of a fight.

I come from a big family as well (even thought I don't have any siblings), I have a ton of cousins with whom I am very close with. I see them here and there and it's always a blast! My Dad is my best friend and my Mom is my rock. I wouldn't want any other Brady Bunch.

Well, that's about it for today!