2- Book Summary

Evaluation of your essay: The total length of your paper should be 1250-1350 words. I will evaluate your essay based primarily on these six things:

Your summary should reflect not only your understanding of the chapter but also your understanding of the concept of summary. Your summary should give your reader a clear, general understanding of the chapter. It should be in your own words. Follow the basic C.A.B.I.N. “rules” I shared with you.
Your thesis statement should clearly assert an idea that addresses the assigned topic. (Normally in essay writing, your thesis goes at the end of your introduction; as we’re not writing standard introductions for this essay, your thesis statement should go at the end of your summary.)
Your body paragraphs should each develop one idea that develops/supports your thesis. Each paragraph should have a point (or topic sentence) that gives the paragraph a clear focus. Each paragraph should provide concrete textual evidence (a quotation, paraphrase, or example from the book) and then your interpretation or analysis of this evidence in relation to the point you are trying to make.
Your understanding of the text. It should be clear to me when I read your essay that you have read the entire book. You will be citing both from the narrative portion of The Sunflower AND from 2-3 of the responses in “The Symposium.” Choose the best representative examples to support your ideas. At the same time, you should avoid ignoring relevant information that might contradict the ideas you are raising. (While you might bring in a personal experience to help illustrate one of your ideas, you want to make sure that your response is grounded in the text.)
Critical Thinking. I want you to show me that you are really thinking about this topic and this book. Essays that show original and complex thinking are far more interesting to read and tend to earn higher grades than 5-paragraph essays that essentially say nothing but what the author has already said.
The overall writing quality. This includes the clarity of your writing, proofreading, formatting, etc. You should also show me that you have proofread your essay for obvious errors, e.g., missing words, misspelled words, proper nouns, and titles from the book, etc.