Critical Summary of text for class

[Adelaide9216]

Hello, I have a 1-2 pages critical summary to complete each week on the readings assigned in my class. How much should be allotted to summarizing the text versus commenting on it from my perspective and discipline? 

thanks!

[maxhgns]

Take whatever time and space you need to identify the text's main claim, and the premises supporting it. Once you've established that, then you can take issue with the premises, and see if they hold water. It will take whatever time and space it takes.

To my mind, you should be prioritizing the summary. Partly, that's because it's presumably a big part of the point of the exercise to have you demonstrate that you understand the text, or at least, that you understand how to approach it and its claims. The summary can then act as a resource for you going forward, so that you don't have to read the whole text over every time. But it's also partly because the summary--and getting it right!--is essential for developing your critical perspective on the text.

Nobody can really tell you exactly how long all that will be. Presumably, it'll vary depending on the text. But I think a good rule of thumb is 3/4 summary, 1/4 critical commentary. (Your professor, of course, may have something else in mind.) That said, your summary shouldn't just be a 'he said this, then that' regurgitation. Instead, you're aiming for an explanation of the position(s) at issue. And that may require you to consider some possible objections, and then dismiss them from the author's perspective. And doing that may well make it seem like you're tending more towards something that's half summary and half commentary. That seems OK to me, too.

[dr. t]

On 9/6/2019 at 11:37 AM, Adelaide9216 said:

Hello, I have a 1-2 pages critical summary to complete each week on the readings assigned in my class. How much should be allotted to summarizing the text versus commenting on it from my perspective and discipline? 

thanks!

Prioritize the summary. Grad students in general get pretty good at tearing something apart very quickly, but the ability to read and report on an argument you find distasteful with soft eyes is vital to academic success. The best final product will have no line between summary and critique - when you've really mastered the technique, you can even critique via the structure of your summary.