Sorry I can't be in class today, but I hope everyone had a restful break (I did) and is refreshed for this long stretch of school we have ahead of us. Summarizing and paraphrasing are two essential skills you will need for writing the research paper. Today, you will practice them with Freud's Civilization and Its Discontents. First, some definitions.
A summary is a text that has significantly reduced in length another text, using your own words while preserving its essential content and meaning. You use a summary when you need to convey the content and meaning of a text to an audience that isn't familiar with it. A paraphrase is a text that you have rewritten in languate appropriate for an audience that might not understand the discourse of the original text because of its jargon or technicalities. It is usually, but not always, slightly shorter than the orignal text. Typically, you paraphrase a passage or sentence that is difficult for your itnended audience to understand.
When you summarize or paraphrase, you must cite the original source, including any page numbers. If you don't, then you will have plagiarized the original text.
So, here's what you're doing today: First, summarize a chapter of Civilization and Its Discontents. Be sure to identify the chapter you are summarizing. Second, paraphrase a passage from Civilization and Its Discontents. Be sure to indicate the page number(s) of the passage you are paraphrasing. Email these to me (fmontas@mph.net) or write them by hand and leave them with the coverage teacher.
When you finish these, if you have time, prepare two potential essay topics for the essays on Civilization and Its Discontents. You will write the essays in class on Friday.
You homework for Wednesday is to write one paragraph (any paragraph) of your research paper and begin reading Heart of Darkness. (Read the first four pages or so. Stop when you get to "He paused.") In Wednesday's class, we will talk about the research paper, prepare for Friday's essays, and introduce Heart of Darkness.
