English 4

For this assignment, you will be required to write a summary and response to the video Writing Across Borders, written and directed by Wayne Robertson at Oregon State University.  This assignment is almost like writing 2 shorter papers.  Both the summary and the response will have an introduction, body, and conclusion. Please follow the instructions carefully for each part of the paper

Requirements for the response part of the assignment:

ü  The response part of the assignment should be at least 300 words, but no more than 400 words.

a.  Introduction

The introduction should summarize the point or points to which you are going to respond in 2-4 sentences.  At least one of the sentences should contain the title and author of the video.   Here are some sample formats for this sentence. 

Ø  Writing Across Borders, directed by Wayne Robertson, suggests that…

Ø  Writing Across Borders, a video directed by Wayne Robertson and produced by Oregon State University, discusses a significant challenge faced by international students, which is…

--The last sentence in your introduction should be your thesis statement.  The thesis statement for this paper should make a statement of agreement or disagreement with some point in the video or should identify some problem or problems with the information stated in the video, offer an application of the information in the video, or compare your own experience to the experiences of the students in the video.  In this thesis statement, you will present what you are going to say in the rest of the response.  You will have a different thesis statement depending on what type of response you are planning on writing.  Here are some sample formats for this sentence:

Ø  Robertson’s point that…is inaccurate because…

Ø  College professors who have international students in their classes should…

Ø  In the video, Pablo, a student from Colombia, makes an excellent point when he says…

b.  Body

This is the part of the paper where you get to give your own ideas about what you have seen in the video.  However, it is very important that you do not refer to yourself in your writing.  Since you are writing the paper, it is obvious that the ideas presented are yours; you should not say, “I think…” or “I believe…” or “My opinion is...”  The only exception is if you are writing about a personal experience.  In the part of the essay where you are telling your own story, you may use I and my, etc.

            c.  Conclusion

The conclusion should be a brief restatement of what you said in your response. It should contain at least 2-4 sentences. 

Note: Your conclusion should include no new information that you haven’t already included in the response, unless you want to add a brief application or some brief advice.

VERY IMPORTANT:  DO NOT MAKE YOUR RESPONSE ANOTHER SUMMARY.  FOR THE RESPONSE, YOU WILL BRIEFLY STATE ONE POINT FROM THE ARTICLE; THEN THE REST OF THE RESPONSE SHOULD BE YOUR OWN OPINION ABOUT WHAT THE AUTHOR HAS SAID. MANY STUDENTS HAVE TO REDO THE RESPONSE PART OF THIS ASSIGNMENT BECAUSE THEY SIMPLY WRITE ANOTHER SUMMARY.  I WANT YOUR IDEAS, NOT MORE SUMMARY OF WHAT THE AUTHOR SAID!!!

Reminders:

DO NOT use contractions (like don’t in your essay)!

DO NOT use 2nd person pronouns (you, your).  You may use 3rd person pronouns (he, she, they, etc).  You may ONLY use 1st person pronouns (I, me, my) IF you choose to write a personal experience response to the article—but only for the part of response that is telling about the personal experience. 

Three Types of Response Essays

(Essays adapted from Sourcework by Dolahite and Haun)

Characteristics of a Response:

1. Responses are subjective.  This means you explain your own opinions or ideas about a particular topic.
2. There are three basic types of responses.

• Personal Experience (relate what you have read—or in this case, seen in the video—to your own experience or the experience of someone you know)
• Application (extend what you have read or seen to include an application that you have read about or can imagine)
• Agree/Disagree (respond to a point in the reading that you agree or disagree with and explain why you agree or disagree)

Examples of the three types of responses:

1. A response using a personal experience approach

In her article, “Closing the Gap,” Mary Piper’s makes the point that people’s lives become more meaningful when they take the time to listen to older people’s stories of their experiences because this can help them to understand the history of their families and countries.  In my own life, I heard from my grandfather about how my great grandmother began a business.  This story inspired me to want to someday run my own business just as my great grandmother did and also to encourage other women in my country to do the same.

Notice that if you are responding using a personal experience, you can use “I” for the story part of the essay.

1. A response using the application approach

In the article, “Larger Than Life,” Sudo writes, “The one trait of heroes that transcends all cultural boundaries is the willingness to risk one’s life for the good of others.”  Humans are naturally selfish.  Most people live their entire lives thinking only about how to improve their own situations.  However, for a society to function, it needs people who are willing to consider the world beyond their own lives.  Cooperation among people is the only solution to many problems such as war, environmental destruction, and poverty.  Unfortunately, few people are willing to solve these problems because there is no material reward and sometimes they involve personal risk. 

1. A response using agree/disagree approach

One important idea from “Going Over the Top” is that a need for personal challenge is a significant reason for the popularity of extreme sports.  Bower writes, “Meeting challenges and realizing goals can also yield a greater appreciation for living.”  In other words, when people put themselves in high risk situations and overcome their fears and limitations, they better appreciate themselves and their lives.  Bower makes a valid point; however, people can challenge themselves in many other ways which do not endanger their lives.