Assignment: Write a summary of Mitchell’s or Gibson’s essay that pays particular attention to outlining the essay’s argument and the steps that the author takes to arrive at their conclusion. To prepare to write, read the essay carefully, underlining relevant passages and taking gist notes to keep track of the important moves begin made by each paragraph. Pay particular attention to the types of evidence that the author uses to support their points.

Outcome: The goal of this assignment is to demonstrate your ability to clearly and fairly summarize a scholarly argument.

Requirements: Write a 750 word logical summary of the scholarly essay, “The Violence of Public Art: Do The Right Thing” by W.J.T. Mitchell OR “Fight the Power”: Hip Hop and Civil Unrest in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing” by Casarae L. Gibson. Include a properly formatted MLA citation of the essay at the top of the page. No title is required for this assignment. Edit carefully to ensure that your work is free of grammatical and typographical errors.

Assignment: Write a summary of Mitchell’s or Gibson’s essay that pays particular attention to outlining the essay’s argument and the steps that the author takes to arrive at their conclusion.

To prepare to write, read the essay carefully, underlining relevant passages and taking gist notes to keep track of the important moves begin made by each paragraph. Pay particular attention to the types of evidence that the author uses to support their points.

Successful summaries will include:

1 – An introduction that contextualizes the essay in relation to Lee’s film and briefly describes the essay’s major argument.

2 – Body paragraphs that:

Each introduce and are structured around a key concept or point that the author uses to make their argument.

Employ a balance of paraphrase and quotation.

Frame the key concept or point addressed in the paragraph in the context of the essay’s major argument and/or the film, as is appropriate.

3 – Conclude with a brief assessment of the effectiveness of the author’s argument. Is the essay well-structured? Persuasive? Did the argument leave you with any questions, or points that you disagreed with? This is the moment in the summary for your own voice to shine through.