Major Paper #3: Summary & Strong Response Essay, University Name

This assignment requires students to write a summary and a strong response essay based on the article "Children Need to Play, Not Compete." The summary, approximately 150-200 words, should accurately convey the article's main points in the student's own words, with limited direct quotes. The strong response, 1.5 to 2 pages long, requires students to formulate a response to the article, supporting their arguments with logic, evidence, and personal examples. The assignment emphasizes critical reading and rhetorical analysis, with specific instructions for structuring the summary and developing a well-supported response. The assignment is due at the end of Unit 10.

Major Paper #3: Summary & Strong Response Essay
We will be working on this assignment for the next three units. In this unit, we will focus on the
summary. In Unit 9, we will focus on the strong response. Unit 10 is designed to provide time
for revision. The paper will be due at the end of Unit #10.
Purpose:
Most of us use critical reading strategies everyday to effectively process all of the information
we are consistently bombarded with. This assignment allows you continue to explore ideas of
reading and writing rhetorically, as you will use different strategies to write your summary and
your strong response.
The Assignment:
This assignment will have two parts:
1.) Summary
Summarize in 150-200 words the article your instructor has chosen from the assignment:
"Children Need to Play, Not Compete," on pages 236-241 of your 11th edition textbook (or
pages 250-255 of your 10th edition textbook).** In this summary, you should relay the article’s
main points, completely and accurately, in your own words. If you find yourself in a situation in
which the author’s words needed to be quoted directly (perhaps for emphasis), you must make it
clear that these words are the author’s by using quotation marks appropriately. You will not
want to quote anything over one sentence in length, and you will want to limit yourself to no
more than 2-3 direct quotes, if you use any at all. Remember that the whole point of this portion
of the assignment is for you to restate the author’s points objectively in your own words.
In general, I recommend you structure your first sentence something like this:
In "Children Need to Play, Not Compete, Jessica Statsky…
This will function as the thesis statement of your summary, so this first sentence will need to
convey the main point(s) of the article to give your reader an overall view.
2.) Response
Write a 1 ½ to 2 page response to "Children Need to Play, Not Compete." Before you even begin
drafting, you will want to decide on the terms of your response. Once you decide on the terms
(or grounds) of your response, you’ll want to figure out how you can support your points—using
logic, outside evidence, examples from your personal life—whatever is appropriate.
(We will discuss how to determine the terms of your response in Unit 9.)
Please Note: The sample summary for this unit is included on the "Lecture Notes" page.

Please be sure to review the Submit Your Assignment of Unit #10 section for specific
instructions on how you should turn in your work for grading. The Summary & Strong Response
Essay with both required sections is due at the end of Unit #10.
** Note for those with older textbooks: "Children Need to Play, Not Compete" is on pages 270-
274 of your 9th edition textbook, pages 276-279 of your 8th edition textbook, or pages 287-291
in your 7th edition textbook.