Dear Class I'm sure you're all busy with your peer reviews, summaries and upcoming class

discussion. Here are some pointers to keep in mind. A)Peer Review i) Some of you are confused about the structure particularly about the summary in the introduction and the Summary in the second para (see pg 2 of tutorial 5). The summary in the introduction asks that you write a summary of your classmate's main focus/thesis/argument/ideas. This is where your practice in writing thesis statements in your summaries will come in handy. In 1-2 sentences, what is your classmate's thesis/focus in his/her paper. The Summary section in the next para of your peer review should then focus more in depth of the main ideas that he/she has developed. But pls summarise those ideas. You must focus on the main ideas/arguments not the minor details. But with those main ideas, provide examples. So in the case of the essay, find out what these key ideas are. There should be at least 3. In the case of a book review, you can summarise the key ideas as in the strengths and weaknesses highlighted by your classmate. Pick the major points, no need to go into every idea. Then summarise them using examples given. You do not analyse or critique in this section. Under Major critiques, you can then go in depth on the weaknesses you see and give suggestions on what they can do to improve. As you are all reading first drafts, you may find that for some of you, it is difficult to isolate the different key ideas. That in itself can be one of your critiques. ii) I mentioned in class that we have changed the word count to 350 from 150. You may go til about 400 or so, but do not exceed 500 words. You must learn to be concise. Be specific and cite examples, do not ramble on using too many unnecessary words. iii) Pls look at the 2 sample reviews in the workbin. iv) Pls bring to class 2 sets of your peer reviews (1 set to me, the others to the 2 students). For my set, kindly staple the reviews together. B)Summary writing i) I mentioned in class that for summary 6-10, you are all expected to show coherence and continuity in your summaries. For example: In Chapter 1, Hawking traces/discusses/highlights the varioius theories........ He then argues/conveys ......The examples he uses range from Copernicus to ..........He asserts that....... He highlights .......He concludes by .........

(Of course, not every sentence needs to start this way but you need to use these terms for the main points of view in the chapter. I want to see that your summary is in fact a paragraph reporting to someone else who has not read the chapter, what the chapter is all about). You cannot submit summaries with stand alone sentences in the details. I have mentioned this several times. There must be connections and links between sentences so we can see how idea leads to the next. Some sentences in the summary can be examples/supporting details. But overall, I need to see you explain the thesis, and how the author/authors make their points. So use words like: Mendel claims, the author supports his view by, the author objects to, the author disagrees with the idea that, Hawking then argues that....and finally how the chapter concludes. Mendel ends with/concludes. Once again, not every sentence needs to have these words. But using these words will help some of you write more cohesive summaries while the rest of you who are able to write well, can continue to write your own cohesive sentences. Example: Pringle (2003) traces/outlines the developments of genetic engineering in...... The chapter uncovers the race to unravel the mysteries of apomixis. The reason for this urgency........ However, Pringle asserts that amidst the controversy generated...... There seems to be heavily-vested interests on both sides...... Pringle concludes the chapter by stating that...... (Pls note that not every sentence has these underlined words but you can see the cohesiveness.) Summaries 6-10 which do not show continuity of ideas will score below 7. Pls bring hardcopy of your summary to class. C) Class Discussion Like last week, you will deliver an individual presentation of Food Chapt 3. Please note that students who actually explored the concepts in the chapter and highlighted interesting findings from at least 2 sources will score well. Whatever idea you intend to explore must be related to the key ideas in the chapter not the minute or irrelevant details. I hope these pointers help you in the right direction. Please note that this class, forces you to analyse ideas and express them verbally in writing. D) Also, for your tutor feedback 2, I will sit down individually with each of you and give you detailed pointers to help you improve your essay for the final submission. Those of you who did not hand me a hardcopy of your first essay draft, pls do so on Tuesday.

Remember, your essay draft 2 is due on Friday. I know some of you may be overwhelmed by all this but I am here to help. Should you need extra assistance, we can work out a time to meet to discuss ways to improve. See you on Tuesday. Regards