Synthesize, don't Summarize!
Writing a letter to an author may seem awkward. After all, the author knows nothing about you. You may at first be tempted to prove to the author that you read his or her book by summarizing what happened. But think about it. The author wrote the book. He or she already knows what the book is about. What the author doesn't know is how the book affected you!
The two passages below are from letters written to Daniel Keyes, author of Flowers for Algernon. The first passage tells the author what happens in the book. The second passage tells the author how the reader responded to what happened. Which passage do you think the author would find more interesting to read?
Passage A
Two scientists discovered Charlie in a high school reading class. They decided he was an ideal candidate for a new operation they had been trying on a lab mouse they called Algernon. The operation has greatly improved the intelligence of the mouse, and the scientists believed there was a good chance the operation would raise Charlie's intelligence, too.
Passage B
In your book Flowers for Algernon, Charlie works in a bakery with uneducated workers who show no sympathy for his condition. They laugh and snicker at Charlie. At times, I have been made fun of, and it hurts to the point of where I want to strike out. Charlie laughed with those who mocked him. He thought they were his friends. Unlike Charlie, however, I have the ability to realize the difference between good-natured teasing and cruel mocking.
To summarize means to recall details. To synthesize , however, means to combine one or more ideas into one written presentation. In passage B, the reader combines a detail about Charlie's life with a detail about his own life. The result is a much more interesting piece of writing, one the audience (in this case, the author) would find more informative: This is one key to good writing: Always keep the audience in mind!
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Writing a letter to an author may seem awkward. After all, the author knows nothing about you. You may at first be tempted to prove to the author that you read his or her book by summarizing what happened. But think about it. The author wrote the book. He or she already knows what the book is about. What the author doesn't know is how the book affected you!
The two passages below are from letters written to Daniel Keyes, author of Flowers for Algernon. The first passage tells the author what happens in the book. The second passage tells the author how the reader responded to what happened. Which passage do you think the author would find more interesting to read?
Passage A
Two scientists discovered Charlie in a high school reading class. They decided he was an ideal candidate for a new operation they had been trying on a lab mouse they called Algernon. The operation has greatly improved the intelligence of the mouse, and the scientists believed there was a good chance the operation would raise Charlie's intelligence, too.
Passage B
In your book Flowers for Algernon, Charlie works in a bakery with uneducated workers who show no sympathy for his condition. They laugh and snicker at Charlie. At times, I have been made fun of, and it hurts to the point of where I want to strike out. Charlie laughed with those who mocked him. He thought they were his friends. Unlike Charlie, however, I have the ability to realize the difference between good-natured teasing and cruel mocking.
To summarize means to recall details. To synthesize , however, means to combine one or more ideas into one written presentation. In passage B, the reader combines a detail about Charlie's life with a detail about his own life. The result is a much more interesting piece of writing, one the audience (in this case, the author) would find more informative: This is one key to good writing: Always keep the audience in mind!
Click here to complete this activity.