Jennifer Crichton

Reading Notes and Outline / Preparing to Summarize

Section I (par. 1) -- Introduction:

• In transit / moving

• fresh start

• clean slate

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Section II (pars. 2-3) -- High School:

• everyone loves a label

• people don't forget things

• you are stuck with a certain reputation

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Section III (pars. 4-5) -- Identity:

• old to new

• reputations are conflicting

• identity is tricky

• college adds to unfamiliar and disorienting "mirrors"

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Section IV (pars. 6-8) -- The Writer Herself:

• she's tired of her H.S. reputation

• she has an "identity crisis" in college

• "Rusty" is her new nickname and "hope"

• her parents almost sabotaged her right at the start

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Section V (par. 9) -- Barriers:

• change is possible in college

• change was impossible in H.S.

• people know us too well in H.S.

• change can be embarrassing and an admission of weakness

• parental expectations can also get in the way

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Section VI (pars. 10-12) -- Examples:

• Jacki -- didn't want to change in H.S. but did change in college

• Dana -- also had a hard time changing

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Section VII (par. 13) -- Two Motivations:

• Self-hatred = reductive / negative

• Self-affirmation = growth / positive

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Section VIII (pars. 14-17) -- Examples / Role-Playing:

• Joan -- pretended to be rich / she lied / from a poor background

• Role playing / experimenting / "to contradict self is to transcend"

• We are fugitives from our family / we want to form an independent identity from our family

• Lisa -- radically changed from her family

• Dan -- tried to change / it didn't work / realization of _____ / revision

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Section IX (pars. 18-19) -- The Writer Herself / Conclusion:

• she managed some changes

• "Rusty" didn't work (?)

• She's had some improvement

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Drafting the Summary:

1. Copy and paste all the section summaries together. This helps insure that the summary matches the organization of the essay.

2. Go through and eliminate details and repetitions and redundancies.

3. Go through and work on coherence (flow).

4. Begin the summary with a reference to the author's full name and the full title.

5. Also begin with an "overall statement" which states the essay's central idea. The rest of the summary will present the essay's main ideas.

In the essay, "'Who Shall I Be?' The Allure of a Fresh Start," Jennifer Crichton argues that . . . [come up with and insert the central idea / thesis]. Then ADD the section summaries [or main ideas] in order.