Lab Activities
Lab Activity 30: Writing Summaries
 
 
Objective: To identify key points and ideas.

Step 2: For each of the following paragraphs, identify the information that should NOT be included in a summary.


      1.      The Matrix is a film that broke a lot of new ground in the science-fiction and action genres. Its special effects moved film-making far beyond anything previously attempted, enhancing the more traditional physical action typical of this type of film. The movie stars Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburn in roles for which the actors seem perfect. Their characters are refreshingly new and interesting—not the stock characters viewers may have become accustomed to when watching films of this type. Reeves's deadpan delivery and expressionless features are perfect for the character Neo, and Fishburn's sophistication and suave presence are ideally suited to the self-possessed leader he plays. Reeves's previous films, among them Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and Speed, offer little notion that Reeves was more than a mediocre actor. The Matrix, however, allows him to shine. 

 
 
 
 
      2.      Charles Dickens's Great Expectations tells the story of a young man named Pip who rises from poor orphan to favorite protégé and then falls to near poverty again. Pip grows up in the home of his ill-tempered sister and her kind husband, Joe. His plans are to follow Joe into the blacksmith business someday, but then Pip learns that he has a secret benefactor. Pip sets off for London to become a gentleman and has great expectations. He believes that his secret benefactor is a wealthy but eccentric woman named Miss Havisham. She was left at the altar when she was younger and has preserved the wedding table—cake and all—during the several decades that have ensued. She has persisted in wearing her wedding dress ever since the day she was jilted, even though the dress is yellowed with age. Driven by a desire to exert revenge on men, she raises a girl named Estella and trains her to manipulate and crush the feelings of all male suitors. Pip wants to become a suitor to Estella but feels that he must first become a gentleman. He believes that Miss Havisham has the same wish and that is why she has become his benefactor. Of course, it turns out that Pip is mistaken and that his benefactor is actually an escaped felon. With a convict as benefactor, Pip has no hope of earning the title of gentleman. Pip must learn to value people for their kindness and integrity rather than for their material worth and social status before he can hope to reach any degree of personal satisfaction. 

 
 
 
 
      3.      Eight Mile, the first feature film of rap-artist-turned-actor Eminem, tells the story of a young man's struggles in Detroit, Michigan. "Eight Mile" is the name of an actual street in Detroit. It is a street with which the Detroit-native Eminem is familiar. In fact, although Eminem claims that the film is not about him, it is nonetheless riddled with similarities to the rapper's life. The character played by Eminem—whose real name is Marshall Mathers—has a complex and troubled relationship with his mother, played by Kim Basinger; he is the father of a young child; and he pursues a career as a rapper. The character is plagued by self-doubt, guilt, and anger. The parallels between the character and Eminem seem endless. 

 
 
 
 
      4.      Televised on the Discovery Channel, Monster Garage is a series that features different teams of people who, each week, transform a standard vehicle into a monster version of another vehicle. Jesse James is the team leader. He is the founder of West Coast Choppers, one of the leading makers of custom-designed and custom-made motorcycles in the country. Each week, he assembles a different team of people to take on a new project. For example, one week, the team turned Kyle Petty's NASCAR race car into a scary street sweeper. The team has seven days and $3,000 to complete the transformation, so it's a race against the clock to come up with a plan that will work. They have to figure out how to manufacture and install the changes without going over budget, and finally to test the monster vehicle to make sure that it can perform the assigned task. Monster Garage has created a delivery truck that catapulted a television set, a golf ball collecter that fired balls at people on the driving range, and a tree mulcher that ate trees like an ogre. 

 
 
 
 
      5.      The October 10, 2002, issue of Rolling Stone magazine is dedicated to "Women in Rock." The editors introduce the issue with a discussion of some of the obstacles faced by women in rock music today, offering a brief history of the barriers confronted by women singers and musicians in the past. Among the twenty-seven women solo acts and groups featured in this issue, a diversity of ages, musical genres, races, and attitudes is represented. From Britney Spears to Macy Gray, from Shakira to the Dixie Chicks, from Joni Mitchell to Avril Lavigne, every artist —despite the differences among them—reveals a tenacity and a determination to get her message out there. The editors discuss the struggle to get airplay, the problems of dealing with an industry that is primarily male, and the issues involved in resisting restrictive definitions of one's art in a business built on labels. 

 
 
 
 





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