Summary

Text to summarize:
Leslie Stevenson, “Is Scientific Research Value neutral?”.
General instructions on the text summary:
The objective of this assignment is to synthesize the ideas of a text. It
should accurately and concisely summarize the ideas of an author. But it
is intended to be more than a simple summary, since it must
demonstrate a good understanding of the meaning of the text, as well as the
general intention of its author. Also, in the summary, we must find all the
essential elements of the identified text, that is to say, everything that should
allow a good understanding of that text. It is important to keep in mind that the
first recipient of any summary is not the instructor, but someone who has never
read this text. In addition, in a summary, we should not find any analysis or
comments. We should focus only on the subject matter contained in there
viewed text, and nothing more. The following elements must be included in the
text:
The goal. We must clearly identify and state what constitutes the main
objective of the text to be listed. What does the author propose to do
in his text? This objective should normally be formulated in the
form of a question, to which the whole text is intended to provide
an answer. What are the origins of such events? What is the real
nature of such an idea? What is meant by such a notion? Here
are three examples of questions that can be used as a goal:
The method. In order to achieve the goal he has set for himself,
the author of the text relies on a specific approach. It is all about the
method, the means which he took in order to develop his text and,
therefore, to achieve his objective.
The main thesis stated in the text. In any text, however long it may be,
there is always a single main thesis. Next to this main thesis, we can find
secondary theses. But among all the ideas expressed in a text, one main
The thesis is always stated, namely an idea to which all the other ideas
in the text can be reduced. This thesis is the answer to the question that
serves as the objective of the text. It is the “raison d’être” of the text, the
real reason for which it was written. The whole text can be read
as a simple explanation of this unique thesis. Moreover, unlike the
main objective, the thesis must necessarily be opened to debate; it
must be opened to criticism. In other words, any thesis must be able to
be either confirmed or refuted. This thesis must be formulated in a single
sentence in the first paragraph of your summary. In some cases, it
may be possible to extract directly from the text a sentence that perfectly
sums up the main thesis defended by the author. However, in most
cases, without being able to take advantage of such a key phrase, the
student will have to formulate it on his own, in his own words and
in the form of a single sentence. The precise
identification of this thesis which requires that it can be formulated
in a single sentence is perhaps the greatest difficulty facing the one
who writes any summary.
Special requirements for the summary:
1. The summary should be written in a continuous text around complete
sentences, organized in coherent
paragraphs. Partic
ular attention must be paid to the quality of language, since 3% of the mark for
this work
will relate to this aspect.
2. This summary should be 250 words (approximately 2 pages).
3. It must be written in double space.
4. In that summary, one must find at
least two quotes taken from the text