Chapter Summary Rubric Your assignment is to write a summary over one chapter from the book Why We Get Sick: the new science of Darwinian Medicine by R. Neese and G.Williams Due Date Sunday evenings at or before 6pm Summary Requirements A good summary accurately describes the main point(s) and important details of the chapter. Look at the section headings and use them to organize your summary. In order to be accurate and concise the writer must be thoroughly familiar with the original work. If too long, a summary may be paraphrasing the original work, but if too short, important details may be left out. Paraphrasing is not allowed nor is using quotations from the text itself. Think 500 words, no more. Hints · Read and reread chapter as many times as necessary to gain a full understanding of the chapter. · Opinions are unnecessary. For example, “I thought the part about radioactivity was really interesting” is largely irrelevant. · Always name the authors and chapter title in the introductory paragraph, usually in the first sentence. From then on refer to authors by last name. · Always use present tense to discuss the chapter and facts from the chapter. · When referring to the chapter always capitalize the title and place it in quotation marks. Do not use italics. · In summarizing, identify the main ideas and supporting information. · Is the main idea conjecture or is there direct evidence for it from the literature? · How many ideas are presented in the chapter, are all of these present in your summary. · If examples are given supporting the author’s hypotheses or conjecture, are they mentioned in your summary? · Explain what the examples illustrate. · Identify the recurring theme in the chapters. All told, is the author’s thesis credible? Is the evidence or conjecture sufficient to support their thesis. · If you had to summarize what you read to someone in your English class, what points would you mention and what evidence/conjecture would you describe? · If you had to summarize what was covered in the chapter to your Grandmother, what points would you highlight and what evidence/conjecture would you mention? · The premise, the theses and hypotheses, the evidence all comes from the life sciences. Demonstrate to your reader that you are a biologist capable of identifying the critical elements of the author’s narrative. Chapter Summary Rubric Category 5-4 3 2 1-0 Identifies Important Information Student lists at all of the main points of the chapter and identifies the evidence, conjecture supporting the main points of the chapter. The student lists some of the main points, but only a few are main ideas while the others are not. The student has only 1 main point and highlights unimportant points. The student cannot identify important information with accuracy. Summarization Student uses paragraphs in their own words to describe clearly what all ...

1. Chapter Summary Rubric
Your assignment is to write a summary over one chapter from
the book Why We Get Sick: the new science of Darwinian
Medicine by R. Neese and G.Williams
Due Date
Sunday evenings at or before 6pm
Summary Requirements
A good summary accurately describes the main point(s) and
important details of the chapter. Look at the section headings
and use them to organize your summary.
In order to be accurate and concise the writer must be
thoroughly familiar with the original work. If too long, a
summary may be paraphrasing the original work, but if too
short, important details may be left out. Paraphrasing is not
allowed nor is using quotations from the text itself. Think 500
words, no more.
Hints
· Read and reread chapter as many times as necessary to gain a
full understanding of the chapter.
· Opinions are unnecessary. For example, “I thought the part
about radioactivity was really interesting” is largely irrelevant.
· Always name the authors and chapter title in the introductory
paragraph, usually in the first sentence. From then on refer to
authors by last name.
· Always use present tense to discuss the chapter and facts from
the chapter.

2. · When referring to the chapter always capitalize the title and
place it in quotation marks. Do not use italics.
· In summarizing, identify the main ideas and supporting
information.
· Is the main idea conjecture or is there direct evidence for it
from the literature?
· How many ideas are presented in the chapter, are all of these
present in your summary.
· If examples are given supporting the author’s hypotheses or
conjecture, are they mentioned in your summary?
· Explain what the examples illustrate.
· Identify the recurring theme in the chapters. All told, is the
author’s thesis credible? Is the evidence or conjecture
sufficient to support their thesis.
· If you had to summarize what you read to someone in your
English class, what points would you mention and what
evidence/conjecture would you describe?
· If you had to summarize what was covered in the chapter to
your Grandmother, what points would you highlight and what
evidence/conjecture would you mention?
· The premise, the theses and hypotheses, the evidence all
comes from the life sciences. Demonstrate to your reader that
you are a biologist capable of identifying the critical elements
of the author’s narrative.
Chapter Summary Rubric
Category
5-4
3

3. 2
1-0
Identifies
Important
Information
Student lists at all of the main points of the chapter and
identifies the evidence, conjecture supporting the main points of
the chapter.
The student lists some of the main points, but only a few are
main ideas while the others are not.
The student has only 1 main point and highlights unimportant
points.
The student cannot identify important information with
accuracy.
Summarization
Student uses paragraphs in their own words to describe clearly
what all of the main points mentioned in the chapter.
Student uses a few sentences to describe most of the main
points but cannot effectively do so in their own words
Student summarizes some of the main points accurately, but has
some misunderstanding and may need to reread for
understanding.
Student has great
difficulty
summarizing the main points.

4. Identifies
Details
Student recalls most all of the details – supporting evidence -
surrounding each main point.
Student recalls details for most main points.
Student is not able to locate most of the details of the main
point.
Student cannot locate details with accuracy.
Spelling &
Grammar
No spelling, grammar, punctuation errors
Great sense used to describe with authority.
Few errors in spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation generally
well-written and
organized
Grade-level appropriate vocabulary.
More than a few errors in spelling, grammar, and/or
punctuation. Run-on sentences present
Choppy sentences
Paragraphing errors
Many errors in spelling, grammar, and/or punctuation; poorly
written with
errors that interfere with meaning Disorganized
Format
/ Flow

5. Summary is more than 500 words and appropriately formatted
(Readable font, at least 11 point. Proper headings, includes
students name and title of assignment). Name in filename
Flow:
connections between paragraphs and thoughts. Solid
introduction and conclusion.
Summary exceeds limit by > 50 words.
No demarcation of sections of the chapter. Doesn’t include
name or title of assignment. Uses name in document filename
Summary is too short to touch upon important points;
supporting evidence not mentioned. Content runs together. No
identifying information in document.
Summary is missing most of the necessary information and is
written in an unintelligible manner. No identifying information
except “Chapter 1 summary”
Name not in filename.
Total ________/50
Comments