How to Write a Magazine Article Summary

The advances in all fields of science seem to come at an exponential rate. What we study today may be modified or amended tomorrow just as much of today's knowledge is rooted in the past. An educated person reads throughout an entire lifetime. Articles should be two or more pages in length from a respectable source such as: Scientific American, Discover, Science News, Natural History, Smithsonian, Bioscience, etc. The article should focus on some issue related to ecology (or environmental science). Try to find one that actually interests you. Once you have selected the article you are required to.

1. Copy or print the article, I will not accept the magazines since this becomes too much for me to carry.

2. Summarize the article in your own words! The summary must be word-processed. The summary should contain the following elements

• Introduction (2 point). Introduce the article by describing or defining the major ideas covered in the article. Explain why this subject is important, and how it relates to our unit of study.
• Content Summary (3 points). They key word here is summary. Do not copy the content of the entire article. What was the article all about? What were the main concepts and ideas that were discussed? What was the question(s) the author was investigating? What methods did he/she use? What evidence was uncovered to support the main body of the article

• Evaluation (3 points). Restate the main areas of importance in the magazine article. With your perspective as an AP Biology student, discuss the quality of the article with regard to its relevance, importance, readability, interest level, and scientific content. Explain why you would or would not recommend it to the other members of your class.

• Writing style (1 point). This is a college level course, and you are expected to write using appropriate grammar, sentence structure and formatting. You are also expected to use your own words when summarizing, do not plagiarize!
• Relevance ( 1 point ). Article relates to the unit of study.

All articles should be taken from journals that have been published within the past two years.

All summaries should not exceed a page in length.

You will lose a point if you fail to attach a copy of the article to your summary.