This diagnostic assignment asks students to choose one of several TED Talk texts, watch and annotate the video, write a summary paragraph, and respond with their own opinions in multiple paragraphs. It is designed to assess students' skills in writing a summary, formulating a thesis, citing sources, and writing in MLA style as taught in English 1. Students will receive feedback on demonstrating these skills as well as guidance on other areas for improvement.

1. English 2 Summary and Response Diagnostic Assignment
This assignment is designed for me to get to you know you better as a writer. English 1 at
Madison College should teach you to write a summary, a thesis, use a source respectfully, and
cite in MLA style. Show your grasp of these skills by writing a comprehensive but succinct
summary of one of the texts below, then respond to the text with your own ideas, opinions, and
experiences.
Text Options:
• Adam Grant: “The Surprising Habits of Original Thinkers”
• Stuart Firestein: “The Pursuit of Ignorance”
• Tim Harford: “How Messy Problems Can Inspire Creativity”
• Ken Robinson: “Do Schools Kill Creativity?”
• Manoush Zomorodi: “How Boredom Can Lead to Your Most Brilliant Ideas”
• David Kelley: “How to Build Your Creative Confidence”
• Angela Duckworth: “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance”
• Carol Dweck: “The Power of Believing that You Can Improve”
• Tim Urban: “Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator”
• Dan Gilbert: “The Psychology of Your Future Self”
For many of the following steps, there are supporting materials on Blackboard. Please review
them at the appropriate stage.
1. Choose one of the text selections. You may view them as many as you wish, but you
need to complete an assignment for only one.
2. View the video of the author delivering the text as a TED conference presentation.
3. Visit the TED talk page and read the transcript. Annotate the text—that means add notes
to, like this:
4. Complete a main idea grid if you find that helpful. Draft an outline of the text’s main
ideas and supporting details.

2. 5. In your own words, write a summary of and response to the text totaling around 500
words. Write as if your readers are your instructor and other two-year college students.
a. Your summary should demonstrate your ability to
i. Write a topic sentence.
ii. Summarize a text’s main ideas in your own language.
iii. Give proper credit to an author with signal phrases, such as “The author
explains….”
iv. Create an MLA-style Works Cited entry.
b. Your response should state focused opinions about the presentation and the
author’s ideas. You may quote brief phrases if you wish.
c. Your summary need not be longer than a paragraph. You will want to write
multiple paragraphs of response, each organized around a single main idea.
6. Revise your summary and response to include a short introduction and thesis and a short
conclusion. Two possible organization patterns (but there are more) might be:
7. Submit your work as a .doc or .docx attachment to Blackboard under Assignments.
8. On the page where you are attaching your document, click the button labeled “Write
Submission” and write me a short note about your assignment. Think about:
• Do you feel comfortable that English 1 taught you to write a summary, a thesis,
use a source respectfully, and cite in MLA style?
• Does this submission show your grasp of these skills? If not, what do you need to
learn more about? If so, what other skills would you like to work on?
Summary and Response Rubric
The summary content is fair and accurate, and the response content is thoughtful
and well supported.
/10 points
The source is used respectfully, and the author is given proper credit in the text and
in a Works Cited entry.
/5 points
The writing style is clear, concise, and free from errors. /5 points