4.10: Example Summary/response Essay

10. EXAMPLE SUMMARY/RESPONSE ESSAY

Following is a sample student essay based on this article.

Robots: One Size Does Not Fit All

In her article, "Robot Helps Sick Children Feel Less Lonely," Anna Matteo writes that a smart robot called AV1 can help sick children feel better by alleviating feelings of isolation. While Mateo believes that AV1 can help sick children, I believe it is necessary to admit that this robot can solve some problems for these children, but it can’t help every child because robots can’t replace a child’s relationship with friends, nor can they help children of different ages equally.

Anna Matteo’s article describes how robots may be able to help sick children feel less lonely. Matteo writes that as a result of long-term illnesses, sick children have to recover at home or in the hospital. As a way to help these children, the robot can go to school for the them. Matteo mentions that by using a tablet or a phone to control the robot, children can take part in classroom activities wherever they are. In order to make communication easier, the robot was designed with speakers, microphones and cameras. Matteo concludes that children can make good use of the robot and feel less lonely with the company that AV1 robot can provide.

Matteo states, "The robot takes their place at school. Through the robot, children can hear their teachers and friends." In this passage, Mateo attempts to describe how the robot helps children to interact with their classmates and teachers. However, while these robots are useful in some ways, they can’t replace human company, especially from parents and friends. Only watching or listening to their friends is not enough to make them not feel lonely. While I’ve never had the benefit of having a robot go to school for me when I was sick, I was once forced to miss three weeks of school because of the chicken pox. In order to not have me fall behind in my studies, two of my friends collected my lessons each day and brought them to me. Because my illness was contagious, they were not allowed to stay and visit, but we would spend several hours on the phone once they got home so that they could tell me all about what was going on at school. While this helped me not to feel so disconnected from school and my friends, it was no substitute for actually being in school, and for those three weeks I was very lonely and impatient
to get better. I imagine that having a robot attend school for me would have been a similar experience, giving me a glimpse into what I was missing, but not completely alleviating my loneliness because my face-to-face contact with my friends would still be limited.

In her article, Matteo does not specify the particular ages of children who might best be helped through the AV1 technology but instead vaguely refers only to "children who are recovering from long-term illnesses in the hospital or at home." As a result, readers do not have much information specifically about which children this robot would benefit. This information would be vital for readers to know because it is important to note that robots cannot effectively help children of different ages. It’s not clear from the article whether she’s taking into consideration the idea that child-robot interaction is more engaging for an 8-year-old child than for one who is 12 or 14 . A younger child would likely be more engaged in the novelty of having a robot; older children would likely lose interest much more quickly and become bored and impatient as they recover from their illness. This may negatively affect their ability to focus on the lessons they are missing and to catch up with their classmates. For this reason, it is important to consider the child’s age when we talk about the robots’ effectiveness. In other words, children of different ages will react differently to the robot. Thus, a robot can’t help them all in the same way and may be more effective for younger children.

While Matteo believes that robots can help sick children considerably, it is clear that there are some limitations. Robots can provide some help, but the help still can’t replace the intimacy and caring of human beings and can’t equally help children of different ages. In order to improve the relationship between children and robots, we should consider tailoring the individual robot to the specific needs and age of the child and take different factors into account in our future robots’ design.

Work Cited

Matteo, Anna. "A Small Robot May Help Children Who Are Recovering from a Long-Term Illness in the Hospital or at Home." VOA News. 24 October 2016. Web.

PRACTICE 1: Analyzing the Structure of a Summary-Response Essay
A. Complete the outline for the essay "Robots: One Size Does Not Fit All."

|c|c|

One-Sentence

Summary

& author’s name + title + author’s thesis
&

Student

Writer’s Thesis

&

|c|c|

Organizational

Pattern

(highlight one)

& List of Items Cause/Effect Pro/Con Definition

Quotations from Author
(Summarize the writer’s ideas.)

PRACTICE 2: Digging Deeper into a Summary-Response Essay

A. Analyze the sample essay and answer the following questions.

Paragraph 1 (Introduction)

In her article, "Robot Helps Sick Children Feel Less Lonely," Anna Matteo writes that a smart robot called AV1 can help sick children feel better by alleviating feelings of isolation. While Mateo believes that AV1 can help sick children, I believe it is necessary to admit that this robot can solve some problems for these children, but it can’t help every child because robots can’t replace a child’s relationship with friends, nor can they help children of different ages equally.

1. How many sentences are in the Introduction?
2. Underline Sentence 1. What’s the purpose of the first sentence? What’s included in the first sentence?
3. Italicize Sentence 2. What’s the purpose of the second sentence? What’s included in the second sentence?

Paragraph 2 (Summary)

Anna Matteo’s article describes how robots may be able to help sick children feel less lonely. Matteo writes that as a result of long-term illnesses, sick children have to recover at home or in the hospital. As a way to help these children, the robot can go to school for the them. Matteo mentions that by using a tablet or a phone to control the robot, children can take part in classroom activities wherever they are. In order to make communication easier, the robot was designed with speakers, microphones and cameras. Matteo concludes that children can make good use of the robot and feel less lonely with the company that AV1 robot can provide.

1. What’s the purpose of Paragraph 2?
2. Underline Sentence 1. What information is included in the first sentence of Paragraph 2?
3. Circle any mention of the author. How does this student make reference to the author?
4. Highlight any cohesive devices/transitions. How many does the student use? What types do they use?
5. Does the summary of the article make sense to you? Which aspects are unclear?

Paragraph 3 (Response 1)

Matteo states, "The robot takes their place at school. Through the robot, children can hear their teachers and friends." In this passage, Mateo attempts to describe how the robot helps children to interact with their classmates and teachers. However, while these robots are useful in some ways, they can’t replace human company, especially from parents and friends. Only watching or listening to their friends is not enough to make them not feel lonely. While I’ve never had the benefit of having a robot go to school for me when I was sick, I was once forced to miss three weeks of school because of the chicken pox. In order to not have me fall behind in my studies, two of my friends collected my lessons each day and brought them to me. Because my illness was contagious, they were not allowed to stay and visit, but we would spend several hours on the phone once they got home so that they could tell me all about what was going on at school. While this helped me not to feel so disconnected from school and my friends, it was no substitute for actually being in school, and for those three weeks I was very lonely and impatient to get better. I imagine that having a robot attend school for me would have been a similar experience, giving me a glimpse into what I was missing, but not completely alleviating my loneliness because my face-to-face contact with my friends would still be limited.

1. What’s the purpose of Body Paragraph 3?
2. Underline Sentence 1. What information is included in the first sentence of Paragraph 3?
3. Highlight any quotes or paraphrases. Has the student quoted the author and paraphrased what the author has written?
4. What type of response is the student using? Are they agreeing, disagreeing, or both? Are they using personal experience? Are they comparing it to another text?
5. Is their response well-developed? Why or why not?
6. Has the student added new examples for the conversation, or have they just repeated the original author?
7. Is the connection to the original author’s point clear?
8. Is the student’s response listed in their thesis? Highlight it in the thesis.

Paragraph 4 (Response 2)

In her article, Matteo does not specify the particular ages of children who might best be helped through the AV1 technology but instead vaguely refers only to "children who are recovering from long-term illnesses in the hospital or at home." As a result, readers do not have much information specifically about which children this robot would benefit. This information would be vital for readers to know because it is important to note that robots cannot effectively help children of different ages. It’s not clear from the article whether she’s taking into consideration the idea that child-robot interaction is more engaging for an 8 -year-old child than for one who is 12 or 14 . A younger child would likely be more engaged in the novelty of having a robot; older children would likely lose interest much more quickly and become bored and impatient as they recover from their illness. This may negatively affect their ability to focus on the lessons they are missing and to catch up with their classmates. For this reason, it is important to consider the child’s age when we talk about the robots’ effectiveness. In other words, children of different ages will react differently to the robot. Thus, a robot can’t help them all in the same way and may be more effective for younger children.

1. What’s the purpose of Paragraph 4?
2. Underline Sentence 1. What information is included in the first sentence of Paragraph 4?
3. Highlight any quotes or paraphrases. Has the student quoted the author and paraphrased what the author has written?
4. What type of response is the student using? Are they agreeing, disagreeing, or both? Are they using personal experience? Are they comparing it to another text?
5. Is their response well-developed? Why or why not?
6. Has the student added new examples for the conversation, or have they just repeated the original author?
7. Is the connection to the original author’s point clear?
8. Is the student’s response listed in their thesis? Highlight it in the thesis.

Paragraph 5 (Conclusion)

While Matteo believes that robots can help sick children considerably, it is clear that there are some limitations. Robots can provide some help, but the help still can’t replace the intimacy and caring of human beings and can’t equally help children of different ages. In order to improve the relationship between children and robots, we should consider tailoring the individual robot to the specific needs and age of the child and take different factors into account in our future robots’ design.

1. What’s the purpose of Paragraph 5?
2. Highlight the following elements of Paragraph 5:

a. Summary of the original author’s thesis/argument

b. Restatement of student writer’s thesis

c. Final thought

3. What type of final thought does the writer include? (Underline one.)

a. Prediction

b. Recommendation

c. Warning

d. Call to action

e. Other (explain):

B. Write \(\mathbf{2}\) positive comments and two suggestions. Focus on the qualities of an effective summary/response essay; avoid discussing grammar or vocabulary.