Euthyphro[Info] [Contents] [Welcome] [Syllabus] [Resources on Plato]
Write a 250-word summary of the Euthyphro.
Writing a summary is a good way to understand reading. Reading philosophical works may be very different from any reading you have done before. First of all, you have to be willing to slow down. Philosophical texts cannot be skimmed for key facts and details. Because of its complexity, philosophical writing demands close reading. Like poetry, philosophical texts require a creative and individual response from you.
Read carefully. A fundamental goal of this course is for you to understand the assigned reading. You can demonstrate this by reproducing in condensed form what you have read. To do this, you do not have to evaluate the ideas.
A helpful step toward understanding is restating in summary form, in one's own words, the argument of the text from beginning to end. Many readers underline or highlight passages in a text. More effective is writing notes about it, either in the margins or in a notebook.
Writing to understand reading engraves in your mind what you have read. It forces you to face the question of whether you really understand the reading. You can be deceived by passing your eyes over the page, line by line. Instead, write down the author's thesis, key ideas, and basic arguments.
Summarizing helps you understand the content and sequence of ideas in a reading. Writing a summary is useful in making the transition from reading to writing, from absorbing what others have said to expressing your own thoughts on paper.
First, the summary must be considerably briefer than the text itself, typically one-third or less the length of the original.
Second, divide the dialogue into stages of thought.
Third, try to write no more than one or two sentences for each stage of thought in the original.
Finally, quote infrequently, and not at any length; instead, rely on paraphrasing.
In review, keep the summary less than one-third of the original. Collapse the paragraphs from the original into stages of thought; try to confine the summary to one or two sentences for each paragraph. Incorporate a few short quotations that capture the flavor of the original, focusing attention on key ideas and phrases.
Afterwards, ask yourself these following questions: Can the summary be shortened any more? Do some paragraphs from the original need more emphasis? Has anything in the original been blurred or misrepresented?
A successful summary should effectively convey the gist of the original. A reader unfamiliar with the original should get all the main ideas by reading the summary.
August 30, 1999