Do you agree or disagree with what the speaker says about the topic? Why? Why not? Using a few powerful quotes from the talk, you should react to the points and examples that the speaker makes, but you should also build on them and add your own explanation about why they matter.

1) Your essay will begin with a one-paragraph introduction to the overall topic you will be discussing. At this point, you are not stating your position on the topic; you are just giving a brief overview of the topic in general.

2) In the next paragraph (or two), you will write a summary of the TED talk, making sure to summarize the speakers thesis and key points. In the summary, you will NOT include ANY personal opinion. A summary is 100% objective (a restatement of the speaker/authors work).

3) After the summary, you will have a one to two sentence thesis statement, stating the points the speaker makes that you agree or disagree with; this can work as the transition between the summary and the meat of the response.

4) After you have written a summary and thesis, you then will respond to the following:

Do you agree or disagree with what the speaker says about the topic? Why? Why not? Using a few powerful quotes from the talk, you should react to the points and examples that the speaker makes, but you should also build on them and add your own explanation about why they matter. What in your life or cultural/social/political experience(s) etc. informs your opinion? Bring in examples from your own experience (using plenty of detail–think 5 senses again) for why you feel the way that you do.

.The summary must contain the following:

Speaker’s name, title of talk

Speaker’s thesis

Speaker’s main points and conclusion

Author (speaker) tags (Refer to the speaker, for example, According to Taylor…. and Taylor argues….)

Avoidance of opinion (your own)

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