a representation of a work

Read “Silence and the Notion of the Commons” by Ursula Franklin.

Write a 1.5-2 page representation, addressing an intelligent reader who is not familiar with the essay. Remember, a representation is not a list or a simple summary; your writing here instead must fully introduce the text and consist of a combination of summary, quotes/evidence, and intelligent reflection/thinking (analysis) about what you put down on the page. It should convey the heart of a text, the thing the writer is concerned about, how they wrestle with that dilemma, and what they want us to understand about it.

Remember to:

• introduce the text and its author;
• explain what the driving problem/tension is;
• use active words when describing the author’s ideas;
• be present in your representation: make interpretive claims, explain things in your own voice, generate language to describe what you see in the essay;
• work with evidence (no evidence should be left without comments and no claims should stand alone without evidence);
• be selective about what evidence you are bringing in (you cannot cover everything, but you need to provide your reader with enough information and reflection to understand the essay and your interpretation of it).

Finally, at the end of your representation, write down several questions that this essay has made you ask yourself. These may be questions for further research (something that you would like to learn more about), questions you would like to ask the author of the essay about the subject matter if you could meet with them in person, or – the most important kind – questions that you are now asking yourself that you did not occur to you before you read the essay. At this starting point in your work on the essay, brainstorming questions is beneficial: the more questions you can think of in relation to the essay, the better.

In MLA style, in-text parenthetical citations and works cited are required.

Please DO NOT use plenty of summary, go deeper.