Summary vs. Analysis

A summary tells what a piece of writing is about, what happens, and generally follows the order of events as written in the book.  In an analysis the evidence is presented in the order necessary to defend the argument the writer (analyzer?) is making.  The job of a summary is to inform, whereas the job of an analysis is to pick apart the reading and make inferences as to why certain elements were utilized or what makes them work.  It’s the difference between looking at a watch to see the time and taking the watch apart to see what makes it tick. 

            Two things from the lecture that assisted me in defining the differences were the T-table or T-chart, and the question “Could I be wrong?”  The T-table was described as having observations on one side and inferences on the other, with the observations acting as the evidence for the inferences.  I used the question about whether I could be wrong and looked at an old analysis I had done.  It helped me understand why the professor marked in several places “this is summary” in a way that hadn’t truly resonated with me prior to this point. 

            One additional note about the lecture, the usage of PIE paragraphs makes a lot of sense and I am probably revealing my age by saying I have never heard of using them.  I took English 101 about 20 years ago and honestly do not remember it ever being explained that way.  For anyone else who has not worked with PIE paragraphs, this site explains it in more detail

http://www.laspositascollege.edu/raw/bodyparagraphs.php.

        I utilized the T-Chart on part of a prior analysis I did on The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman.