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If two documents describe the same event, will their summaries sound the same?

In 2008, the FBI turned 100 years old. To celebrate, the bureau published a book about its history. It also posted a series of "commemorative" stories on its website, each story describing a case that became a turning point in the agency's history.  The Lindbergh baby kidnapping is one of the cases that the FBI decided to highlight. As you might expect, the commemorative version tells the same story as the earlier account. However, the centennial document is written for a different purpose.

How does a writer's purpose change the way history is written? Read this shorter version of the Lindbergh saga, and use the questions beneath the story to compare this version to the one you just summarized. Click the Read Me button to open the story.

What makes this version of the story so much shorter?

  1. It provides a lot fewer details about the facts of the case.
  2. It leaves out the most important events related to the case.
  3. It changes the facts of the story to make it easier to follow.

This version of the story includes all of the key events but many fewer details about the twists and turns in the case.

This version of the story includes all of the key events but many fewer details about the twists and turns in the case.

This version of the story includes all of the key events but many fewer details about the twists and turns in the case.

How is the language in this version of the story different?

  1. The shorter version uses lots of words that only FBI agents and employees would recognize.
  2. The shorter version uses language that is more like the words you see in a police report.
  3. The shorter version uses language that suggests how people must have felt at the time.

The FBI's commemorative version of the Lindbergh story includes words like "stunned," "tragedy," and "without warning."

The FBI's commemorative version of the Lindbergh story includes words like "stunned," "tragedy," and "without warning."

The FBI's commemorative version of the Lindbergh story includes words like "stunned," "tragedy," and "without warning."

What does this sentence from the shorter version of the story tell you about its purpose: In the coming months, the Bureau left no investigative stone unturned?

  1. This version of the story is meant to be more interesting to read than the longer version.
  2. This version of the story is meant to show the average American exactly how the FBI works a case.
  3. This version of the story is meant to celebrate the good work that the FBI did on the case.

The sentence suggests that one purpose of the document is to commemorate (to say what is good about) the FBI.

The sentence suggests that one purpose of the document is to commemorate (to say what is good about) the FBI.

The sentence suggests that one purpose of the document is to commemorate (to say what is good about) the FBI.

What does the last paragraph tell you about why the Lindbergh case was included as a turning point in the history of the FBI?

  1. It made the FBI look really good, compared to other law enforcement agencies on the case.
  2. It demonstrated the agency's earliest use of a scientific "crime lab" approach to solving crimes.
  3. It was a case that cost the FBI a lot of time and money to solve, and it made them avoid future kidnapping cases.

The last paragraph explains that working on a kidnapping case allowed the FBI to try out new, more scientific approaches to solving violent crimes.

The last paragraph explains that working on a kidnapping case allowed the FBI to try out new, more scientific approaches to solving violent crimes.

The last paragraph explains that working on a kidnapping case allowed the FBI to try out new, more scientific approaches to solving violent crimes.

Summary

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