The How Happy Are You article is about the people of Summerville, Massachusetts expressing through a survey, how happy they are with their lives as well as how they feel about the schools in the area,  the affordability of houses and etc. in their own neighborhoods. This survey was taken in the spring of 2011 and approximately 7,500 residents returned their surveys. One man responded to the survey by saying his rate of his own happiness was a six because he wanted to learn to speak fluently in Quechua and be three inches taller. A woman named Vanessa Langerman said that she agreed with the survey because it is important to accommodate people’s needs and feelings about the things they wanted to change or improve about their lives or the way that they are living. Langerman wasn’t the only resident who felt good about the survey, but  other people did as well because they felt like it was good that the city was actually listening to the concerns of the people and were willing to change some things to help residents feel better and live a little better. Summerville officials hope to continue the survey over a longer period of time and compare theirs to other surveys in other towns that are close to them.

[Revision for Th 9/12]

The article “How Happy Are You? A Census Wants To Know” by John Tierney, is about the residents of Somerville, Massachusetts who express their happiness and feelings about their neighborhood in a survey. The survey is answered by a sample of 76,000 people who are asked questions about how happy they are with their lives at this very moment. In the survey people are also asked to rate the schools in the area, how easy it is to live in the area, the efficiency of the police force and etc. People respond by rating their happiness from a range from one to ten and also list some things they like and dislike about Somerville. Others respond by sharing things they want to change about themselves. The city officials are hoping to gain knowledge about the things people want to change or improve and track their residents’ happiness and compare them to neighboring communities.

Reflection

I wanted to revise my summary because I learned in class that some of the details that I was including in my summary weren’t necessary. I was also not speaking in present tense, but past tense because of the date of the article. I also learned my thesis statement is suppose to include the title of the article and the author’s name.