How to Write a Summary

A summary is a fairly brief restatement--IN YOUR OWN WORDS--of the contents of a passage.

Report back what the other writer has said.

Do not make a value judgments about the "rightness" or "wrongness" of what (s)he says.

(That would be a different kind of paper--a summary-response, a critique, or a position

paper).

While it is hard to give concrete guidelines for length, many good summaries are about 1/4 to 1/3 the length of the original.

What are the steps in writing a summary?

Read through the whole piece--carefully. Annotate (underline, highlight, asterisk, star, flag things; comment in the margins anything that stands out to you as relevant information) as you read.

Look back for 1-2 sentences that state the author's main point. This is the article's thesis statement. The thesis may appear early or late in the essay.

Reread the selection, dividing it into sections of thought; it’s likely that each section may be several paragraphs.

Write a sentence or two summarizing each section of thought.

(Try writing a summary sentence for each paragraph and then revising where you see

yourself repeating ideas).

Write a first draft of your summary, including the following items:

In the first sentence or two--

1. the author's name.

2. the article's/ chapter's name (perhaps even the magazine's or book's name in which the article or chapter appeared).

3. the author's thesis statement.

Here's an example: "In the excerpt from The Idea of a University, John Henry Newman argues that the real purpose of a university education is to help students become wise, enable each one to understand as much as possible of the world in which (s)he lives and to see clearly how each piece of knowledge relates to each other piece of knowledge."

Summary sentences for each paragraph or section should be written in same order that the author presents the essay.

You should make every effort to inform the reader of the author's ideas in your own words—Be sure to avoid plagiarism.

If you quote a point directly from the author, be sure to place quotation marks around what you have borrowed and cite your page number. (MLA/APA in Hacker handbook 109/144).

Include occasional supporting details, if and only if they are the most significant ones and apply to the thesis and are imperative for further understanding of the topic.

IMPORTANT TIPS:

Check the draft against the original piece for accuracy.

Revise the summary to "smooth out" its choppiness. In other words, link your section summary sentences together with good transitional words or phrases (like “in addition,” “moreover,” “on the other hand,” “however,” “finally”).

Proofread, spell-check and seek assistance at the writing workshop.