How to Write a Summary in 8 Easy Steps Michelangelo is said to have created David by "taking a block of marble and cutting

away everything that was not David." Writing a plot summary is a similar processyou take a long work, and you cut out as much as possible. The question is, what do you cut? Necessary detail must be maintained. There is no universal set length for a plot summary, though it should not be excessively long . Well-written plot summaries describe the major events in the work, linking them together with fairly brief descriptions of less important scenes. While longer descriptions may appear to provide more data to the reader, a more concise summary may in fact be more informative as it highlights the most important elements. By focusing the reader's attention on the larger structures of a plot, without drowning it in trivial detail, a shorter summary can often help the reader to understand a work much better than an overlong one. What is a good summary? 1. A good summary should give an objective outline of the whole piece of writing. It should answer basic questions about the original text such as "Who did what, where, and when?", or "What is the main idea of the text?", "What are the main supporting points?", "What are the major pieces of evidence?". It should not be a paraphrase of the whole text using your own words. 2. You should not give your own ideas or criticisms as part of the summary. However, if you want to comment on a piece of writing it is usual to begin by summarizing it as objectively as possible. 3. A good summary should not include selected examples, details, or information which are not relevant to the piece of writing taken as a whole. 4. A good summary should probably include the main idea of each paragraph, and the main evidence supporting that idea, unless it is not relevant to the article or essay as a whole. A summary does not need a conclusion, but if the original ends with a message to the reader this should not be left out. 5. A good summary may use key words from the original text but should not contain whole phrases or sentences from the original unless quotation marks are used. Quotations should only be made if there is a reason for using the original words, for example because the choice of words is significant, or because the original is so well expressed. 6. Rearranging the words used in the original, or keeping the same structure but just substituting different words is not enough. You must express the sense of the original using your own words and structures. How to write a summary of a short piece of writing: 1. As you read, underline all the important points and all the important evidence. For example, you could look for all the topic sentences. 2. List or cluster the main idea of the whole piece, the main supporting ideas, and the main evidence for each idea. Be careful to use your own words rather than copying or just rearranging. Do not include too much detail. 3. Change the order if necessary, so that the main idea comes first and is followed by the supporting ideas and evidence in a logical sequence. Omit any repetitions. 4. If the original uses 'I' replace this with the writer's actual surname, "the writer", or "s/he". If the original uses 'you', substitute "people" or "they". 5. You should now be ready to write the summary. Start with a sentence that a) identifies the writer and the piece of writing, for example by giving the writer's name, the title of the piece and where/when it appeared, and b) gives the main idea. Use transition words to join everything together. Writing a good summary demonstrates that you clearly understand a text...and that you can communicate that understanding to your readers. A summary can be tricky to write at first because its tempting to include too much or too little information. But by following our easy 8-step method, you will be able to summarize texts quickly and successfully for any class or subject. 1) Divideand conquer. First off, skim the text you are going to summarize and divide it into sections. Focus on any headings and subheadings. Also look at any bold-faced terms and make sure you understand them before you read. 2) Read. Now that youve prepared, go ahead and read the selection. Read straight through. At this point, you dont need to stop to look up anything that gives you troublejust get a feel for the authors tone, style, and main idea. 3) Reread. Rereading should be active reading. Underline topic sentences and key facts. Label areas that you want to refer to as you write your summary. Also label areas that should be avoided because the detailsthough they may be interestingare too specific. Identify areas that you do not understand and try to clarify those points. 4) One sentence at a time. You should now have a firm grasp on the text you will be summarizing. In steps 13, you divided the piece into sections and located the authors main ideas and points. Now write down the main idea of each section in one welldeveloped sentence. Make sure that what you include in your sentences are key points, not minor details.

5) Write a thesis statement. This is the key to any well-written summary. Review the sentences you wrote in step 4. From them, you should be able to create a thesis statement that clearly communicates what the entire text was trying to achieve. If you find that you are not able to do this step, then you should go back and make sure your sentences actually addressed key points. 6) Ready to write. At this point, your first draft is virtually done. You can use the thesis statement as the introductory sentence of your summary, and your other sentences can make up the body. Make sure that they are in order. Add some transition words (then, however, also, moreover) that help with the overall structure and flow of the summary. And once you are actually putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys!), remember these tips: Write in the present tense. Make sure to include the author and title of the work. Be concise: a summary should not be equal in length to the original text. If you must use the words of the author, cite them. Don't put your own opinions, ideas, or interpretations into the summary. The purpose of writing a summary is to accurately represent what the author wanted to say, not to provide a critique.

7) Check for accuracy. Reread your summary and make certain that you have accurately represented the authors ideas and key points. Make sure that you have correctly cited anything directly quoted from the text. Also check to make sure that your text does not contain your own commentary on the piece. 8) Revise. Once you are certain that your summary is accurate, you should (as with any piece of writing) revise it for style, grammar, and punctuation. If you have time, give your summary to someone else to read. This person should be able to understand the main text based on your summary alone. If he or she does not, you may have focused too much on one area of the piece and not enough on the authors main idea. Practical Steps

1. Read the article. 2. Re-read the article. Underline important ideas. Circle key terms. Find the main point of the article. Divide the article
into sections or stages of thought, and label each section or stage of thought in the margins. Note the main idea of each paragraph if the article is short.

3. Write brief summaries of each stage of thought or if appropriate each paragraph. Use a separate piece of paper for this
step. This should be a brief outline of the article. 4. Write the main point of the article. Use your own words. This should be a sentence that expresses the central idea of the article as you have determined it the from steps above. NOTE: Include all the important ideas. Use the author's key words. Follow the original organization where possible. Include any important data. Include any important conclusions.

5. Write your rough draft of the summary. Combine the information from the first four steps into paragraphs.

6. Edit your version. Be concise. Eliminate needless words and repetitions.

(Avoid using "the author says...," "the author argues...," etc.) 7. Compare your version to the original. Do not use quotations, but if you use them be sure to quote correctly. Indicate quotations with quotation marks. Cite each quotation correctly (give the page number). Do not plagiarize. Cite any paraphrases by citing the page number the information appears on. Avoid paraphrasing whenever possible. Use your own words to state the ideas presented in the article. (Adapted from Writing Across the Curriculum 4th edition, L. Behrens and L. Rosen, eds., 1991, Harper/Collins, pp. 6-7.) In the summary, you should include only the information your readers need. 1. 2. State the main point first. Use a lower level of technicality than the authors of the original article use. Do not write a summary your readers cannot understand.

3.

Make the summary clear and understandable to someone who has not read the original article. Your summary should stand on its own. Wrong: This article covers point X. Then the article covers point Y. Right: Glacial advances have been rapid as shown by x, y, and z. (see sample)

4. Write a summary rather than a table of contents.

5. 6.

Add no new data and none of your own ideas. Use a simple organization: main point main results: give the main results See sample conclusions/recommendations

7.

Unless the examples in the article are essential, do not include the examples in your summary. If you include them, remember to explain them.

Here is an easy way to begin a summary: In "[name of article]" [author] states . . . . [State the main point of the article first.] For example: In "Computer Chess"* Hans Berliner states that the CYBER 170 series computer can perform well in a chess tournament. Cite the source with correct bibliographic form. *Berliner, H.J. (1981). Computer Chess. Nature, 274(567), 745-748. [ author. article title. journal title. vol (number)/month: pages. ] So when you write a summary: 1. 2. 3. 4. State the main point first. Emphasize the main stages of though. State the articles conclusion. Summarize rather than give a table of contents. Example: Wrong: This article covers the topic of measuring the extent of global deforestation. The article discusses reasons for concern, the technique, the results, and the projects current goal. Right: According to the author of Seeing the Forest, the extent of global deforestation was difficult to measure until satellite remote sensing techniques were applied. Measuring the extent of global deforestation is important because of concerns about global warming and species extinctions. The technique compares old infrared LANDSAT images with new images. The authors conclude the method is accurate and cost effective. 5. Keep summary short: 3 to 7 sentences. The Summary essay In college you may also be asked to write another type of summary, the summary essay, which is written for an audience other than yourself. The purpose of the summary essay is to convey to others an understanding of a text you have read, without their having to read it themselves. Thus for your readers, your summary essay functions as a substitute for the source that you are summarizing. You don't want to misrepresent your source or mislead your audience. Certainly an important feature of the summary essay, then, is its fidelity to the source; you must represent your source accurately and comprehensively, with as little of your own interpretation as possible. (Anytime you read and repeat a source, of course, you are interpreting it; but the summary essay asks you to minimize your interpretation as much as possible. You should not add your own examples and explanations, for instance.) An alternative purpose of the summary essay, one that is very commonplace in college, is a demonstration of comprehension: teachers sometimes assign summary essays when they want to make sure that students fully understand an assigned source. In this case, your essay does not substitute for the source, for the teacher has read the source, too. Yet your essay will be written in the same way, with fidelity to the source. Writing the Summary Essay A summary essay should be organized so that others can understand the source or evaluate your comprehension of it. The following format works well: a. The introduction (usually one paragraph)-1. Contains a one-sentence thesis statement that sums up the main point of the source. This thesis statement is not your main point; it is the main point of your source. Usually, though, you have to write this statement rather than quote it from the source

text. It is a one-sentence summary of the entire text that your essay summarizes. Also introduces the text to be summarized: (i) Gives the title of the source (following the citation guidelines of whatever style sheet you are using); (ii) Provides the name of the author of the source; (ii) Sometimes also provides pertinent background information about the author of the source or about the text to be summarized. The introduction should not offer your own opinions or evaluation of the text you are summarizing. 2. b. The body of a summary essay (one or more paragraphs): This paraphrases and condenses the original piece. In your summary, be sure that you 1. 2. Include important data but omit minor points; Include one or more of the authors examples or illustrations (these will bring your summary to life);

3. Do not include your own ideas, illustrations, metaphors, or interpretations. Look upon yourself as a summarizing
machine; you are simply repeating what the source text says, in fewer words and in your own words. But the fact that you are using your own words does not mean that you are including your own ideas. c. There is customarily no conclusion to a summary essay. When you have summarized the source text, your summary essay is finished. Do not add your own concluding paragraph unless your teacher specifically tells you to. Length There is no universal set length for a plot summary, though it should not be excessively long. Well-written plot summaries describe the major events in the work, linking them together with fairly brief description of less important scenes. While longer descriptions may appear to provide more data to the reader, a more concise summary may in fact be more informative as it highlights the most important elements. By focusing the reader's attention on the larger structures of a plot, without drowning it in trivial detail, a shorter summary can often help the reader to understand a work much better than an overlong one. Excessively detailed plot summaries may also infringe on copyright and fair-use concerns. Take a look at the text below (excerpted from Expert: Wikipedia Won't Go Away, So Learn How to Use It by Maggie Morris) and the following attempts at paraphrasing and summarizing. The first four are not adequate, but the last one is. Look at each of the four inappropriate attempts, and decide what exactly makes each inappropriate. The popularity of Wikipedia makes it important that users learn to use the online collaborative encyclopedia as a starting point for their research rather than as the final word, says a Purdue University communications expert. "Students are addicted to Wikipedia, and teachers fight it with stern grading policies and restrictions on its use," says Sorin A. Matei, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication. "But Wikipedia is here to stay and, despite penalties, people are likely to continue using it." Version 1: The popularity of Wikipedia makes it important that users learn to use the online collaborative encyclopedia as a starting point for their research. "Students are addicted to Wikipedia, and teachers fight it with stern grading policies and restrictions on its use," says Sorin A. Matei, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication. Version 2: The popularity of Wikipedia makes it important that users learn to use the online collaborative encyclopedia as a starting point for their research. "Students are addicted to Wikipedia, and teachers fight it with stern grading policies and restrictions on its use," says Sorin A. Matei, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication (Morris). Version 3: Wikipedia is popular, which makes it vital that users learn to use the online collaborative encyclopedia as a beginning point for their research. "Students are addicted to Wikipedia, says Sorin A. Matei, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication, and teachers fight it with stern grading policies and restrictions on its use" (Morris). Version 4: Sorin A. Matei of Purdue University says that because students are "addicted to Wikipedia" and will continue to rely on it, it is important for teachers to help them to use Wikipedia as a place to begin research, rather than as a final source. Matei also says that penalties are unlikely to be effective (Morris). Version 5: Wikipedia is popular, which makes it necessary to learn using the online collaborative encyclopedia as a beginning point for their research. Students are addicted to Wikipedia, says Sorin A. Matei, an assistant professor in the Department of Communication, and teachers fight it with stern grading policies and restrictions on its use (Morris). Version 4 is correct. Here the student combined her own paraphrasing with a quotation of striking language of the original text. She made certain her words and those taken directly from the source fit together; she quoted accurately and cited her source. Some of the information is consolidated, and the specific kinds of penalties given by teachersa minor detailare left out. Version 1: This version would be considered blatant plagiarism. The text is excerpted almost word for word without using quotation marks appropriately, without giving credit to the original author. Some words have been cut out, but the original authors language is still quite obvious.

Version 2: Credit is given to the original author (Morris), but quotation marks are still not used, and the language still closely resembles the original writing. Version 3: The original author is given credit, and technically the passage is correct, but the writer suggests that Morris main point is teachers reactions. In fact, Morris is emphasizing the importance of Wikipedia, and talks about teachers reactions as a secondary point. Version 5: The quotation is essentially accurate, quotation marks are used, and Morris is given credit. The bigger problem is that the writer made no attempt to use his or her own language, to integrate the quotation into their own words. The smaller problem is the lack of ellipses (. . .) to indicate where the writer took out part of the quotation. Version 4: Version 4 is correct. Here the student combined her own paraphrasing with a quotation of striking language of the original text. She made certain her words and those taken directly from the source fit together; she quoted accurately and cited her source. Some of the information is consolidated, and the specific kinds of penalties given by teachersa minor detailare left out.