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SUMMARIZING

This document provides tips for writing effective summaries. It recommends that a summary should be a concise paragraph that states the title, author, and main point of the original text without personal opinions. Key claims and supporting passages should be restated in the writer's own words. A good summary is comprehensive, concise, coherent and independent from the original. For shorter texts, each paragraph should be summarized in one sentence with an overall summary sentence. For longer texts, the document outlines summarizing each major section in one to two sentences followed by an overall summary.

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20 views3 pages

SUMMARIZING

This document provides tips for writing effective summaries. It recommends that a summary should be a concise paragraph that states the title, author, and main point of the original text without personal opinions. Key claims and supporting passages should be restated in the writer's own words. A good summary is comprehensive, concise, coherent and independent from the original. For shorter texts, each paragraph should be summarized in one sentence with an overall summary sentence. For longer texts, the document outlines summarizing each major section in one to two sentences followed by an overall summary.

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srd9g6jj58
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Summary Writing Format

TIP NUMBER 1

• When writing a summary, remember that it should be in the form of a paragraph.

• A summary begins with an introductory sentence that states the text’s title, author and main
point of the text as you see it.

• A summary is written in your own words.

• A summary contains only the ideas of the original text. Do not insert any of your own opinions,
interpretations, deductions, or comments into a summary.

• Identify in order the significant sub-claims the author uses to defend the main point.

• Copy word-for-word three separate passages from the essay that you think support and/or
defend the main point of the essay as you see it.

• Cite each passage by first signaling the work and the author, put “quotation marks” around the
passage you chose, and put the number of the paragraph where the passages can be found
immediately after the passage.

• Using source material from the essay is important. Why? Because defending claims with source
material is what you will be asked to do when writing papers for your college professors.

• Write a last sentence that “wraps” up your summary; often a simple rephrasing of the main
point.

Example Summary Writing Format

In the essay Santa Ana, author Joan Didion’s main point is (state main point). According to Didion
“…passage 1…” (para.3). Didion also writes “…passage 2…” (para.8). Finally, she states “…passage 3…”
(para. 12) Write a last sentence that “wraps” up your summary; often a simple rephrasing of the main
point.

TIP NUMBER 2

QUALITIES OF A SUMMARY

A good summary should be comprehensive, concise, coherent, and independent. These qualities are
explained below:

▪ A summary must be comprehensive: You should isolate all the important points in the original
passage and note them down in a list. Review all the ideas on your list, and include in your
summary all the ones that are indispensable to the author's development of her/his thesis or
main idea.
▪ A summary must be concise: Eliminate repetitions in your list, even if the author restates the
same points. Your summary should be considerably shorter than the source. You are hoping to
create an overview; therefore, you need not include every repetition of a point or every
supporting detail.

▪ A summary must be coherent: It should make sense as a piece of writing in its own right; it
should not merely be taken directly from your list of notes or sound like a disjointed collection of
points.

▪ A summary must be independent: You are not being asked to imitate the author of the text you
are writing about. On the contrary, you are expected to maintain your own voice throughout the
summary. Don't simply quote the author; instead use your own words to express your
understanding of what you have read. After all, your summary is based on your interpretation of
the writer's points or ideas. However, you should be careful not to create any misrepresentation
or distortion by introducing comments or criticisms of your own.

TWO TECHNIQUES FOR WRITING SUMMARIES

Summarizing Shorter Texts (ten pages or fewer)

▪ Write a one-sentence summary of each paragraph.

▪ Formulate a single sentence that summarizes the whole text.

▪ Write a paragraph (or more): begin with the overall summary sentence and follow it with the
paragraph summary sentences.

▪ Rearrange and rewrite the paragraph to make it clear and concise, to eliminate repetition and
relatively minor points, and to provide transitions. The final version should be a complete,
unified, and coherent.

Summarizing Longer Texts (more than ten pages)

▪ Outline the text. Break it down into its major sections—groups of paragraphs focused on a
common topic—and list the main supporting points for each section.

▪ Write a one or two sentence summary of each section.

▪ Formulate a single sentence to summarize the whole text, looking at the author's thesis or topic
sentences as a guide.

▪ Write a paragraph (or more): begin with the overall summary sentence and follow it with the
section summary sentences.

▪ Rewrite and rearrange your paragraph(s) as needed to make your writing clear and concise, to
eliminate relatively minor or repetitious points, and to provide transitions. Make sure your
summary includes all the major supporting points of each idea. The final version should be a
complete, unified, and coherent.

REF: Rockowitz (2020)

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