Summary Paragraph (with Citations) Assignment - 10%

A summary is a condensed version, in your own words, of another person’s writing or presentation.
The purpose of this assignment is to:

a.) Condense a piece of writing or a presentation to its main points.

b.) Describe another person’s ideas using your own words.
c.) Use proper citations.

The assignment:

Write a 250 word summary paragraph of one of the following:

 Ted Talk: “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” by Angela Lee Duckworth – you can
summarize either her video presentation or the transcript to the video available on the TED
Talk website
 Article: “Why A Growth Mindset Is Essential For Career Success” by Caroline Castrillon for
Forbes Magazine

This assignment should be typed, double spaced, and include a cover page that has the name of the
course, your first and last name, the date, and your student number on it.

Steps to Writing a Summary Paragraph:

1. Skim the text to get an overview. Circle or highlight unfamiliar words. You can do this on paper or
in digital form.

2. Use a dictionary to look up the meaning of unfamiliar words.

3. Read the text again actively and underline the main ideas and the examples that best illustrate
those ideas. Look for sections of ideas.

4. Draft an outline of the thesis and main ideas, using your own words rather than those of the
author. As you are reading and making notes for the outline, think about the ideas the author is
presenting, rather than focussing on his or her actual words.

5. Begin your summary with a sentence that states the author's full name, the title of the text (in
quotation marks), and your explanation of the text. Use present tense verbs here and in the rest of
the summary to describe the author's ideas.

6. As you re-read your draft, cut unnecessary repetitions, and clarify awkward sentences. Edit your
draft for your own most common grammatical errors and proofread before you submit the final
version.
Reading Response Student Checklist:

o Check the grammar of your opening sentence.

o Check verb tense. Use the present tense. Use the past tense only if the summary discusses
an event from the past.

o Make sure your first paragraph is pure summary and your second is pure analysis.

o Check for accuracy of facts.

o Check the order of points.

o Check for plagiarism; compare the wording of your outline with the original text.

o Cut unnecessary repetition.

o Make sure you have a cover page that has the name of the course, your first and last name,
the date, and your student number on it.

Summary Paragraph Assignment – Rubric

Yes No Needs
Improvement
The summary identifies the article’s main point.

The student has accurately paraphrased the main ideas of the text.

The student avoids inserting his/her own ideas and/or biases into the
summary.

The student omits non-essential information, such as statistics,

jargon, minor examples, and anecdotes.

The student properly cites the author and title of the article. The
summary includes one in-text citation and a References list.

Summary Grade: /10