WEEK 2

WHAT IS A SUMMARY?

A summary is a shortened version of an original

text. It includes the thesis and major supporting
points, and should reveal the relationship between
the major points and the thesis.
HOW LONG IS A SUMMARY?

It may be any length, from 25% of the

original to one sentence.
WHAT YOU NEED

1. A big, ugly, overwhelming text: to dissect and

shrink.
2. A Hi-lighter: to locate the text’s important parts.
3. Paper: to write down the main point, purpose of
the text, major points and documentation
information.
4. A ruthless, but respectful attitude: to conquer the
mess.
STEP 1: TOPIC

• Locate the topic.

• The topic is a word or phrase that says what the
text is about.
• Try to be as specific as possible about the topic.
STEP 2: PURPOSE

• What is the purpose of the text.

• Does it tell a story (narrate)? Inform? Persuade or
raise readers' awareness of an issue?
STEP 3: WHAT IS THE THESIS?

• Look for the thesis (what the author is saying about the
topic).
• Look first in the introduction, then in the conclusion;
writers often write explicit thesis statements.
• Write the thesis in your own words (and make sure it
matches your sense of the author's purpose).
STEP 4: DIVISIONS IN THE
TEXT
• Look for the major divisions of the text. In your
own words, summarize each division in one
sentence.
• (That may mean summarizing each paragraph, but
often several paragraphs go together).
• Make a list of all major points.
STEP 5: ORGANIZING
SENTENCES
• Work with the sentences you have created to
produce a summary.
• Be ruthless: a good summary is SUCCINCT (you
may leave some information out -- as long as it is
‘extraneous’)
• Make sure you reveal the relationships between the
ideas. Are there
contrasts or comparisons
between some of the ideas?
REMEMBER

• Summaries are short restatements of a work's main points.

• When writing a summary, be sure to record the work's
major ideas.
• Summaries condense a text's main ideas into a few concise
sentences.
• A summarized work is always much shorter than the
original.
• A summary of a work's thesis and supporting points should
be written in your own words.
TIPS

• When summarizing, avoid examples, asides, analogies,

and rhetorical strategies.
• Only quote and paraphrase words and phrases that you
feel you absolutely must to reproduce exactly the
author's or authors' full meaning.
• Keep in mind that your summary must fairly represent
the author's or authors' original ideas.
 CHECKLIST
1. Reread your source until you fully understand it.
2. Write a one sentence restatement of the source's main idea
without looking at the source.
3. Use the text’s main idea as your summary's topic sentence.
4. Pull out the text’s main ideas.
5. Write the summary in your own words. Avoid looking at your
source while writing your summary.
6. If you must include some of the source's original words and
phrases, quote and paraphrase accurately.
7. Document the source's author, title, date of publication and any
other important citation information.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
PARAPHRASING AND
SUMMARIZING
• To paraphrase means to express someone else's
ideas in your own language. To summarize means
to distill only the most essential points of someone
else's work.
• Think about how much of the detail from your
source is relevant. If all your reader needs to know
is the ‘bare bones’, then summarize.