Writing Summaries
A summary is a restatement of someone else's words in your own words. There are many different kinds of summaries, and they vary according to the degree to which you interpret or analyze the source. Some are pages long, while others are just one or two sentences. However, for all types of summary, the writer is responsible for generally stating, in his or her own words, the main information or argument of another writer.
Purposes of the Summary
Summaries benefit the reader because they offer a concise, general version of the original information. For a busy reader, summaries provide quick overviews of material. Summaries also show readers that you have understood the general point of a text, and in this way, teachers can test your knowledge. The process of summarizing someone else's material enables you to understand that material better.
What and When to Summarize
Many student writers tend to quote when they should summarize material. Quote only when the author expresses a point in a particularly telling or interesting language. Otherwise, simply summarize. Use a summary to restate an entire argument. Use a summary to present information.
How to Summarize
• Read the original passage or text very carefully.
• Use a pencil to highlight or underline what you take to be the main
point/points of the original text, or make notes in the margins or on
another sheet of paper.
• If you're summarizing an entire essay, outline the writer's arguments.
• These notes and outlines should be brief. Using this list of points, you
write down the summary, referring to the original text only when you want to make sure of some point. This will help you to reproduce the substance of the passage in your own words.
Summary Conventions
• Summaries can range in length from two sentences to several pages.
What you have to remember is that when you write a summary of something you have read, you make your summary shorter than the original. Usually a summary is one third of the original in length, i.e. if a passage is of 150 words, the summary of it would be about 50 words long.
• In any case, use complete sentences to present the main points or
information the text you are describe an author's general points to the reader. Don't quote extensively. If you quote, use quotation marks and document the quotation. If you fail to document the quotation, even one word that the author used, you are plagiarizing material (presenting another person's information as if it were your own).
