(almost) EVERYTHING ABOUT SUMMARIZING Adapted from A Sequence for Academic Writing by L. Behrens, L Rosen and B. Beedles

WHAT IS A SUMMARY? A summary, basically, is the writing of an author’s or authors’ main points which support and explain his or her claim and/or central idea. A summary, basically, is the writing of an author’s or authors’ main points which support and explain his or her claim and/or central idea. A summary should, ideally, reflect the order in which these are given, but reorganization is sometimes necessary. A summary should, ideally, reflect the order in which these are given, but reorganization is sometimes necessary. An explanatory essay will not show the opinions of the person writing the summary. An explanatory essay will not show the opinions of the person writing the summary.

USEFULNESS: PROFESSIONALLY Professionally you may need to summarize procedures, policies, proposals, meetings, memos, reports, legal briefs, and so on.

USEFULNESS : ACADEMIC As a writer summarizing: As a writer summarizing: forces you to put concepts into your own words, thus aiding you in understanding them. forces you to put concepts into your own words, thus aiding you in understanding them. develops general writing habits since a good summary is clear, coherent, objective, concise and accurate. develops general writing habits since a good summary is clear, coherent, objective, concise and accurate.

USEFULNESS: AS A SCHOLAR As a scholar: you may be asked to compare concepts, for example, in psychology or methods in science. You will need to be able to summarize the main points in order to do this. you may be asked to compare concepts, for example, in psychology or methods in science. You will need to be able to summarize the main points in order to do this. for a research paper, you will need to summarize material in order to support your claim and to answer counterarguments. for a research paper, you will need to summarize material in order to support your claim and to answer counterarguments.

USEFULNESS AS A READER As a reader of a summary: Summaries help a reader who has not read, is not familiar with, or does not remember the material.

CRITICAL READING: STEP 1 IDENTIFY THE SOURCE: IDENTIFY THE SOURCE: For example, who is the writer? Is the article from a scholarly journal or a popular one? NOTE THE TITLE AND SUBTITLE. NOTE THE TITLE AND SUBTITLE. IDENTIFY THE OVERALL POINT BEING MADE. IDENTIFY THE OVERALL POINT BEING MADE. IDENTIFY THE SUBPOINTS. IDENTIFY THE SUBPOINTS.

CRITICAL READING CON’T. IDENTIFY BETWEEN POINTS,EXAMPLES AND COUNTERARGUMENTS. IDENTIFY BETWEEN POINTS,EXAMPLES AND COUNTERARGUMENTS.  Examples are normally considered details and therefore omitted. WATCH FOR TRANSITIONS WITHIN AND BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS. WATCH FOR TRANSITIONS WITHIN AND BETWEEN PARAGRAPHS. This will help to identify the above. READ ACTIVELY: WRITE NOTES and QUESTIONS IN THE MARGIN, UNDERLINE KEY IDEAS. READ ACTIVELY: WRITE NOTES and QUESTIONS IN THE MARGIN, UNDERLINE KEY IDEAS.

HOW TO WRITE A SUMMARY- STEP 2 READ THE MATERIAL CAREFULLY. READ THE MATERIAL CAREFULLY. RE-READ AND DIVIDE THE PASSAGE INTO SECTIONS OR STAGES OF THOUGHT. RE-READ AND DIVIDE THE PASSAGE INTO SECTIONS OR STAGES OF THOUGHT. WRITE ONE-SENTENCE SUMMARIES OF EACH STAGE OR THOUGHT. WRITE ONE-SENTENCE SUMMARIES OF EACH STAGE OR THOUGHT. DECIDE WHAT INFORMATION CAN BE OMITTED (e.g. unnecessary examples). DECIDE WHAT INFORMATION CAN BE OMITTED (e.g. unnecessary examples). DECIDE WHAT INFORMATION CAN BE GENRALIZED (e.g. George Bush and Bill Clinton might be generalized as “recent presidents”). DECIDE WHAT INFORMATION CAN BE GENRALIZED (e.g. George Bush and Bill Clinton might be generalized as “recent presidents”).

WRITE THE INTRODUCTION-STEP 3 THE FIRST SENTENCE SHOULD STATE THE AUTHOR’S NAME AND THE NAME OF THE BOOK OR ARTICLE. THE FIRST SENTENCE SHOULD STATE THE AUTHOR’S NAME AND THE NAME OF THE BOOK OR ARTICLE. THE NEXT SENTENCE SHOULD CONTAIN THE OVERALL IDEA. THE NEXT SENTENCE SHOULD CONTAIN THE OVERALL IDEA. THE LAST SENTENCE SHOULD CONTAIN THE CLAIM (THESIS STATEMENT) OF THE AUTHOR. THE LAST SENTENCE SHOULD CONTAIN THE CLAIM (THESIS STATEMENT) OF THE AUTHOR.

THE THESIS STATEMENT The thesis should express the author’s main claim as you have determined from the preceding steps. The thesis should express the author’s main claim as you have determined from the preceding steps. For persuasive texts, summarize the author’s conclusion in a sentence. For persuasive texts, summarize the author’s conclusion in a sentence. For descriptive texts, indicate the subject of the description and its key features. For descriptive texts, indicate the subject of the description and its key features.

WRITE THE FIRST DRAFT-STEP 4 Begin each new paragraph with a topic sentence which gives the point of one of the main stages of thought. Begin each new paragraph with a topic sentence which gives the point of one of the main stages of thought. In the paragraph, write the main support for this stage of thought. In the paragraph, write the main support for this stage of thought.

TRANSITIONS The use of transitions in your paragraphs and between paragraphs is paramount. They are not something ‘extra’ like a seat-warmer for a car. They are, in effect, the steering wheel that guides the reader from one thought to another.

CONCLUSION-STEP 5 Write the conclusion. Remember: THIS IS THE AUTHOR’S CONCLUSION NOT YOURS. Remember: THIS IS THE AUTHOR’S CONCLUSION NOT YOURS. Note: This may be a restatement of the author’s thesis statement.

ACCURACY & COMPLETENESS- STEP 6 CHECK YOUR SUMMARY AGAINST THE ORIGNAL TEXT AND MAKE WHATEVER ADJUSTMENTS NECESSARY. CHECK YOUR SUMMARY AGAINST THE ORIGNAL TEXT AND MAKE WHATEVER ADJUSTMENTS NECESSARY.

REVISE YOUR SUMMARY-STEP 7 INSERT TRANSITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES TO ENSURE COHERENCE. CHECK FOR STYLE. AVOID A SERIES OF SHORT, CHOPPY SENTENCES. INSERT TRANSITIONAL WORDS AND PHRASES TO ENSURE COHERENCE. CHECK FOR STYLE. AVOID A SERIES OF SHORT, CHOPPY SENTENCES. COMBINE SENTENCE FOR A SMOOTH, LOGICAL FLOW OF IDEAS. COMBINE SENTENCE FOR A SMOOTH, LOGICAL FLOW OF IDEAS. CHECK GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, AND SPELLING CHECK GRAMMAR, PUNCTUATION, AND SPELLING

FINAL DETAILS SEE THE WEBCT (ESSAY ONE), ON HOW TO FORMAT THE FIRST PAGE (e.g. your name, page numbers, course and so on). SEE THE WEBCT (ESSAY ONE), ON HOW TO FORMAT THE FIRST PAGE (e.g. your name, page numbers, course and so on). WHEN YOU FINISH STAPLE THE PAGES. WHEN YOU FINISH STAPLE THE PAGES. DON’T PANIC - IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS YOU CAN: SEE OR ME, GO TO THE WRITING LAB, DON’T PANIC - IF YOU ARE HAVING PROBLEMS YOU CAN: SEE OR ME, GO TO THE WRITING LAB, TALK TO OR A CLASSMATE. TALK TO OR A CLASSMATE.

WE’RE HERE TO HELP

THE END