S UMMARY R EPORTS 3 rd Trimester Junior English

P URPOSE OF A S UMMARY R EPORT A summary is a condensed version of a longer document.

W HEN WRITING A SUMMARY … Keep the general information leave out all specifics except the most important details Separate general information from specific Prior to writing, make judgments about what information is important enough to keep base the length on the needs and expectations of the audience

T O WRITE A SUMMARY … Include the thesis, or the main point, of the original in your first sentence. Make it clear what you are summarizing early in the summary. If there is an author/title introduce it in the first sentence. Decide if your audience needs a few details or only the main ideas. For longer summaries, pick out only those details that are especially important. For short summaries, leave out all details.

T O W RITE A S UMMARY Write in present tense. Be sure to paraphrase, not copy word for word. Provide adequate transitions to keep the summary from sounding choppy. End on the same idea as the original.

W HEN WRITING A SUMMARY DO NOT… DO NOT include too many details. DO NOT give an opinion about the information in the summary. A summary should be an objective presentation of what you read or what happened.

F ORMAT Your summary must include: A heading (title) centered at the top of the page. One sentence thesis statement that functions as the “intro paragraph” and describes what will be summarized. Body paragraphs with only the basic information that relates to your thesis statement. Paragraphs may be short (4-5 sentences) as long as they contain the essential info.