1. Summary

2. Why Summarize?
In academic writing, you are not simply expressing your own thoughts, ideas, and arguments; you are expressing them in response to what others have already said about the subject you are discussing.
You are entering into a conversation.

3. How Do I Write a Good Summary?
If you disagree with an author, work to understand his/her point of view, and represent it fairly.
The goal of summary is to represent the author’s main points, not your own ideas.

4. Effective Summary Criteria
Avoid Giving Too Much Detail
The purpose of a summary is to give the basic idea of the text, so avoid going into too much detail while still giving your audience a thorough explanation of the text. Some effective techniques to avoid giving too much detail are:

5. 1. Avoid Giving Too Much Detail
Do not include your opinion. Your summary will become wordy and stray from the author’s purpose. Focus on giving an unbiased review of the author’s work.

6. 1. Avoid Giving Too Much Detail
Avoid using adjectives like “very” or “excellent.” These words not only add opinion, but are also unnecessary.
E.g.,: “Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death is an excellent book about a very important issue” can be better summarized as Neil Postman’s Amusing Ourselves to Death discusses common issues in the media.”

7. 1. Avoid Giving Too Much Detail
Rarely use direct quotes from the author; do not use long quotes. Usually rely on paraphrase and summary rather than direct quote.

8. Effective Summary Criteria
2. Attribute Ideas to the Author Correctly
You must give credit where credit is due. Therefore, you must attribute the author’s ideas to him/her so it doesn’t seem like the ideas you are relaying are your own or that you’re plagiarizing. Some tips to make sure you effectively attribute are:

9. 2. Attribute Ideas to the Author
Early in your summary, include
The name of the text, formatted correctly (in quotation marks or italicized and capitalized correctly)
The author’s full name, spelled correctly (give author’s full name once, then use only last name)
The original source and, most likely, publication date (make sure the source’s title is formatted correctly)

10. 2. Attribute Ideas to the Author
Use signal phrases (“According to Young” or “As Jones argues”)
However, be careful not to start every sentence exactly the same way. Examples: “Stelter argues that…” or “Because of his belief that X is happening, Stelter also believes Y”

11. 2. Attribute Ideas to the Author
Be respectful of the author’s ideas and opinions. A summary is not the place to discuss your views on the article.

12. Effective Summary Criteria
3. Don’t Bore Your Readers
You don’t want your summary to bore your audience. Your writing should be organized, polished, and well written. Some things to consider while writing your summary are:

13. 3. Don’t Bore Your Readers
Do not just list the author’s main points (i.e. “First the author says this. Then, he says this. Finally, he says that…”) Do use examples from the text to support the main idea.

14. 3 .Don’t Bore Your Readers
Use signal verbs to fit the action you are summarizing. For example, instead of says, states, or writes, use verbs such as agrees, argues, or acknowledges.

15. 3. Don’t Bore Your Readers
Transition between sentences.
E.g., “Postman acknowledges that our generation is bombarded by the media. For example, he uses charts to show how much television our generation watches compared to the generation before us. He also argues that the media influences our daily decisions and deflects us from thinking for ourselves.”

16. So…to recap…

17. Elements of an Effective Summary
Do not:
Include your opinion
Use unnecessary/opinionated words like “very” and “excellent”
Use lengthy direct quotes
Bore your readers by simply listing the author’s main points
Do:
Include the author’s, text’s, and source’s (book, magazine, etc.) names
Use signal phrases to attribute ideas to the author
Be respectful of the author’s ideas
Use active signal verbs
Transition between ideas/sentences