Writing an Effective Summary English 112 Writing/Research in the Disciplines

A summary’s goal is “to capture the overall gist of the text, to shorten the original without changing its meaning” (Kennedy and Kennedy 48). A summary is a significant reduction of the original source. A standard summary is typically one-third to one-quarter of the length of the original. A brief summary may be much shorter.

To write an effective summary, follow these guidelines: Preview the text and recall your prior knowledge Use close reading techniques Determine the main idea of the piece and write one sentence that captures that main idea. Identify the most important supporting ideas and connections and for each, write one sentence that communicates their gist Identify and imitate the organizational pattern of the text Identify and incorporate the rhetorical context and purpose Combine ideas in sentences and paragraphs Document your summary

Avoid these common problems . . .

To avoid plagiarizing, do not look at the source while you are composing the summary.

Use what you remember from the reading.

After you have written the summary, you can revisit the source to confirm details.

Do NOT express an opinion about the source, either to agree or disagree.

Do NOT open the summary with “In this article it says Do NOT open the summary with “In this article it says . . .” or “This article is about . . .”

Use this formula: Specific name of piece + strong action verb + main idea The Chronicle of Higher Education article “10 Things This Instructor Loves” explains the qualities that teachers love to see in college students.