The Art of Summarizing

What is Summary “Your goal in summarizing…is to state the work’s main ideas and key points simply, briefly, and accurately in your own words” (Hacker, 2012, p.72). Report, don’t evaluate.

Summary vs. Paraphrase Similarities  Both are written in your own words  Both accurately reflect the source  Both are cited.  Both accurately reflect the original Differences  Summary distills the text to the key ideas; paraphrases reflect the main ideas.  Summary includes few to no details whereas paraphrase can.  Summary is much shorter than the original; paraphrases are often a similar length (or shorter/longer)  Summary usually maintains the order of the source; paraphrases should put ideas in a different order/sentence structure

Purpose & Audience These two elements affect your strategy when it comes to summarizing. Consider how you will use it in your own work:  Is it a stand-alone piece (precis)?  Does it preface your paper (abstract)?  Does it provide context (intro; throughout; lit review)?  Does it recap (conclusion)?  Is it part of your bibliography (annobib)?

Getting started 1. Locate the article’s main claim (thesis) 2. Locate the main supporting claims & concluding point 3. Consider the rhetorical situation* and the rhetorical moves of the author * see:

Putting it in writing  Open with reference to text, author, and the central point. For example: In his article “Activism Vs. Slacktivism,” Dennis McCafferty (2011) examined whether social media and the Internet, for all its mainstream media attention, truly effects meaningful social change.  Maintain a neutral tone & objectively state the major points.  Use third-person point of view  Use signal phrases and well-chosen verbs that reflect the rhetorical moves & stance of the author E.G. Snow criticizes, Snow argues, Snow compares…

Putting it in writing  Use your own words; avoid quotations as much as possible  Be concise: make every word count.  Focus on major points, not lesser points or details  Cite appropriately both in-text and bibliographically

Further tips  Retain the approach and emphasis of the original  Remember to include final conclusion  Remember your summary has its own rhetorical situation:  Needs to be well-written  Needs to reflect its own purpose and audience

Student Sample (MLA): In “Feminist Thinking in Composition and Literature Classes,” Judith Mitchell discusses the influence of feminism on the way we compose and interpret texts. She identifies feminist thought as a means to critically engage gender and sexual biases inherent in literature and society. She shows that this feminist approach has discredited the binary classification of individuals, diversified the literature we study, and affected modern literary analysis (45). She concludes by commenting on the importance of gender awareness in composition, with respect to the immense cultural power of writing. (88 words) [MLA citation would follow below]

Applying APA  When citing a source in-text  Mention the year with the author the first time you name the author in the paragraph  Subsequent references of the same author in that paragraph do not require the year  Parenthetical citations are required to have author, and year: Research showed that this feminist approach...(Mitchell, 2008). Mitchell showed that this feminist approach…(2008). Mitchell (2008) showed that this feminist approach...  Including page numbers is not required unless it is a direct quote*; however, it is encouraged where it would help a reader locate the source in a complex text: (Mitchell, 2008, p.45)  Use past tense when discussing /summarizing previous research *see: include-page-numbers-in-apa-style-citations.html