What makes a good summary? Takes notes to remind yourself later!

What to include…  Just the facts…please!  Summaries contain the most important information, not trivial or repeated text.

But, what if it all seems important??  Look for the main idea of each paragraph.  Next, find one or two important details that support that main idea!

Delete unimportant information Is it more important to know that Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led the Civil Rights movement, or that he was born in 1929 in Atlanta? When summarizing, we just need the important information!

What if there’s a list?  If there is a list of information, condense it into one category. For example: I went to the grocery store and bought apples, bananas, blueberries, pears, and kiwi. How could you condense this information and not have the whole list?

Solution:  I went to the grocery store and bought a lot of fruit.  You try this one! Yesterday was really busy. We went to swim practice, to a movie, out to dinner, and then got ice cream.

Summarize this paragraph on your paper.  When I first brought my cat home from the Humane Society she was a mangy, pitiful animal. She was so thin that you could count her vertebrae just by looking at her. Apparently she was declawed by her previous owners, then abandoned or lost. Since she couldn't hunt, she nearly starved. Not only that, but she had an abscess on one hip. The vets at the Humane Society had drained it, but it was still scabby and without fur. She had a terrible cold, too. She was sneezing and sniffling and her meow was just a hoarse squeak. I never thought she would heal completely, but today she is a proud member of our family.

One suggestion:  This paragraph is about a girl who adopted a troubled cat from the Humane Society. The cat was mal- nourished, injured, and weak, but with proper love and care, it has grown into a healthy pet.

Always remember…  Just the facts!  Delete unimportant information.  Condense lists.  Look for the main idea. This is the same if your summary is for one paragraph, or for an entire essay!