Writing a Summary: Guidelines
A good way to show your comprehension of what you have read it is to write a summary about the text. When you write a summary, you want to condense the main ideas of an essay, a story, or an article into 100 words or so, using all your own words and not quoting from the text. This sounds easy, but actually, it is challenging to condense a long article or story into 100 words. (Therefore, short articles require short summaries!)
One of the most important things you need to be able to do is identify the major points of the article. If you are summarizing a story, you need to be able to identify the major characters and actions of the plot. You don't want to waste time and space discussing unimportant details. If you are summarizing an article, you want to identify the author's thesis statement (overall main idea or point) of the article, as well as the essential “Five Ws and One H”: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How.
The next important thing you need to be able to do is restate the major points in your own words. This means you shouldn't copy sentences from the article or story. Any time you use someone else's words or ideas without giving them credit for those ideas you are plagiarizing! If you want to include a small part of the article into your summary, always put quotation marks (" ") around what you are copying directly. (Avoid copying too much directly from the article. One short quote in a summary is more than enough.)
Finally, when you summarize, you should not put in your own thoughts about the article or essay, nor should you add any opinions. Think about the news broadcasters you watch on TV. They report the news objectively, meaning they don't give their opinion of an event. In reporting, they summarize news stories for the viewer. This is what you want to do for your reader. (When you write what is called a commentary or response, you give your own opinions.)
Steps to Write a Summary
1. Read, Reread, and Annotate the Material: Carefully read the material, paying particular attention to the content and structure of the piece. Underline key words and take notes in the margins, paying special attention to:
1) the thesis or theme; 2) the primary elements, arguments, or findings; and 3) the primary detailsor supports for each point.
2. Write One-Sentence Summaries of Each Section of the Text: Identify the major sections of the reading, where the writer develops one idea before moving on to the next. In your own words, restate the main point developed in each section of the text and primary means of support the author provides.
3. Draft Your Summary: Introduce (in the first sentence/paragraph -- the introduction) the full title of the piece, the author's full name, and the topic of the reading.In the body of your summary, elaborate on the one sentence summaries, clearly explaining the important content of the reading.
4. Check the Rough Draft of Your Summary against the Source Text: Make Sure Your Summary Is:
- Comprehensive: you have included in your summary all of the author’s important ideas.
- Organized: you begin with an introduction and relate the facts in a logical order.
- Accurate:you have not misrepresented the author’s positions or findings through poor word choice or emphasis on unimportant facts; you have attempted to be objective and fair.
- Independent: your summary makes sense to someone who has not read the source (effective transition words help).
- Short: your summary is substantially shorter than the original and about 100 words or less. If your summary is too long, cut out words rather than ideas. Then look for non-essential information and delete it.
Writing the Commentary or Response: Guidelines
A response is a critique or evaluation of the author's text. Unlike the summary, it is composed of YOUR interpretation of the issues and personal opinions in relation to the text. A good commentary should combine analysis (determining the issue or “big picture”) and personal reaction; in other words, it examines the broader ideas contained in the text and explains why you agree or disagree with the text. A good response is somewhat persuasive; therefore, it should cite facts and examples from the reading, other sources, and personal experience that support your thinking.
Steps for Writing Good Responses
- State how the text relates to a bigger issue or theme:explain not only the issue, but how the text specifically relates to it.
- Explain your opinion:If you are asked to provide a reaction based on your own experience, you should try to analyze your reaction so that you can state why you responded as you did.
- Provide supportfor each of your conclusions/opinions:your personal beliefs, if they are to be considered valid, must be supported by examples and explanation. You may not simply say “The death penalty is wrong.” You must provide facts and logic that lead the reader to the conclusion that the death penalty is wrong. If you cannot back up a statement with facts and logic, leave the statement out!
*Your opinions and interpretations appear only in your response, not in your summary.
*Your response should be organized with an introduction or introductory statement, focused paragraphs, and a conclusion or concluding statement.
MLA Citations (in works cited format) for Sources Used on these Handouts:
Glazier, Teresa F. The Least You Should Know about English. 4th ed. New York: Holt, Rhinehart and Winston, 1994
Purdue OWL. "MLA Formatting and Style Guide." The Online Writing Lab at Purdue. 10 May 2008. Purdue University Writing Lab. 12 May 2008 <
Wilhoit, Stephen W. A Brief Guide to Writing from Readings.Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1997.