Tips for Summary Writing
Why is summary writing important?
To answer questions such as “what was the movie about?” “how did the game go?” and “what did I miss in class today?” you must be able to summarize. Your questioner doesn't want to know every line and action in the movie, every play in the game, or every word from class;the question asks you to select the important details and summarize them. Similarly, when you summarize a reading you need to be able to find the important data and then present it as clearly and concisely as possible.
Politicians and corporations employ people to read every newspaper and newsmagazine and summarize relevant stories and articles. The more concise the summary the better, yet if any major details are omitted the purpose of the summary is lost--its readers will be uninformed on key aspects of the news and may make embarrassing errors as a result. The summaries that you write in school are as important to your academic career as these summaries are to these politicians and business people, and accuracy and concision are just as important, too.
What is a summary?
· Condensed version of all or part of a longer written product.
· Conveys the main ideas of the author.
· Provides the reader a broad view of the written product.
What are the attributes of a good summary?
· Is concise.
· Is a straightforward presentation of information.
· Focuses on the author’s ideas, opinions, information, or story.
· Highlights the major points.
· Accurately reflects the author’s ideas. (Not the writer’s ideas, responses, or criticisms.)
· Is written in your own words.
What makes a good summary? See the eight attributes in the rubric below.
Content of Summary / Student Rating / Teacher Rating1. Topic – Is the topic of the original article stated? / yes no / yes no
2. Main idea/Opinion – Is the main idea of the article (or authors position) clearly stated? / yes no / yes no
3. Major Points/Reasons – Does the summary focus on the major points, reasons, and/or information from the article? / yes no / yes no
4. Accurate –Are the major points, reasons, and/or information accurate? / yes no / yes no
5. Own Words – Is the summary written in your own words? / yes no / yes no
6. Concise – Is the summary shorter than the original article? / yes no / yes no
7. Combined Ideas – Are some of the ideas combined into longer, more sophisticated sentence? / yes no / yes no
8. Understanding – Is the summary easy to understand? / yes no / yes no
Conventions
1. Handwriting – Is the handwriting legible? / yes no / yes no
2. Spelling – Are the words spelled correctly, particularly the words found in the article? / yes no / yes no
3. Capitalization – Is correct capitalization used including capitalization of the first word in the sentence and proper names of people, places, and things? / yes no / yes no
4. Punctuation –Is correct punctuation used including a period at the end of each telling sentence? / yes no / yes no
Anita L. Archer, Ph.D.
Study the example below and follow the same steps to help you write a good summary.
1. Write down the topic of the summary.
1. Make a list of important ideas.
2. Cross out any unnecessary or
weak ideas you listed above.
3. Connect ideas that could go
in one sentence.
4. Number the ideas in the order
that they will appear
in the paragraph as supporting
sentences.
5. Write a summary.
How penguins care for their young is fascinating and quite different from that of other animals. 1The female penguin lays an egg. 2However, the female penguin leaves soon after laying the egg and spends the winter in the sea. 3Meanwhile the male must take care of the egg. 4For two months, he places the egg on his feet under his belly. 5During this time, the male penguin doesn’t eat. 6Even after the baby penguin hatches, the male penguin continues to take care of the infant penguin.