How-to-Write-a-Summary

HowtoWriteaSummary•Asummaryiscondensedversionofalargerreading.Asummaryisnotarewriteoftheoriginalpieceanddoesnothavetobelongnorshoulditbelong.Towriteasummary,useyourownwordstoexpressbrieflythemainideaandrelevantdetailsofthepieceyouhaveread.Yourpurposeinwritingthesummaryistogivethebasicideasoftheoriginalreading.Whatwasitaboutandwhatdidtheauthorwanttocommunicate?Whilereadingtheoriginalwork,takenoteofwhatorwhoisthefocusandasktheusualquestionsthatreportersuse:Who?What?When?Where?Why?How?Usingthesequestionstoexaminewhatyouarereadingcanhelpyoutowritethesummary.Sometimes,thecentralideaofthepieceisstatedintheintroductionorfirstparagraph,andthesupportingideasofthiscentralideaarepresentedonebyoneinthefollowingparagraphs.Alwaysreadtheintroductoryparagraphthoughtfullyandlookforathesisstatement.Findingthethesisstatementislikefindingakeytoalockeddoor.Frequently,however,thethesis,orcentralidea,isimpliedorsuggested.Thus,youwillhavetoworkhardertofigureoutwhattheauthorwantsreaderstounderstand.Useanyhintsthatmayshedlightonthemeaningofthepiece:payattentiontothetitleandanyheadingsandtotheopeningandclosinglinesofparagraphs.Inwritingthesummary,letyourreaderknowthepiecethatyouaresummarizing.Identifythetitle,authorandsourceofthepiece.Youmaywanttousethisformula:InTitleofthePiece(sourceanddateofpiece),authorshowsthat:centralideaofthepiece.Theauthorsupportsthemainideabyusing_____________________andshowingthatsamplesummary•IntheshortstoryTheSecretLifeofWalterMitty,authorJamesThurberhumorouslypresentsacharacterwhofantasizesabouthimselfasaheroenduringincrediblychallengingcircumstances.Inhisreallife,WalterMittylivesanordinary,plainlife;heisahusbandunderthecontrolofanoverbearing,criticalwife.ThurberuseslivelydialoguetogivereadersanunderstandingofMitty'scharacter.Thestorytakesplaceoveraperiodofabouttwentyminutes;duringthisbrieftime,Mittydriveshiswifetothehairdresserandrunserrandsthathiswifehasgivenhimwhilehewaitsforher.Inbetweenhisworryingthatheisnotdoingwhatshewantshimtodo,hedaydreamsabouthimselfasagreatsurgeon,brilliantrepairtechnician,expertmarksman,andbravemilitarycaptain.Thisstoryshowsthatfantasyisoftenagoodalternativetoreality.Remember:•Donotrewritetheoriginalpiece.•Keepyoursummaryshort.•Useyourownwording.•Refertothecentralandmainideasoftheoriginalpiece.•Readwithwho,what,when,where,whyandhowquestionsinmind.•Donotputinyouropinionoftheissueortopicdiscussedintheoriginalpiece.Often,instructorsaskstudentstoputtheiropinionsinaparagraphseparatefromthesummary.TipsforHowtoWriteaSummary1–Readtheentiredocumentthrough.Thiswillgiveyouamorecompleteunderstandingofitsmeaning.Whilereading,onaseparatepieceofpaper,makeanotationofthesubjectbeingwrittenabout.Noticethatthesubjectshouldbespokenofatleastinthebeginningandtheendingofthepiece.Ifyoudonotfindthisinformationinitsproperplace,notethatalso.Itwilldetermineifthewriterhasmadetheirpointintheend.Havingreadthroughonce,askyourself:Howdoesthestorybegin?Howdoesthemiddlesupportandmovetheideaalong?Howdoestheendingfit?2–Assumingyouhaveaworkingcopyofthedocument,andnottheoriginal,gobackthroughandhighlightallpointscrucialtothethemeortothesubjectofthewriting.Paynoattentiontotrivialinformation.Inlearninghowtowriteasummary,criticallyanalyzeeachparagraphandnotewhennewtopicsareintroducedtosupportthestory.Makenoteofonlythemostimportant,andtheymaybefew.3-Whenyouhavefinishedtheabovesteps,lookonlyatyournotes,andwriteaoneortwo-sentencestatementthatexplainswhatthestoryisabout.Thisstepisaloteasiertodowithashorterstoryorarticle.Butlearninghowtowriteasummaryusingthesestepsappliestoeverythinginwriting,includingbook-lengthstories.4–Next,listthemainpointsyou’vehighlightedinordertoshowtheflowoftheplotorarticletopicandpurpose.5–You’realmosttothebottomofthelistofpointsinhowtowriteasummary.Nowwritewhatyoubelievethestoryorarticleisabout.Useonlythemainpointsthatyouhavehighlighted.Writeinyourownvoiceorterminology.Donotwritewhatisalreadyinthematerial.6–Thelaststepinhowtowriteasummaryiswritingtheconclusion.Statewhatyoufeelwasthepurposeofthestoryorarticle,orwhattheauthoraccomplishedinthewriting.Donotinjectanyofyourownthoughts.Inotherwords,donotstatehowyoufeelthestoryshouldhaveended.Donotstatehowyoumighthavewrittenit.Onlystatehowtheauthorbroughtthewritingtoconclusion.7–Aswithanythingwritten,onceyoursummaryisfinished,proofreadandedit.Becertainthatanystrangespellingandterminologyusedbytheoriginalauthorofthepieceareincludedinyoursummary.OneofthejoysoflivinginHawaiiiswearingaMuu-muu.WhenIgooutonanerrand,ifI’mwearingshortsandatee,IchangeintoaMuu-muuwhenI’mhomeandreadytowriteagain.Well,IevengoshoppinginaMuu-muuiftheideastrikesme.I’maKama`ainatotheseIslands,atransplant,andhaveyettofullyadoptsomeofthemorerelaxedlocalcustoms.TheHawaiianMuu-muuasaWritingAidYourMuseneedscomfortandlessdistractiontoo.Itriedsittingatmycomputerwearingstreetclotheslikeshorts,jeans,orevenadress.DoingsoremindedmeofthediscomfortIfeltwhenwearingsleeksuitstoanofficewhereone’sgroomingandappearancewassoimportant.Mostwaistbandsaretoobindingwhensittingtowrite,actuallymakingmefeellikeI