FAQ

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Writing a Summary

1. Read the passage carefully. Determine its structure. Identify the author's purpose in writing. (This will help you distinguish between more important and less important information.)

2. Reread. This time divide the passage into sections or stages of thought. The author's use of paragraphing will often be a useful guide. Label, on the passage itself, each section or stage of thought. Underline key ideas and terms.

3. Write one-sentence summaries, on a separate sheet of paper, of each stage of thought.

4. Write a thesis: a one-sentence summary of the entire passage. The thesis should express the central idea of the passage as you have determined it from the preceding steps. You may find it useful to keep in mind the information contained in the lead sentence or paragraph of most newspaper stories-the what, who, why, where, when, and how of the matter. For persuasive passages, summarize in a sentence the author's conclusion. For descriptive passages, indicate the subject of the description and its key feature(s). Note: In some cases (a suitable thesis may already be in the original passage. If so, you may want to quote it directly in your summary.

5. Write the first draft of your summary by (1) combining the thesis with your list of one-sentence summaries or (2) combining the thesis with one-sentence summaries plus significant details from the passage. In either case, eliminate repetition and less important information. Disregard minor details or generalize them (e.g., Reagan and Clinton might be generalized as "recent presidents"). Use as few words as possible to convey the main ideas. 

6. Check your summary against the original passage and make whatever adjustments are necessary for accuracy and completeness.

7. Revise your summary, inserting transitional words and phrases where necessary to ensure coherence. Check for style. Avoid a series of short, choppy sentences. Combine sentences for a smooth logical flow of ideas. Check for grammatical correctness, punctuation, and spelling. 

   (Adapted from Behrens, Laurence and Leonard J. Rosen. Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum, 5th ed. New York Harper Collins, 1996.)

Summary v. Interpretation

Paraphrasing

How to Paraphrase

• Use synonyms for key words in the original.

• Do not simply substitute a form of a word in the original.

• Do not use any three successive words from the original. 

• Rearrange or alter the sentence structure of the original.

• Fairly represent the author's idea as it is conveyed in the original. 

Example 1
From Jessica Mitford's Kind and Usual Punishment, page 9: 

ORIGINAL: 
The character and mentality of the keepers may be of more importance in understanding prisons than the character and mentality of the kept. 

PLAGIARISM
But the character of prison officials (the keepers) is more important in understanding prisons than the character of prisoners (the kept). 

PARAPHRASE: 
One critic of the penal system maintains that we may be able to learn more about prisons from the psychology of the prison officials than from that of the prisoners (Mitford 9). 

Example 2
From Rachel Carson's The Edge of the Sea, page 30: 

ORIGINAL:
The records of paleontology provide evidence of the changing shapes of continents and the changing flow of the ocean currents, for these earlier earth patterns account for the otherwise mysterious present distribution of many plants and animals.

PLAGIARISM:
The mysterious distribution of animals and plants is accounted for by changing continent shapes and changing flow of ocean currents. 

PARAPHRASE:
According to Rachel Carson, geologists can account for why particular plants and animals are found at particular places on the planet by studying ancient fossils which indicate that land masses altered as ocean currents shifted (30). 

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