Summary Writing

A common task for students at university is writing summaries of a variety of  written or other materials (usually written, but it could include such things as movies or interviews).   A summary is a condensed (reduced) version of an original text that presents its key ideas.

There are several key elements of a proper summary:

• It should be much shorter than the original text
• It should contain the central and  main supporting ideas of the original 
• It should be in your own words
• It should answer "who, what, where, when, why, and how?"
• It should not inject your own ideas or opinions (unless so required)
• It should refer in the first line to the title, author and source of the original text
• It should not include examples or details not relevant to the text as a whole
• It typically utilizes the present simple tense

It is critical that you have a complete understanding of the original text.    After reading it,  without looking at it write down its main ideas in outline or point-form style.      Explain it to someone and see if they understand your explanation.

The steps of writing a summary of a written text are:

1. Read and annotate the original text (note the main and supporting ideas).  You goal here is to understand and remember what you have written.
2. If possible,  orally summarize this to someone else.  (You could even record this).  This will show you how well you understand and remember the original and can communicate this.
3. In point form/outline form in your own words,  write down the central and supporting ideas.   
4. Compare your rough outline against the original,  careful that you have not plagiarized;
5. Using a summary framework (look here),   write the first draft of your summary in paragraph form.
6. Edit this draft yourself.
7. Find a peer to edit your second draft.
8. Submit the third draft.

Here are several sample summaries:

A sample literary summary:    ( from http://homepage.smc.edu/reading_lab/writing_a_summary.htm)

In the short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," author James Thurber humorously presents a character who fantasizes about himself as a hero enduring incredibly challenging circumstances. In his real life, Walter Mitty lives an ordinary, plain life; he is a husband under the control of an overbearing, critical wife.  Thurber uses lively dialogue to give readers an understanding of Mitty's character. The story takes place over a period of about twenty minutes; during this brief time, Mitty drives his wife to the hairdresser and runs errands that his wife has given him while he waits for her. In between his worrying that he is not doing what she wants him to do, he daydreams about himself as a great surgeon, brilliant repair technician, expert marksman, and brave military captain. This story shows that fantasy is often a good alternative to reality.


A sample non-fiction text summary:  (from http://englishcompost.wordpress.com/2011/02/15/summary-paragraph-example/ )

The full article can be found at  http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/nyregion/18semicolon.html?scp=1&sq=semicolon%20in%20unlikely%20places&st=cse

A Summary of a Semicolon Sighting

     Sam Roberts begins the New York Times article “Celebrating the Semicolon in a Most Unlikely Location” with the sighting of a semicolon used on a city transit placard. He then explains that the semicolon is a rarely employed, and when it is, it is often used incorrectly. He buttresses his claim with quotes from author Lynn Truss, linguist Geoffrey Nunberg, and even intellectual Noam Chomsky. Roberts also provides evidence of how semicolon misuse has resulted in loss of money and stature. Finally, Roberts notes how the semicolon might just live on through the use of emoticons. ;-)   

Some useful webpages about summary writing:

Guidelines for writing a summary  (provides an excellent framework)

Two sample college writing summaries

How to summarize a journal article

English4U Summary Writing

Summary Writing Practice (exercises with answers)