writing summaries essays

Writing the Summary Essay: A summary essay should be organized so that others can understand the source or evaluate your comprehension of it.  The following format works well:  Introduction (usually one paragraph) 1.    Contains a one-sentence thesis statement that sums up the main point of the source.          This thesis statement is not your main point; it is the main point of your source. Usually, though, you have to write this statement rather than quote it from the source text.  It is a one-sentence summary of the entire text that your essay summarizes. 2.    Also introduces the text to be summarized:             (i) Gives the title of the source (following the citation guidelines of whatever style sheet you are using);             (ii)  Provides the name of the author of the source;             (ii)  Sometimes also provides pertinent background information about the author of the source or about the text to be summarized. The introduction should not offer your own opinions or evaluation of the text you are summarizing.  Body (one or more paragraphs): This paraphrases and condenses the original piece.  In your summary, be sure that you: 1.     Include important data but omit minor points; 2.     Include one or more of the author’s examples or illustrations (these will bring your summary to life); 3.     Do not include your own ideas, illustrations, metaphors, or interpretations.  Look              upon yourself as a summarizing machine; you are simply repeating what the source text says, in fewer words and in your own words.  But the fact that you are using your own words does not mean that you are including your own ideas.  Conclusion There is customarily no conclusion to a summary essay. When you have summarized the source text, your summary essay is finished.  Do not add your own concluding paragraph unless your teacher specifically tells you to.
The Writing@CSU server will be offline for server maintenance, February 11th, beginning at 1:00 pm Mountain time. The downtime should last from one to two hours. We apologize for the inconvenience. The Summary: A summary is a concise paraphrase of all the main ideas in an essay. It cites the author and the title (usually in the first sentence); it contains the essay's thesis and supporting ideas; it may use direct quotation of forceful or concise statements of the author's ideas; it will NOT usually cite the author's examples or supporting details unless they are central to the main idea. Most summaries present the major points in the order that the author made them and continually refer back to the article being summarized (i.e. Damon argues that. or Goodman also points out that. ). The summary should take up no more than one-third the length of the work being summarized. The Response: A response is a critique or evaluation of the author's essay. Unlike the summary, it is composed of YOUR opinions in relation to the article being summarized. It examines ideas that you agree or disagree with and identifies the essay's strengths and weaknesses in reasoning and logic, in quality of supporting examples, and in organization and style. A good response is persuasive; therefore, it should cite facts, examples, and personal experience that either refutes or supports the article you're responding to, depending on your stance. Two Typical Organizational Formats for Summary/Response Essays: 1. Present the summary in a block of paragraphs, followed by the response in a block: Intro/thesis Summary (two to three paragraphs) Agreement (or disagreement) Disagreement (or agreement) Conclusion Note: Some essays will incorporate both agreement and disagreement in a response, but this is not mandatory. 2. Introduce the essay with a short paragraph that includes your thesis. Then, each.
Drew University On-Line Resources for Writers Summary Writing WARNING:  Good summaries are harder to write than you may think -- bad summaries are easy! Summary skills in college The ability to write an effective summary might be the most important writing skill a college student can possess. You need to be able to summarize before you can be successful at most of the other kinds of writing that will be demanded of you in college, and it is an important part of note taking, too. The links below will help you master the various kinds of summary writing that you may be called upon to complete in college. Summary skills in daily life 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.   Summary skills after college   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 college 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.   The key features of a summary   (1)  it is shorter than the source, (2)  it repeats the ideas of the source in different phrases and sentences.    Obviously, you cannot write a good.
Summary: This handout is intended to help you become more comfortable with the uses of and distinctions among quotations, paraphrases, and summaries. This handout compares and contrasts the three terms, gives some pointers, and includes a short excerpt that you can use to practice these skills. Contributors:Dana Lynn Driscoll, Allen BrizeeLast Edited: 2012-02-17 10:36:48 The following is a sample essay you can practice quoting, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Examples of each task are provided at the end of the essay for further reference.Here is the citation for Sipher's essay:      Sipher, Roger. “So That Nobody Has to Go to School If They Don't Want To.” The New York Times. 19 December 1977. Page 31. Print. So That Nobody Has To Go To School If They Don't Want To by Roger Sipher A decline in standardized test scores is but the most recent indicator that American education is in trouble. One reason for the crisis is that present mandatory-attendance laws force many to attend school who have no wish to be there. Such children have little desire to learn and are so antagonistic to school that neither they nor more highly motivated students receive the quality education that is the birthright of every American. The solution to this problem is simple: Abolish compulsory-attendance laws and allow only those who are committed to getting an education to attend. This will not end public education. Contrary to conventional belief, legislators enacted compulsory-attendance laws to legalize what already existed. William Landes and Lewis Solomon, economists, found little evidence that mandatory-attendance laws increased the number of children in school. They found, too, that school systems have never effectively enforced such laws, usually because of the expense involved. There is no contradiction between the assertion that compulsory attendance has had little effect on the.