Summary writing

Summary Writing

Characteristics of a Good Summary: A good summary has the following characteristics:

►Proper Citation: The summary begins by citing the title, author, source, and, in

the case of a magazine or journal article, the date of publication and the text.

►Thesis Statement: The overall thesis of the text selection is the author’s

central theme. There are several aspects to an effective thesis statement:

►Supporting Ideas: The author supports his/her thesis with supporting ideas.

►Grammar and the Mechanics of Writing: Grammar and related concerns

ensure that, as a writer, you communicate clearly to your reader.

►Length: The length of a summary depends on the length of the original document.

You will write a first draft of your summary that you will hand in to the teacher at the end of class.

• This summary should be 400-450 words long.
• It should respect the rules of summary writing as explained in the PROCESS part of this WebQuest
• It should be computer-typed using an English spellcheck.  
• It should follow MLA presentation rules: go see https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/13/
• It should be an original creation

1. Choose your article.

Begin by choosing an article to summarize.  For a 400-450 word summary, you should choose an article that is at least 1200 words long but you may go as low as 800 words for the purpose of this assignment. Do not go under 800 words.

If you are not sure about the length of your article, go to EBSCO HOST and type in the name of your article.  http://bibli.cegepmontpetit.ca/#ongletsTop|1

2. Read the article to understand the main ideas.

3. Read the article again while paying attention to the struture of the article.  At this point, you should underline important arguments for each paragraph or section, including the main idea or thesis.

There are several aspects to an effective thesis statement:

•  It comprises two parts:

1.  the topic or general subject matter of the text;
2.  the author’s major assertion, comment, or position on the topic

• This central theme is summarized clearly and accurately in a one sentence thesis statement.
• The thesis statement does not contain specific details discussed in thetext.
• The thesis statement is stated at the beginning of the summary.

4. Paraphrase the thesis. 

• Rewrite the thesis in your own words.
• Compare your thesis to the original to make sure the ideas are the same and the words are your own. Ask your teacher if you are not sure about this.

5. Paraphrase the main idea of each section or paragraph. 

• include all important details for each section
• provide some examples from each section

6. Connect your paraphrases together to make one paragraph

• make sure your text reads well
• connect your ideas with transition words
• make sure you mention the author at the beginning and throughout your summary

7. EDIT your paragraph

• before giving in your rough draft, make sure you have spellchecked your text for basic syntactical, grammatical and spelling errors.
• For content, you can ask someone to read your text to see if it makes sense.

This is the evaluation grid for the summary

1. Content: /10 - include all the important ideas and details from the original article.

2. Grammar /10 - make sure your text is proof-read for syntax, grammar, and punctuation

3. Vocabulary /10 - make sure your text is proof-read for word errors and spelling mistakes.

4. structure/paraphrase /10 - paraphrase completely and adequately.  You should not use quotations. 

5. Self-correction /5 - give a second version of the summary based on your teacher's feedback

6. Presentation /5 - Double space (or 1.5). No cover page (see MLA cover page). And include a works cited (bibliography).

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/12/

Here is a link to a site that recaps the main points of summary writing and show you an example. 

https://depts.washington.edu/owrc/Handouts/How%20to%20Write%20a%20Summary.pdf

Good luck!