When to Summarize?

To show how an author's ideas support your argument.

To argue against the author's ideas
To condense a lot of information in a short space.

Good Summaries:
1. Tell the main idea clearly.
2. Are written in your own style.
3. Are shorter than the original document.
4. Explain all of the important notions/arguments.
5. Condense a lot of information.

1. Find Main Idea

In a summary, you want to identify the main idea of the article and put this information in
your own words. Plan to read the article several times. In the first reading you want to get the
general notion of the essay. Write that down after you finish reading. That will be the thesis
of your summary. Include the author's first and last name and the title of the article.

To figure out the central idea, you should ask yourself why this essay was written and
published. Clues to help determine this are:

1. The title.
2. The place it was published (which can help you determine the intended audience).
3. The date of publication.
4. The type of essay.
5. The tone of the piece.
6. Notions which seem to be repeated throughout.

Example: In "Bypass Cure," James Johnson argues that new research suggests that the best
cure for diabetes is the surgical solution of a Gastric Bypass.

Think of the thesis of your summary as a caption on a picture. Example: In spite of having
lost most of the season due to an injury, Jim Johnson beat his own record and won the meet,
qualifying him for the state finals. | Source

2. Identify Important Arguments

Now you want to do a second reading. This time, read more carefully to get the other
important arguments. Here is how to do that:

1. Read on a paper copy or use a computer program that lets you annotate.
2. Underline the topic sentence of each paragraph. If no one sentence tells the main
concept, then write a summary of the main point in the margin.
3. Write that sentence in your own words on the side of the page or on another piece of
paper.
 4. When you finish the article, read all the topic sentences you marked or wrote down.
5. In your own words, rewrite those main ideas.
6. Use complete sentences with good transition words.
7. Be sure you don't use the same words, phrases, or sentence structure of the original.
8. You may find you need to leave out some of the unimportant details.
9. Your summary should be as short and concise as possible.

3. Write Your Summary

1. Your summary should start with the authors name and the title of the work. Here are
several ways to do this correctly:

In "Cats Don't Dance," John Wood explains...

John Wood, in "Cats Don't Dance," explains...
According to John Wood in "Cats Don't Dance"...
As John Wood vividly elucidates in his ironic story "Cats Don't Dance"...
John Wood claims in his ironic story "Cats Don't Dance" that...

2. Look for the thesis sentence or write out a thesis sentence that summarizes the main idea.
Underline a topic sentence for each paragraph or write a sentence in the margins or on
notebook paper for each paragraph. Combine that thesis with the title and author into your
first sentence of the summary.

Example first sentence: In "Cats Don't Dance," John Wood explains that in spite of the fact
that cats are popular pets who seem to like us, felines are not really good at any activities that
require cooperation with someone else, whether that is dancing or sharing.

3. The rest of your summary should tell some of the central concepts that are used to support
the thesis. Be sure to restate these ideas in your own words. Make your summary as short and
concise as possible. Condense sentences and leave out unimportant details and examples.
Stick to the important points.

Using Author Tags

In writing your summary, you need to clearly state the name of the author and the name of
the article, essay, book, or another source.

Example: According to Mary Johnson in her essay, "Cats Make Good Pets," the feline
domestic companion is far superior to the canine one.

You also need to continue to make it clear to the reader when you are still talking about the
ideas in that author's work. To do this, use "author tags," which is either the last name of the
author or a pronoun (he or she) to show you are still discussing that person's ideas.

Author Tags Verb List

said explain comments
persuades suggests understands
 said explain comments
argues reminds helps us understand
elucidates presents intimates
concludes presents the idea creates the impression
criticizes defines highlights
concedes shows states
thinks admits lists
notes analyzes disagrees
observes points out emphasizes
discusses identifies implies
insists responds shows
proves rejects suggests

Tips and Examples

1. When you refer to the author after the first time, you always use the last name.

Johnson comments...
According to Wood's perspective...
As Jones implies in the story about...
Toller criticizes...
In conclusion, Kessler elaborates about...

2. Use different verbs and adverbs. Your choice of author tag verbs and adverbs can
contribute to the way you analyze the article. Certain words will create a specific tone. See
the tables for a selection of different word choices.

3. You don't need to use an author's title (Dr., Professor, or Mr. and Mrs.) but it does help to
add their credentials to show they are an authoritative source.

Examples:

In "Global Warming isn't Real," Steven Collins, a professor at the University of

Michigan, claims that...
New York Times critic Johann Bachman argues in "Global Warming is the Next Best
Thing for the Earth" that...

4. You always need to make it clear when you are discussing the ideas of the author. Here are
some ways to do that:

Use author tags.

Use mentions of "the article" or "the text."
Add the page number that the information is found on in parenthesis at the end of the
sentence.

Adverbs to Use with Author Tags

conclusively expressively realistically
tightly angrily radically
clearly dutifuly evenly
occasionally quickly ironically
honestly eagerly elegantly
sharply rarely loosely
exactly happily hastily
perfectly sternly unexpectedly
sometimes never justly
devotedly finally warily
wearily completely fully
doggedly iconically sarcastically
seriously carefully politely

Summary Template
1. Start with an author tag that includes the first and last name of the author and the title of
the text. Examples:

In My Favorite Shoe, Treyvon Jones explains...

Treyvon Jones in his article My Favorite Shoe explains....

2. Finish the sentence with the main point of this article. Answer the question, "What is this
essay mostly about?" Think: "What does the author want you to say/do/believe after reading
this article?"

3. Next, talk about the main reasons the author believes this and give a few brief examples.

Example Paragraph
In "My Favorite Shoe," Treyvon Jones explains that Nike shoes are the best brand of running
shoe for serious track athletes. Jones supports this view by pointing out that Nike shoes are
more comfortable, last longer, and provide more cushioning for the feet. He notes that the
statistics from sales and scientific evidence of how Nike shoes are better for the feet support
his claim. In addition, Jones points out that most professional runners use Nike and he tells
his own story of how he won the 100-meter men's competition after switching to Nike shoes.