Summary essay

Directions for Writing a Summary

1. Begin by stating the author, title, and main idea

2. Cover only the major details.

3. Keep the author’s last name continually before your readers. Use the full name the first time you mention the author; after that, use the last name only.

4. Do not use any quotations.

5. Use present tense.

To summarize the following paragraph, include only the main idea, the major details, and the wrap up sentence. Most of the time, you will have to create your own concluding sentence. The sentences following the major details are minor details or examples. They should rarely be included in the summary. If you follow these guidelines, your summary for Roseanne will be five sentences: main idea, three major details, and one wrap up sentence.summary

Roseanne

by Jane Doe

Despite its brashness and humor, the long-running television sitcom [main idea]

Roseanne presents, realistically, many of the pressures confronting the American family. Constantly faced with a pile of bills they cannot pay, Dan and Roseanne Connor embody the unrelenting economic struggle of the American family breadwinners .[major detail] Dan pursues his dream of owning a small business but fails in his attempt to jump start a motorcycle repair shop and ultimately must settle for a job as manager of a city maintenance facility. Meanwhile, to buffer the family’s economic woes, Roseanne takes what jobs she can get, including telephone soliciting, waiting tables at a lunch counter, and cleaning up at a beauty parlor. As the economic pressures on the family mount, so do the emotional. [major detail] Roseanne’s having to leave the home and her children in order to supplement the family income yields for her feelings of guilt and anger and results in additional friction between her and Dan. The Connor’s home is further immersed in turmoil by the elopement of daughter Becky with her unacceptable boyfriend Mark . If economic and emotional pressures were not enough, the family has to wage the class struggle on a daily basis as well. [major detail] The issue of their low social status surfaces most clearly with the appearance of a condescending next door neighbor from Chicago who looks down her nose at the community and Roseanne. Ultimately, however, Roseanne and the Connor family succeed in humorously sloughing off the pretension of the neighbor and others they encounter by simply outlasting them and finding strength in their family bonds. [wrap up sentence]