summary essay

Essay 2: Writing a Summary

Throughout your academic career, you will be asked to read and respond to texts. Writing a summary prepares you for reading a text critically and responding to it.

Choose one of the two articles your group selected. In a 1 – 1 ½ page essay, summarize the text accurately and objectively.

Your summary should include:

· The author’s claim

· The title of the text and the full name of the author (the first time you mention the text)

· The author’s reasoning (focusing on the author’s main points)

· The use of signal phrases (like “The author suggests…” or “S/he explains that…”) to indicate the ideas are the author’s (not yours)

· Effective use of transitions to indicate a flow of ideas

· About 350 words (or 1 ½ pages)

Hints and Tips

Focus on the argument.

The point of summary is to identify what you think are the most important aspects of the article that your readers should know about. Do not try to repeat everything in the article. When you try to decide what to include or what to leave out, consider the amount of time the original author spends on the subject. Is this something that the author considers for three to four paragraphs? If so, it should probably receive a bit more attention in your summary. It might help you to look at the article paragraph by paragraph and try to sum each paragraph up. Sometimes paragraphs can be combined in your summary with one or two descriptive sentences. Your summary should discuss the article’s points in the same order as they appear in the original.

Stay focused on your purpose.

Your goal is to describe the article to your reader. In addition to explaining the author’s argument, you may bring in a discussion of the type of evidence used or the way the writer conveys their argument. For example, if there are a lot of charts and graphs or other visuals, you may want to mention that in your summary. Sometimes students tend to get off track and start describing the subject of the article and not the article itself, so be sure to keep in mind that what you are doing is summing up what this actual document says and does.

Remain objective.

One of the most important things to remember about your summary is that you should remain neutral when writing about the article. Do not include any judgments about whether or not the author is right about what he or she is saying, or whether he/she has a well written piece. All that should be included is a basic reporting of what goes on in the article.

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Use primarily your own words, not the author’s.

Be very careful when you are paraphrasing that you don’t repeat too much of the author’s language. It is appropriate to use direct quotes, but do so sparingly and be sure to use correct MLA format.

Grading

Your essay (worth a total of 100 points) will be graded using the following criteria:

Claim – The essay accurately identifies the author’s central claim. 10 points

Reasoning – The essay accurately and objectively represents the author’s key supporting points. The summary does not merely list the main ideas, but shows how the reasons support the claim. The summary is selective about details and examples, choosing only ones that help to illustrate a key point. 30 points

Quotations and Paraphrasing – The essay uses both quotations and paraphrasing that are appropriately integrated into the summary and response. Author’s ideas are effectively attributed using signal phrases. 10 points

Organization - Paper clearly and effectively presents the ideas. Transitions and paragraphing are used when appropriate. 20 points

Mechanics - Demonstrates a command of the standards of edited American English with no major grammatical errors. 20 points

MLA Format - Employs MLA format and documentation style, using in-text citations and including works cited page. Includes correct heading, font size, and spacing. 10 points