Summary is a short account of the central ideas of a text or a significant

reduction of the original source.

The purpose of a summary is to give the reader, in a about 1/3 of the original length of
an article/lecture, a clear, objective picture of the original lecture or text.  Most
importantly, the summary restates only the main points of a text or a lecture
without giving examples or details, such as dates, numbers or statistics. 

Skills practiced: note-taking, paraphrasing (using your own words and sentence

structure), condensing
Examples of acceptable paraphrases and unacceptable paraphrases (=
plagiarism): Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It

Preparing to Write:

To write a good summary it is important to thoroughly understand the material you are
working with. Here are some preliminary steps in writing a summary.

1. Skim the text, noting in your mind the subheadings. If there are no subheadings, try
to divide the text into sections. Consider why you have been assigned the text. Try to
determine what type of text you are dealing with. This can help you identify important
information.

2. Read the text, highlighting important information and taking notes.

3. In your own words, write down the main points of each section.

4. Write down the key support points for the main topic, but do not include minor detail.

5. Go through the process again, making changes as appropriate.

Writing the Summary:

When writing the summary there are three main requirements:

1. The summary should cover the original as a whole.

2. The material should be presented in a neutral fashion.

3. The summary should be a condensed version of the material, presented in your own
words.

* * Also do not include anything that does not appear in the original. (Do not include
your own comments or evaluation.) and Be sure to identify your source.
When summarizing, you should avoid the following:

1. Opinions
2. Background knowledge
3. Personal information

How to Summarize:
1. Read the text
2. Don’t let big words scare you
3. Ask “What was this text about?”

Remember that a summary :

1. Should be Smaller than the original text

2. Should be Cover main point and key ideas
 Main Idea and Key Points
2.1. The main idea is what the text is about.
2.2. Key points are arguments or information that is used to
support the main idea. Key points may be developed or elaborated
with supporting details. Your summary should only include main
ideas and key points, not supporting details.
3. Should be in your own words
4. Should not be one or two words only
5. Should contain major ideas and necessary information
6. Should ask yourself “ Do I need this information?”

What to look for in the original text?

• When it was written?

*Who wrote it?
• Where?
• What is the main points and the supporting points?
• Why?
• How?

Example:
Text A penny for your thoughts? If it’s a 1943 copper penny, it could be
worth as much as fifty thousand dollars. In 1943, most pennies were made out of steel
since copper was needed for World War II, . . Another rarity is . . T These pennies were
mistakenly double stamped, so they have overlapping dates and letters. If it’s
uncirculated, it’d easily fetch $25,000 at an auction. Now that’s a pretty penny.

Incorrect Example:
Response 1
This text is about pennies.
 This response is too short.
 It does not include key ideas
Incorrect Example:
Response 2
The 1943 copper penny is worth a lot of money. Copper was hard to get during the war
so there aren’t many of them. The 1955 double die penny is worth a lot too. These
pennies were stamped twice on accident.
 Too much unnecessary stuff.
 Main idea is not clear.

Correct Example Response

This text is about two very rare and valuable pennies: the 1943 copper penny and the
1955 double die penny.  Includes key information.  Doesn’t include unnecessary
information  Is a complete sentence.

Practice Summarizing nursery rhymes.

Directions
1. We will read each nursery rhyme.
2. Summarize the nursery rhyme in as few words as possible (Each rhyme = a
sentence)
3. Include key information.
4. We will discuss our answers.

The itsy bitsy spider

Climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain and
Washed the spider out
Up came the sun and
Dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the spout again.

Humpty Dumpty
Sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty
Had a great fall.
All the King's horses
And all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty
Together again.

Old Mother Hubbard

Went to the cupboard
To give her poor dog a bone.
But when she got there
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.

Jack and Jill went up the hill,

To fetch a pail of water.
Jack fell down and broke his crown,
And Jill came tumbling after.
Up Jack got and home did trot,
As fast as he could caper,
And went to bed to mend his head
With vinegar and brown paper.

Little Miss Muffet

Sat on a tuffet,
Eating some curds and whey.
Along came a spider
Who sat down beside her
And frightened Miss Muffet away.

Example
Answers
1. A spider fell but got up again.
2. An egg fell and was irreparably broke.
3. An old woman had no food to feed her dog.
4. A boy fell, hurt his head, and bandaged it.
5. A spider scared away a gi

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

An example of summarizing:
Original text:

America has changed dramatically during recent years. Not only has the number of graduates in
traditional engineering disciplines such as mechanical, civil, electrical, chemical, and aeronautical
engineering declined, but in most of the premier American universities engineering curricula now
concentrate on and encourage largely the study of engineering science.  As a result, there are declining
offerings in engineering subjects dealing with infrastructure, the environment, and related issues, and
greater concentration on high technology subjects, largely supporting increasingly complex scientific
developments. While the latter is important, it should not be at the expense of more traditional
engineering.

Rapidly developing economies such as China and India, as well as other industrial countries in Europe
and Asia, continue to encourage and advance the teaching of engineering. Both China and India,
respectively, graduate six and eight times as many traditional engineers as does the United States. Other
industrial countries at minimum maintain their output, while America suffers an increasingly serious
decline in the number of engineering graduates and a lack of well-educated engineers. (169 words)

(Source:  Excerpted from Frankel, E.G. (2008, May/June) Change in education: The cost of sacrificing
fundamentals. MIT Faculty Newsletter, XX, 5, 13.)

One-paragraph Summary:

In a 2008 Faculty Newsletter article, “Change in Education: The cost of sacrificing fundamentals,” MIT

Professor Emeritus Ernst G. Frankel expresses his concerns regarding the current state of American
engineering education.  He notes that the number of students focusing on traditional areas of engineering
has decreased while the number interested in the high-technology end of the field has increased.  
Frankel points out that other industrial nations produce far more traditionally-trained engineers than we
do, and believes we have fallen seriously behind. (81 words)
Why is this a good summary?

The summary identifies the writer, the date of publication, and the source, and restates the key ideas
using original wording.  The summary reports on the author’s point of view, but reports this neutrally.

One-line summary:
MIT Professor Emeritus Ernst G. Frankel (2008) has called for a return to a course of study that
emphasizes the traditional skills of engineering, noting that the number of American engineering
graduates with these skills has fallen sharply when compared to the number coming from other countries.
(47 words)

Why is this a good summary?

This one-line summary identifies the writer and synthesizes the key ideas.  A short summary like this
might appear in the literature review of research paper in which the student gathers together the findings
or opinions of scholars on a given subject.

What is the difference between paraphrasing and

summarizing?
Summarizing and paraphrasing are somewhat different. A paraphrase is about the same length as
the original source, while a summary is much shorter. Nevertheless, when you summarize, you must be
careful not to copy the exact wording of the original source. Follow the same rules as you would for
paraphrase.

https://integrity.mit.edu/handbook/academic-writing/summarizing
cap101