ENG 111 Mrs.

Roberts

Templates for Writing NAME:___Ian

Johnson____________________

Summarizing is an important skill to learn for both academic and "real-world" writing. When we
summarize, we are using our own words to present another person’s ideas: his or her main
points and the key details used to illustrate or support those points. The goal of a summary
varies depending on the context. In some instances, quoting that person directly serves to
enhance the summary.
I. Guidelines for introducing a text, writer, and the writer’s main point

The following sentence identifies the author, date, and title of the work being summarized.
It also identifies the author’s main argument.

Example: In Brent Staples' 1986 essay "Black Men and Public Space," Staples claims that
African American men, especially in certain public environments, can be perceived as
threatening and dangerous regardless of their actual character.

⮚ Using the essay or article you are planning to summarize, write a sentence that
accomplishes these same tasks.
___________Carr Is writing about how the internet is making people worse readers and
people are losing the ability to focus on long
books.__________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Templates for introducing a text and its main argument:

In X's _July/August 2008, Essay, Is Google Making Us Stupid___________, X claims

that________The internet is making people dumber and people are losing the ability to
read long books.________________

According to X in her_[publication year, genre, title]___, __[main point]___________

**The first time you introduce an author, use first and last name; afterwards, you may use
the author’s last name only.

II. Guidelines for organizing a summary

 ENG 111 Mrs. Roberts

A summary is typically organized using the same basic sequencing of ideas presented in the
original text. Present a main point; then offer the key support for (or illustration of) that
main point, omitting any insignificant details.

Templates for identifying main points and key support:

X claims that _____________. He supports this point by ____________.

X maintains that ____________. To illustrate this claim, she _______________.

⮚ Create a bullet point list of the main points made and the key support used in the text
you plan to summarize. Organize the list following the order in which they are
introduced in the text.
● ____Carr Claims that Google can be great for research but it hurts the ability to
read._________________________________
● __Carr Claims that he is not the only one realizing that there getting worst at reading
___________________________________
● ______Carr supports that google is making people stupid by there are new ways of
reading such as skimming that hurt the original way of
reading._______________________________
● _____Carr supports his claims by showing a study from the College of London that
suggest we are in the changing of how we read and
speak________________________________
● _____Carr points out from another study from tufts university that modern reading
is for efficiency and immediacy________________________________
● ___Carr claims that “the Net’s intellectual ethic remains obscure”

● ___Carr claims that google is also using us because the more stuff we go through
and click on google gains information about
us.__________________________________

III. Guidelines for avoiding plagiarism: Using signal phrases and in-text citations

To avoid plagiarism, you must always give credit to a person for his or her ideas.
Signal phrases send a clear signal to the reader, identifying whose idea is being introduced.
ENG 111 Mrs. Roberts

Examples: I think; I know; She asserts; He states; According to Professor X

In-text citations (or parenthetical citations) must be used when you paraphrase or quote a
specific idea from the text. One way to determine if you are paraphrasing rather than
summarizing is to try to locate the idea on any one page of the text. If you can locate the
idea and it is expressed in a sentence or two, then you are likely paraphrasing. If you are
condensing a paragraph or multiple pages into a sentence or two and you are NOT looking
at the text as you write, then you are likely summarizing.

The following example uses MLA guidelines: it includes a signal phrase, quotation marks for
the author’s exact words, and a page number in parentheses. Notice that the period follows
the final parenthesis to indicate that the page number belongs in the same sentence as the
quoted material.

Example: According to X, “insert quotation” (7).

**Note that MLA does not require you to include the author’s name in the in-text citation
when you use it in the signal phrase!