Summary

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Summary
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Definition (1)

• Summary condensation of ideas into the fewest
  possible words
• Important reminders
• A. contains only essential information (without
  distorting the meaning) reproduce ideas
• B. state in your own words (without copying
  authors exact words)

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Definition (2)

• C. length depending on
• 1. the assignment
• 2. the length and complexity of the text

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Uses

• A. include other peoples ideas in your
  writing accurately.
• B. Summarize reading materials for a term
  paper.
• C. Help to sharpen your ability to take lecture
  notes.

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Tips (rules) (1)

• A. use your own words
• exceptions
• 1.short quotations, authors original
  termword, short phrasefor a concept.
• 2. a word had no synonyms (e.g. Asia,
  redwood)or very few synonyms (e.g. computer
  science, fossil fuel, meditation)

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Tips (rules) (2)

• B. organize ideas in your own way even
  rearrange completely the order of ideas.
• C. leave your own ideas out of the summary
  (must be objective, no personal comments).
• D. use your own style of writing. (Dont follow
  original word order or copy the authors style).

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Genre

• Story/fiction it neither lives nor dies, but is
  always present whenever you read it or discuss
  it.
• So use simple present tense. That is, first
  this takes place, then such and such happens,
  after that something else occurs, and finally the
  story ends.
• Note

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Note

• Even though the story may be written in past
  tense, when you talk about it, your discussion is
  present and requires the present tense.
• No perfect summaryonly more or less successful
  ones.

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Goal of summary (1)

• To give readers an objective, complete, accurate,
  balanced view of an article they havent read.
• A. objectivity no opinion, judgment, comments
  only original ideas.
• B. completeness contain every main idea

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Goal of summary (2)

• C. balance equal attention to each main idea,
  stress ideas that the author stressed (to make
  the summary accurate.)

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Qs to judge a valid summary

• Did I include all the important ideas?
• Did I omit all unnecessary words/phrases?
• Does the summary read smoothly? (1. use of good
  transitions, such as also, thus, therefore 2.
  every word counts)
• Would a reader of my summary who had not read the
  article get a clear idea of the article?