Writing the Journal Article Summary

1
Writing the Journal Article Summary

• Lee University Writing Center
• Presented by Rachel Reneslacis
• September 1, 2003

2
First, Understand the Purpose

• Your goal is to present the main ideas from a
  recent computer-related article.
  
• Choose an article that discusses an interesting
  issuean issue you think would interest your
  peers
  
• Do not present your opinion of the article.

3
Preparing to Write the Summary

• First, read the article carefully.
• If it contains technical terms or words you dont
  understand, look them up before you start to
  write.

4
How Do I Know What to Include?

• Articles are written in short paragraphs.
• Each paragraph will have a main idea that you
  should identify.
  
• These main ideas become your summary.

5
Dos and Donts

• Do limit your summary to one-half of a typed,
  double-spaced page.
  
• Do present the articles ideas in terms your
  classmates will understand.

• Dont try to include all the detail from the
  article. Only stress the most important points.
  
• Dont try to summarize an article you dont
  understand.

6
Dos and Donts (Continued)

• Do use a few quotes, if they are particularly
  good.
  
• Do include a correct APA heading for each article.

• Dont copy long sections of the article. You
  should summarize the main points in your own
  words.

7
APA Documentation

• Basic format for articles includes
• Author
• Year of publication
• Title of article
• Title of journal or magazine
• Volume and issue numbers
• Page numbers

8
Sample Article Headings
A Journal Article Beasley, R.E. (1997). The sys
tematic identification, evaluation and
selection of a multimedia authoring system.
Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 25
(3), 201-219. A Magazine Article Winston, J.
(2002, June). The meaning of dreams. Scientific
American, 12, 54-61.
9
Sample Article Headings
An Online Publication Vamosi, R. (2003, August 1
8).  The end of email viruses--and antivirus
apps.  ZDNet.  Retrieved August 19, 2003 from
http//www.zdnet.com/anchordesk/stories/story/0,10
738,2914497,00.html.
10
Sample Summaries
Ticketmaster Article

• Strengths
• Accurate
• Good length
• Clear
• Interesting Article

• Weaknesses
• Open-ended, personal conclusion
• No heading
• Grammar problems

11
E-Mail Attachment Article

• Strengths
• Clear, professional tone
• Accurate heading
• Appropriate length

• Weaknesses
• Occasional plagiarism
• Unclear pronoun references in paragraph 2

12
Risky Business Online

• Strengths
• Interesting, practical article
• Good length
• Mostly correct heading

• Weaknesses
• Personal opinion
• Unclear sentences
• Grammar problems