12/23/2023 0 Comments Short summary writerIf you’re stalled by a difficult writing prompt, summarizing the plot of The Great Gatsby may be more appealing than staring at the computer for three hours and wondering what to say about F. Many writers rely too heavily on summary because it is what they can most easily write. (Check out our handout on brainstorming for some suggested techniques.) Why is it so tempting to stick with summary and skip analysis? Outlining, freewriting, and mapping make it easier to get your thoughts on the page. You may also want to try some other pre-writing activities that can help you develop your own analysis. Once you figure out what you know about a subject, it’s easier to decide what you want to argue. If you are unfamiliar with the material you’re analyzing, you may need to summarize what you’ve read in order to understand your reading and get your thoughts in order. Writing a summary of what you know about your topic before you start drafting your actual paper can sometimes be helpful. (Our handout on argument will help you construct a good one.) Most of your paper should focus on your argument. You might use summary to provide background, set the stage, or illustrate supporting evidence, but keep it very brief: a few sentences should do the trick. If your assignment requires an argument with a thesis statement and supporting evidence-as many academic writing assignments do-then you should limit the amount of summary in your paper. But it’s important that your keep your assignment and your audience in mind as you write. This handout will help you distinguish between summary and analysis and avoid inappropriate summary in your academic writing. It is important, though, to recognize when you must go beyond describing, explaining, and restating texts and offer a more complex analysis. Knowing how to summarize something you have read, seen, or heard is a valuable skill, one you have probably used in many writing assignments. Reread the entire thing and something will usually hit you as the best way to finish.Summary: Using it Wisely What this handout is about Another is to repeat what you said earlier. Another way is to say why this article was so important. If this sounds like you, think about having at least 1-2 quotes or paraphrases per page of text. Other writers have all opinion and no facts from the article or book. Then you'll see how reviewers integrate their own opinions with the facts of the source. Many writers omit their own opinions and their own reasoning: if this sounds like you, start reading book reviews in The New York Times Sunday book review section. Quote or reasoning or example or paraphrase Body paragraphs usually have this structure: The professor has already read this source: what the professor doesn't know is your focus, your opinion about it. It's a big mistake to just retell the story or article. This paragraph and the others that follow it form the body of the paper. The social significance of your thesis (the “so what”) Title of the source (in quotes if an article, italicized if a book)ĭate of publication (either in parentheses or in the sentence)īackground information regarding the publication Include the following things in your first paragraph: The length of a summary depends on how much development you need: development refers to direct quotes, examples, paraphrases or reasoning. Most teachers look for the following elements in a summary. On to the next page for structuring your summary. Add to this sentence the social significance of this point: that is, so what that the author has this main point?.In one sentence, express the main point of the article.What are your own personal reactions to the article-were you excited by it, challenged, bored?.Now what do you expect the article to be about? Next read the beginning and ending paragraphs.In 5 seconds, glance at the article and write down what you expect it to be about-use the title, any breaks in the text, pictures to give you a clue.Here are some steps you can take to form a good summary.
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