How to Write a Summary in 6 Easy Steps: Paragraph 3
After reading this, decide which essay you will summarize in one well-written paragraph: Didion pg 44-46) or Cosby (4750). You can find both on the online syllabus—just go to the webpage and hit control F and then type the one you want in
the search box and poof! It goes right to the link so all you have to do is actually click the link to get to the story! Submit to
my email by 1159pm in MS Word or WordPerfect.
Writing a good summary demonstrates that you clearly understand a text. A summary can be tricky to write at first because
it’s tempting to include too much or too little information, and the biggest error is inserting your opinion. In order to get an
“A”, you will be required to include at least one quotation from the text in proper MLA format (see below for more on
that).
Remember minus 3 rule:
If topic and title same or no title
If use pencil or no double space
If 2nd person “you”
If no name or no class time
If no organized topic sentence (avoid fact, include opinion, think about six questions)
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1) Divide…and conquer. First off, skim the text you are going to summarize and divide it into sections. Focus on any
headings and subheadings. Also look at any bold-faced terms and make sure you understand them before you read.
2) Read. Now that you’ve prepared, go ahead and read the selection. Read straight through. At this point, you don’t need to
stop to look up anything that gives you trouble—just get a feel for the author’s tone, style, and main idea.
3) Reread. Rereading should be active reading. Underline topic sentences and key facts. Label areas that you want to refer
to as you write your summary. Also label areas that should be avoided because the details—though they may be
interesting—are too specific. Identify areas that you do not understand and try to clarify those points.
4) One sentence at a time. You should now have a firm grasp on the text you will be summarizing. In steps 1–3, you
divided the piece into sections and located the author’s main ideas and points. Now write down the main idea of each
section in one well-developed sentence. Make sure that what you include in your sentences are key points, not minor
details.
5) Write a thesis statement to begin summary paragraph. This is the key to any well-written summary. Review the
sentences you wrote in step 4. From them, you should be able to create a thesis statement that clearly communicates what
the entire text was trying to achieve. If you find that you are not able to do this step, then you should go back and make sure
your sentences actually addressed key points. Two examples are:
 In “name of article or piece”, the (name of author) writes about __________ and shows what ______ means by
using ____________.

In "Title of the Piece" (source and date of piece), author shows the central idea of ________. The author supports
this idea by using _____________________ and showing __________________________________________.
6) Ready to write. At this point, your first draft is virtually done. You can use the thesis statement as the introductory
sentence of your summary, and your other sentences can make up the body. Make sure that they are in order. Add some
transition words (then, however, also, moreover) that help with the overall structure and flow of the summary. And
once you are actually putting pen to paper (or fingers to keys!), remember these tips:
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Write in the present tense.
Make sure to include the author and title of the work.
Be concise: a summary should not be equal in length to the original text.
If you must use the words of the author, cite them.
Don't put your own opinions, ideas, or interpretations into the summary. The purpose of writing a
summary is to accurately represent what the author wanted to say, not to provide a critique.
Am I explaining why or how an aspect of the text is significant?
Avoid these: "[This essay] is about..." & "[This book] is the story of..." & "[This author] writes
about..."
& "[This movie] is set in..."
Here is a sample summary:
In the short story "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," author James Thurber humorously presents a character who
fantasizes about himself as a hero enduring incredibly challenging circumstances. In his real life, Walter Mitty
lives an ordinary, plain life; he is a husband under the control of an overbearing, critical wife. Thurber uses
lively dialogue to give readers an understanding of Mitty's character. The story takes place over a period of
about twenty minutes; during this brief time, Mitty drives his wife to the hairdresser and runs errands that his
wife has given him while he waits for her. In between his worrying that he is not doing what she wants him to
do, he daydreams about himself as a great surgeon, brilliant repair technician, expert marksman, and brave
military captain. This story shows that fantasy is often a good alternative to reality.
HOW TO PARAPHRASE
You do not want to quote everything that you cite. As a general rule, quotes should never take up over 1/3 of a
paragraph—although sometimes they may (if a quote is over four lines long then the entire quote should be leftindented). When you want to cite a specific passage of a story or article but do not want to quote it then you
must paraphrase it, which means write the passage in your own words.
When we quote a passage, we do so in order to analyze how a specific effect works in the text. If there is no
clear effect that we wish to discuss, we may want to simply paraphrase the key incidents or details of a passage
so as to avoid slowing down our own writing with the words of someone else. Paraphrase is most useful when
you want to present or examine an author’s line of reasoning but don’t feel the original words merit direct
quotation.
We need to be careful when we paraphrase, though. We have to create a sentence that uses a different sentence
structure and language. If our paraphrase contains elements that are a word-for-word match to the source text or
so close that it is difficult to tell the difference, we could be charged with plagiarism because it looks like we
are trying to steal the words or ideas of someone else. In the case of word-for-word paraphrasing, rewrite it or
turn it into a direct quote. In the case of a near quote, give a citation for the sentence as if it was a direct quote,
just to be safe.
Exercise 1. Paraphrase the quote below on a separate sheet of paper:
The twenties were the years when drinking was against the law, and the law was a bad joke because everyone
knew of a local bar where liquor could be had. They were the years when organized crime ruled the cities, and
the police seemed powerless to do anything against it. Classical music was forgotten while jazz spread
throughout the land, and men like Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie became the heroes of the
young. The flapper was born in the twenties, and with her bobbed hair and short skirts, she symbolized, perhaps
more than anyone or anything else, America's break with the past.
Exercise 2. Paraphrase the quote below on a separate sheet of paper:
"The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts
tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. "The cold ocean water around
Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its upwellings help to cool both the
surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human
activity." From "Captain Cousteau," Audubon (May 1990):17.
EXAMPLE OF USING QUOTES, PARAPHRASES, AND SUMMARIES TOGETHER
In his famous and influential work On the Interpretation of Dreams, Sigmund Freud argues that dreams are the
"royal road to the unconscious" (12), expressing in coded imagery the dreamer's unfulfilled wishes through a
process known as the "dream work" (95). According to Freud, actual but unacceptable desires are censored
internally and subjected to coding through layers of condensation and displacement before emerging in a kind of
rebus puzzle in the dream itself (66).
MLA Citation Cheat Sheet for Works Cited Page
from RG handbook
ESSAY, POEM, or SHORT STORY in an ANTHOLOGY
Author of Story. "Title of Story." Title of Book. Name of Editor. Edition (if given). City of Publication:
Publisher, Year. Page numbers.
 Example: Purcell, Arthur H. "Better Waste Management Strategies Are Needed to
Avert a Garbage Crisis." Garbage and Recycling: Opposing Viewpoints. Ed. Helen Cothran. San Diego:
Greenhaven, 2003. 20-27.
MAGAZINE ARTICLES
Author. "Title of Article." Title of Magazine Date: Page(s).
 If no author's name is given, begin with the title of the article.
NEWSPAPER ARTICLES
Author. "Title of Article." Name of Newspaper Date, edition: Page(s).
 If the city of publication is not part of the newspaper's name, add it in square brackets: News and
Observer [Raleigh, NC]
 Give the complete date, but not the volume and issue numbers.
 Specify the edition of the newspaper, if one is given on the masthead.
 If the article is not on consecutive pages, write the first page number and a plus sign: B1+.
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Example: Daranciang, Nelson. "Sex Offender Web Site Debated." Honolulu StarBulletin 8 Apr. 2004, night final ed.: A3.
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Newspaper Articles on Internet -- Example: "Fossil Find Challenges Man's Timeline".
NY Times Online 10 July 2007. 10 July 2007 ‹http://www.nytimes.com/nytonline/NYTOFossil-Challenges-Timeline.html›.
WEB SITES
Author. "Title of Web Page." Title of the Site. Editor. Date and/or Version Number. Name of Sponsoring
Institution. Date of Access <URL>.
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EXAMPLE: Sherman, Chris. "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About URL."
SearchEngineWatch. Ed. Danny Sullivan. 24 Aug, 2004. 4 Sept. 2004
<http://searchenginewatch.com/searchday/article.php/3398511>.
Complete publication information may not be available for a Web site so just
provide what is given. Make sure it is enough that someone else can find it
if they search the Internet!
Online Project or Database:
Include: title of project or database, name of project or database, publication info as available
such as version number, name of sponsoring organization, etc., date of access, and full URL.
 Example: The Discovery Channel Online. 2007. Discovery Channel. 28 June 2007
‹http://dsc.discovery.com›.
TELEVISION PROGRAMS
"Title of Episode or Segment." Title of Program or Series. Credit (Performer, writer,
etc). Name of Network. Call Letters (if any), City of Local Station (if any).
Broadcast Date.
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Example: "Why the Towers Fell." Nova. PBS. KHET, Honolulu. 7 Sept. 2004.
MLA Generator Cites
http://www.easybib.com/
http://www.calvin.edu/library/knightcite/