Writing Summaries for Effective Research

Summary
Chapter 1

What is a summary?
A brief restatement, in your own words, of the content of a passage.
The key is to focus on the central idea.

Write a brief summary for the following image:

A summary requires Interpretation
Write a summary of the following image:

Guidelines for writing a summary for a longer passage:
Include all of the main points.
The main points will reflect the order and emphasis given to them by the original author.
It may include important examples
It will not include minor details
It will not repeat points
It will not contain your opinions or conclusions

A good summary will include the following:
Brevity
Completeness
Objectivity

What does the following image represent?

Objectivity?
Prior knowledge
Frame of reference
Make a conscious, good-faith effort to be objective.

Where do we find summaries in academic writing and real life?
Critique papers
Synthesis papers
Analysis papers
Research papers
Literature reviews
Argument papers
Essay exams
Policy briefs
Business plans
Memos, letters, and reports
Medical charts
Legal briefs

Purpose of a Summary
Help you understand what you have read
Summaries are useful to your readers
Summaries are frequently required in college-level writing

The Reading Process
Summaries require you to read carefully and allow you to make accurate and coherent discussions that go beyond the summary.

Critical Reading Notes

Is this what Kant is really saying?

Examine the Context
Credentials, occupation, and publications of the author. Identify the source in which the piece originally appeared.

Note the title and subtitle
They reveal the author’s attitude toward the subject.

Indentify the main point

Identify the subordinate points

Break the reading into sections

Distinguish between points, examples, and counterarguments
Note what and how authors make arguments

Watch for transitions within and between paragraphs
Road signs of logic

Read actively and recursively
Engage in a dialogue with the author

Exercise
Chapter 6, read Solomon A. Asch’s article “Opinions and Social Pressure” ( pages 206-211).
Follow the steps for writing summaries—read , underline, divide into stages of thought—write 1-2 sentence summaries of each stage.
Form groups—write a one or two sentence thesis statement summing up the entire passage and write a brief summary of Asch’s article, modeled upon the brief summary of Graham’s essay on page 18.

Guidelines for Writing Summaries
Freezing at St. Michaels

Read the passage carefully

Reread.

Write one-sentence summaries
~ Drip - "?" ~
Catching this droplet on a tiny rose leaf was so important, but only for a moment.

Write a thesis– a one or two sentence summary

Write the first draft of your summary

Check your summary against the original passage

Revise your Summary

Writing Summaries for Effective Research

by Jeannette Novakovich on Sep 09, 2010

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