This chapter discusses the importance of effectively summarizing the arguments of others. It states that in order to engage in dialogue with other perspectives, one must be able to accurately summarize what has been said without misrepresenting the ideas. The chapter cautions against both failing to include enough of the original details in the summary or focusing too much on the other perspectives and not enough on one's own argument. It also discusses using signal verbs to introduce summaries and avoiding simply making a "list summary" that ticks off points without connecting them to a larger claim.

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Chapter 2
“Her Point Is”:
The Art of Summarizing

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“Her point is…”
 Chapter 1 discussed the significance of stating the “they
say” before introducing the “I say.”
 To do that, the editors suggest summarizing the “they
say” argument as soon as possible in your writing.
 Chapter 2 elaborates on this point: In order to be in
dialogue with what others are saying, you must be able to
effectively summarize what those others are saying.
 If you can’t summarize them well, you run the risk of
misinterpreting their ideas, or not explaining enough of
their ideas to preface your own. Even worse, you could
talk too much about their ideas and not your own.

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Suspend your disbelief…
 Imagine you told a story a very important story
to your best friend:
 YOUR VERSION: “Yesterday something really horrible
happened to me. Well, lots of things actually. First, as
you know, it was Valentine’s Day. I was really excited to
see my boyfriend but he wouldn’t answer my calls. It
turns out, he wanted to break up. Ya, he dumped me
last night! Then when I got home from school, I got a
call from my boss telling me that I had to give up my
shifts because they couldn’t afford to pay me this
weekend.”

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“Her point is…!?”
 Now imagine your best friend is telling your story to
your other good friend, and she recalls it somewhat
like this:
 FRIEND’S VERSION: “So I talked to (insert your name)
today. I guess she had a really bad day. Yesterday was V-day
you know? Well, I guess she and her boyfriend got into this
massive fight, and he stopped answering her calls. Then this
morning she called him, I think from work, and he said he
didn’t want to be with her anymore. Then I guess she got
fired too? So no, maybe she wasn’t at work this morning. But
she got fired. They don’t need her anymore.”

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Now if that were you…
 Wouldn’t you be kind of annoyed if you heard that retelling of
your story? Not only is it inaccurate, it falsely represents you.
Worst of all, you can’t even defend yourself!
 This example sheds light on how important it is to accurately
summarize another person’s argument.
 You wouldn’t want to misrepresent or misquote someone and
have him or her find out, would you? They’d probably be
equally as mad as you are at your friend for the mis-telling of
your bad day.

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Those who refuse to summarize…
1. Why is it that some writers don’t summarize another author’s
argument, the “they say,” or the context for which they are
writing?

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Answer:
 Many writers shy away from summarizing for several reasons:
 They don’t want to go back to the reading and figure out what it says
(lazy!)
 They fear they will spend too much time devoted to the arguments
of others’ and not their own (lacking confidence!)
 They think that by responding to an assigned article they are
already on topic and therefore don’t need to summarize

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Our biggest summarizing mistake…
2. What are common mistakes made by writers
when it comes to summarizing another
author’s argument?

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Answers:
 Writers don’t write enough of what others are
saying; and
 Writers write too much of what others are saying.

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A delicate balance! Like yin and
yang…
3. What is the “delicate balance” or main aspect of a
summary that the writer should be trying to
achieve?

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Answer:
 A good summary requires balancing what the
original author is saying with the writer’s own
focus.
 Striking this balance can be tricky, since it means
facing both ways at once:
 Both outward (toward the author)
 And inward (towards yourself)

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Don’t stop believin’…
4. What is writing theorist Peter Elbow’s “believing
game”?

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Answer:
 In order to play the believing game, writers must momentarily
suspending their own beliefs/opinions/ideas and assuming
the beliefs/opinions/ideas of those in the conversation.
 In other words, it means putting oneself in the shoes of
someone else.
 Otherwise, writers run the risk of sounding biased—the
writer’s own opinions will leak into theirs!

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He’s making a list…
5. What is a “list summary”? (and what does it suggest
of the writer who is making the list?)

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Answer:
 A list summary is summarizing without any regard to one’s
own interest
 When a writer makes a list summary, he or she simply makes
inventory of the original author’s various points but fails to
focus these points around any larger overall claim.
 In a sense, it reads much like “He states,…then he
states…then the author states…” and so forth, much like a
list!

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Signal verbs for introducing summaries
and quotations
 Therefore, writers should avoid bland formulas like
“she says” or “they believe”
 Instead, they should use vivid, precise signal verbs
as often as possible.

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Signal verbs…
6. What are 2 signal verbs for expressing agreement?
What are 2 signal verbs for expressing
disagreement?

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Answer:
 Some signal verbs to show agreement are
acknowledge, admire, agree, praise, extol, endorse…
 Some signal verbs to show disagreement are complain,
deny, contradict, reject, refute…
 HINT: Memorize a few of these stronger signal verbs and work
them into your arsenal. You definitely have options to use
besides “states” and “claims”!

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Chapter 2 Review
 Effectively summarizing is the best way to introduce what
others are saying
 Summarizing requires putting oneself into the author’s shoes
and to capture the author’s argument without applying his/her
own biases
 To summarize, writers must strike a balance between carefully
summarizing the arguments of others and their own argument
 Using signal verbs can help writers to enhance summaries and
avoid list summaries