Transcript To Make a Long Story Short

QEP WORKSHOP
Quality Enhancement Plan at Brookhaven College
To Make a Long
Story Short…
Writing an Effective
Summary
Sherri Morrison, QEP Reading Specialist
DEFINITION
Summary
A condensed version of a text
KEEP IN MIND:

Summaries include main ideas
and important details.

A summary is roughly 1/3 the
length of the original text.

Summaries are paraphrased—
your words!

A summary accurately reflects
what the author has written
without adding personal
opinions.

A summary has a beginning,
middle and end.
STEP 1: PREVIEW
HOW?
•
Activate prior knowledge.
What do you already know?
•
What do you expect to
learn?
•
Are there illustrations,
graphics, etc. that help
explain the information?
Look at them!
STEP 2: READ
HOW?
•
Read the article once from start
to finish to get a general view of
the information presented.
•
Re-read slowly. Use a dictionary
or context clues to define
unknown words.
•
Be aware of what you don’t know
(metacognition!) Get outside
help if needed.
Be prepared to read the text several
times to thoroughly comprehend it!
STEP 3: ANNOTATE
HOW?
•
Read the article again, a
paragraph at a time, stopping
to reflect on the main ideas
and major details.
•
Underline/highlight these
points in the text or write
them on another piece of
paper. (Hint: Use your own
words!)
As a general rule, if you have
effectively annotated, only 1015% of your text should be
underlined or highlighted.
STEP 4: WRITE
HOW?
•
Outline and organize your
thoughts prior to writing.
•
Begin with a topic sentence that
cites the author and the title of
the reading passage.
•
Be sure to include only important
details (those necessary to
understand the text) and end
with a concluding sentence.
Remember to paraphrase—your
summary should be the author’s
ideas but your words!
STEP 5: REVISE AND EDIT
HOW?
•
Set your summary aside for a
while before revising and editing.
Errors will be easier to spot if
time has passed.
•
Revise for content. Does the
summary begin with a clear,
comprehensive topic sentence?
Have you included all necessary
details? Do you have a
conclusion?
•
Add necessary transition so your
summary will flow.
•
Edit for spelling, grammar or
punctuation errors.
DON’T FORGET!
Clearly identify the title and author of
the original work in the first paragraph.
For example: John Smith, author of
“Summarizing Academic Texts,” lists five
steps to effective summarization.
Write in present tense.
Paraphrase! Use your words while
retaining the author’s ideas.
RESOURCES
brookhavencollege.edu/reading