Writing Effective Summaries

Week 2, Part 1

Today

1. Learn about summaries2. Go over summary assignment (5%)

Classes

Word-of-the-day Grammar-rama

Word-of-the-day

Furtive: secretive, covert, underhanded (usually in a bad way)

“marked by quiet and caution and secrecy; taking pains to avoid being observed”

Examples: Chelsea’s furtive manner at dinner made her

husband suspicious.

His furtive glance at the clock did not go unnoticed.

Grammar-Rama

Contractions make writing informal.Examples:Don’tCan’tWon’tIsn’tHadn’tShouldn’tShe’sI’m

Grammar-Rama

Don’t use contractions in academic writing

Avoid if possible—easy way to make writing formal

Summary

1. A skill within essays2. An assignment in this class

When do you summarize?

Real-life Summaries

Note-taking Article abstract Executive summary Legal decisions Research findings Records of meetings (minutes) ?

Group Work

1. Choose a movie you have all seen2. Take individual time to note the main

points of the movie.3. Share your main points.

Summary vs Paraphrase

Summary: encapsulates central idea/ideas; shorter (20% of original)

Paraphrase: captures essential meaning of something; longer (same length as source); sums up meaning of a source

What is a summary?

Summing up the central ideas in a concise way.

An Example

The Original (Alexander Leggatt, Shakespeare’s Face)

Pictures can help us organize our ideas, and a picture of a writer can help us organize our ideas about the writer. The tight-drawn line of TS Eliot’s mouth, the broad bare chest of Ernest Hemingway, the Druid-tweeds look of Robertson Davies—all of these are with you in your imagination as you read. Is this a face we can take into our reading of Shakespeare? In particular, how does it relate to what we know of the man and his work in 1603? In particular, how does it relate to what we know of the man and his work in 1603? I stress 1603 because while the Droeshout portrait in the Folio is Shakespeare in black and white, dead and collected, setting his stamp on a posthumous anthology or his work, the Sanders portrait is Shakespeare alive, in colour, in mid-career. The Droeshout face is for book buyers; the Sanders face is the one you might have encountered if you were hanging around the Globe Theatre.

Summary

We imagine a writer from his or her picture. The new colour portrait of Shakespeare fits his vibrant image more than the former black and white one.

Paraphrase

Since pictures can be organizational tools, a writer’s portrait can assist us in thinking about a writer by helping us construct notions about him or her. We imagine the look of TS Eliot, Ernest Hemingway, or Robertson Davies from their photos as we read their work. Is the new portrait of Shakespeare in 1603 more fitting with what we know about him? While the earlier Droeshout black and white portrait seems to have marked the image and work of Shakespeare for all time, the new colour Sanders portrait seems more in keeping with the lively figure we conjure up from Shakespeare’s work. One image seems lifeless, while the other represents someone who was very much alive.

Summary Skills

Separate the thesis, related ideas, rhetorical methods away from the details

Express ideas in your own words but don’t alter the meaning

Ten Steps

1. Identify reader and title

2. State the complete thesis (controlling idea and supporting reasons).

3. Include significant points

4. Maintain the order (except for the thesis)

5. Maintain the proportion

6. Be neutral

7. Exclude your own response

8. Be brief

9. No quotations except for key words

10. Use present tense

Steps to Completing a Summary Read through piece carefully Read piece again and again, until you have

main ideas Look at the title, subtitle, and headings (if

any) Write an outline with controlling idea and

main points (in the same order as the article)

Write your summary from the outline Use the present tense

Details—exclude these

Authorities cited or quoted Research findings, data Examples (brief or extended) Literary devices (eg metaphors,

imagery)

Active Reading

^ Read with a tool in hand^ Read the text several times

Summary Practice

Same groups as movie practice Have one person read the article Listeners: jot down every time you hear

a main point When finished reading, decide together

on: The first sentence The thesis of the article The major points

Summary: Answers (May Vary) First sentence:

In the article “Our Environmental Shame” by David Suzuki . . .

Thesis: Article emphasizes that Canada must do

more to protect species in our country.

Summary: Answers (May Vary) Major Points

Unlike US/Mexico, no federal legislation to protect Scientists today recognize importance of

biodiversity When habitats disappear, animals left without

shelter Canada: hosted conferences, but needs to do

more Species at Risk Act: policies do not do enough Species cannot continue to disappear/will affect

humans Public awareness will help legislation

Plagarised Summary

Original: The language of guilt and innocence can

be misleading since it brings to mind an unqualified contrast between being culpable or not.

According to the writer, language connected to guilt and innocence is deceptive because it seems to make us think in terms of being culpable or not.

Good Summary

Original: The language of guilt and innocence can be

misleading since it brings to mind an unqualified contrast between being culpable or not.

Lionel K. McPherson believes that how we talk about guilt and innocence can be confusing because it seems to make us judge in an unexamined way who is responsible and who is not.

Assignment Expectations

Free of grammatical errors Follows guidelines Uses original language (nothing borrowed

from the original article) Includes the controlling idea/thesis of the

text Does not include small details Does not include your response to the article Follows the ten steps

Assignment Details

Due: One week today, during class (last 45 minutes)

Worth: 5% What to do: write a summary of an

article provided in class