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