Strategies for Summarizing

• When drafting a summary, keep your purpose in mind. Take time to draft, revise, and edit formal summaries that are written as class assignments. A summary for your own use, such as research notes, may be less formal.
• To summarize effectively, read the original material closely and attentively. Determine the main idea and read actively by making predictions, making connections, asking questions, and annotating. Create an outline of major points and then write, revise, and edit a draft based on that outline.
• Always write summaries in your own words.
• Summaries should accurately reflect the original work and fairly represent the author’s main idea.
• Summaries should be brief. Focus only on the main points, and eliminate unnecessary details.
• Even though summaries rarely contain quoted language, they must be cited appropriately. Follow the guidelines for MLA or APA style, or whichever style your instructor recommends.