Quick Help: Guidelines for summaries

• To summarize a short passage, read it carefully and, without looking at the text, write a one- or two-sentence summary.
• To summarize a long passage or an entire chapter, skim the headings and topic sentences, making notes; then write your summary in a paragraph or two. For a whole book, you may want to refer to the preface and introduction as well as chapter titles, headings, and topic sentences—and your summary may take a page or more. In general, try to identify the thesis or claim being made, and then look for the subtopics or supports for that claim.
• Use your own words. If you include any language from the original, enclose it in quotation marks. Identify your work as a summary.