writershelp

The comment: Summarize less, analyze more

Similar comments

Too much summary
Show, don’t tell
Go deeper

Understanding the comment

When readers point out that you need to include more analysis and less summary, the comment often signals that they are looking for your interpretation of the text.

Strategies for revising

Reread your paragraph and highlight the sentences that summarize. Then, in a different color, highlight the sentences that contain your analysis. (Summary describes what the text says; analysis offers a judgment or interpretation of the text.)
Reread the text (or passages of the text) that you are analyzing. Pay attention to how the language and structure of the text contribute to its meaning.
Ask questions. What strategies does the author use and how do those strategies help convey the author’s message? What insights about the text can you share with your readers? How can you deepen your reader’s understanding of the author’s main points?
Engage the text. Argue or talk back to the author. Challenge the author’s assumptions or conclusions. Extend the reasoning of the author or show the consequences of taking the author’s position.
Revise your thesis, if necessary, to account for other points of view.