Summaries

Summary: captures the main idea of the reading

• Shows understanding of what you read.

• Develops skill of identifying main idea

• Develops skill of selecting only key details

First sentence in summary is the main idea:

• Cadmus became a great Greek hero through his hard work and respect for the gods.

Each of the following sentences should be important details:

• In search for his lost sister Europa, Cadmus obeyed the command of the gods to start a new city in Greece.

• Despite losing all of his men to a dragon, Cadmus was able to still build a new city by working hard and listening to Athena’s advice.

• After slaying the dragon, Cadmus sowed its teeth and defended himself against the unruly soldiers that sprang from the soil.

• These soldiers eventually became his own and helped him to build the great city of Thebes.

Cadmus became a great Greek hero through his hard work and respect for the gods. In search for his lost sister Europa, Cadmus obeyed the command of the gods to start a new city in Greece. Despite losing all of his men to a dragon, Cadmus was able to still build a new city by working hard and listening to Athena’s advice. After slaying the dragon, Cadmus sowed its teeth and defended himself against the unruly soldiers that sprang from the soil. These soldiers eventually became his own and helped him to build the great city of Thebes.

Important rules to follow when writing summaries:

• Paraphrase everything – put all details in your own words

• Leave out examples or descriptive details

• Summary should be one third (or less) of the length of the original

• Use transition words to move logically from one idea to the next