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Writing a Chapter SummaryChapter 1

+What is a summary?

A brief restatement, in your own words, of the content of a passage.

In your case, it will be a chapter.

The key is to focus on the central idea.

+Write a brief summary of the following image:

+A summary requires InterpretationWrite a summary of the following image:

+Guidelines for writing a summary for a longer passage:

Include all of the main points.

The main points will reflect the order and emphasis given to them by the original author.

It may include important examples

It will not include minor details

It will not repeat points

It will not contain your opinions or conclusions

+A good summary will include the following:

Brevity

Completeness

Objectivity

+Objectivity?

Prior knowledge

Frame of reference

Make a conscious, good-faith effort to be objective.

+Overview—Summarization

Condensed—Shorter than the Original

Tells all the main ideas

Is objective

+Purpose of a Summary

Help you understand what you have read

Summaries are useful to your readers

Summaries of chapters will help shape your book report

+The Reading Process

Summaries require you to read carefully and allow you to make accurate and coherent discussions that go beyond the summary.

+Examine the Context

Credentials, occupation, and publications of the author. Identify the source in which the piece originally appeared.

+Note the chapter title

It reveals the author’s attitude toward the subject.

+Read your Chapter

Find out main ideas Know audience Know author

+Indentify the thesis of your chapter

+Identify when the introduction ends

+Break the reading into sections

+Identify the main points

Identify the main idea or argument in each stage

What is the main idea of this stage?

What words or phrases demonstrate the main idea of this section?

+Write a short summary of each section• What are the

main ideas of this section?

• What words or phrases did I highlight?

+Conclusion

Where does the conclusion begin?

Where does it end?

+Distinguish between points, examples, and counterarguments

Note how authors make arguments

+Watch for transitions within and between paragraphs

Identify the road signs of logic

+Read actively and recursively

Engage in a dialogue with the author

+Guidelines for Writing Summaries

JK

+Write a thesis– a one or two sentence summary

+Write the first draft of your summary

+Check your summary against the original passage

+Revise your Summary