Quotations borrow a source’s exact words. Often you need only its main ideas. A summary gives those ideas in your own words, much more briefly.
Key idea
A summary states a source’s main ideas in your own words, much shorter than the original, in the source’s order of importance, without your opinions. It still needs a citation.
Why it works
Summaries let you bring a whole article into one sentence of your essay, so the reader gets the point without reading the source. Leaving out your opinion keeps the summary fair: the reader can trust that it reports the source, not you.
- Read the whole source, then look away from it.
- Ask: what is the author’s main point? What are the two or three key supports?
- Write those in your own words.
- Check against the source: is anything wrong or missing? Cite it.
Worked example: Cut to the main idea
Summarize in one sentence: a five-paragraph article explains that octopuses can open jars, escape tanks, recognize individual people and use coconut shells as shelters.
- What do the examples have in common? They show intelligence.
- Main idea: octopuses are clever problem-solvers.
- Name the kinds of evidence briefly, not every one.
Answer: “The article argues that octopuses are clever problem-solvers, citing their skill with jars, tanks, tools and even human faces.”
Name the source as you summarize, so the reader knows whose ideas these are: “In her article on city parks, the author argues that…” A summary of a short article might be one or two sentences; a summary of a book, a paragraph or two.
Common mistake
Retelling every detail in order, or adding what you think of the source (“which is very interesting”). Check: is your summary much shorter than the original? Does every sentence report the source, not you?