1. is an essential condensation in your own words.
2. answers the question “what is the author really saying?”
3. is the result of careful “listening” to the author.
4. remains faithful to the author’s emphasis and interpretation.
5. does not disagree with or critique the author’s opinions.

Steps to an effective summary

How to Summarize a Paragraph

1. Read the paragraph twice.
2. Isolate the topic sentence; if it conveys reliably the meaning of the paragraph, consider it your summary.
3. Underline key phrases and look for any crucial distinctions or contrasts which form the framework of the paragraph (the difference in attitudes about women in the workforce before World War II versus after WWII, for example).
4. Write your own summarizing sentence which makes use of those key phrases or distinctions.

How to Summarize an Article

1. Ask yourself why the article was written and who is the intended audience.
2. Consider the author’s background if known. Does he have a special bias or point of view?
3. Compare the opening and closing paragraphs.
4. Read the entire article more than once, if necessary.
5. Underline key or repeated words and phrases.
6. Distinguish the author’s main idea from details which support that idea or are repetitions and variations on the same theme.
7. Draft a several-sentence summary which defines the author’s main idea broadly enough to account for most of the supporting material introduced.

Spatt, Brenda. Writing from Sources . New York : St. Martin ‘s Press, 1983.

Paraphrasing is putting smaller sections of text into your own words. No information is left out. It is appropriate for supporting information, biographical, predictions, hypothesis, drawing conclusions.

A paraphrase is…

1. your own rendition of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form.
2. one legitimate way (when accompanied by accurate documentation) to borrow from a source.
3. a more detailed restatement than a summary, which focuses concisely on a single main idea.

Steps to an effective paraphrase

1. Read the original passage several times until you understand its full meaning.
2. Pretend that you have to explain it to a younger person, or someone your age who is just learning English, who won’t understand the original. What would you say?
3. Set the original aside, and write your explanation (paraphrase) on your note taking organizer.
4. Check your paraphrase with the original to make sure that your version accurately expresses all the important information in a new form.
5. Use quotation marks to identify any unique term or words you have borrowed exactly from the source.
6. Record the source (including the page) on your note taking organizer so that you can credit it easily if you decide to use the material into your paper or project.

Modified from “Six Steps to Effective Paraphrasing.” Purdue University Online Writing Lab.                     < http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_paraphr.html >.

Copy and paste small portions of text such as specific details, facts, definitions, and statistics. Typically you don’t need to cite this kind of information if it is common knowledge, unless it is a new or unique perspective on the knowledge.

Directly quote a source. Quotations are reserved for 1-2 sentence statements that prove a point or reveal an attitude. Don’t use quotations to make your point, just to back it up. They are especially appropriate for primary sources such as diaries, journals, speeches, interviews, letters, memos, manuscripts, memoirs, and autobiographies. You need to use quotation marks and footnotes.

Note taking tips modified from: Stripling, Barbara K. and Judy M. Pitts. Brainstorms and Blueprints: Teaching Library Research as a Thinking Process. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, Inc. 1988.

Tip for avoiding plagiarism: You will need to add quotes around text that is extracted directly from the source. Summarized or paraphrased notes should be “noted” so you rember to cite as appropriate. (NoodleTools notes will do this for you!)  Do this so you won’t forget whether or not it is a direct quote or paraphrased when you are using the information in a paper later on.