Summary Writing- New York Times opinion column, “U.S.A., Land of Limitations

 A summary is a distillation of an original non-fiction work, like an essay, an article, or a chapter from a book. A well-written summary proves an understanding of the argument or essential ideas in the original text without being a mere collection of quotations or an extended paraphrase.

GENERAL GUIDELINES. A well-written summary will use few quotations, but a partial sentence quotation that encapsulates the essay’s main idea or argument is often imbedded in the first sentence (see below). A few other quotations may be needed, but these should be relatively short and embedded in your own sentences. Since a summary is intended to convey only the essence of an article or essay, do not restate detailed examples offered in support of particular ideas. Note only the main ideas. The ideas presented in a summary do not necessarily appear in the same order as they did in the original article, but are instead presented in their order of importance or as necessary to explain the chain of the argument or points being made. To ensure the audience knows that the ideas being summarized are not yours, you should use occasional references to the original author by last name or gender specific pronoun as appropriate. TRANSPARENCY. A summary should be a clear distillation of an author’s ideas. Do not critique or praise the author’s ideas. Do not editorialize, interpret, or take sides; nor should you use the first person singular—I, me, or my. TITLING A SUMMARY. The title of a summary assignment is its work cited entry, which is placed one-line space below your single-spaced name block. For example:

Kristof, Nicholas. “U.S.A., Land of Limitations?” New York Times. August 8, 2015. Web.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/09/opinion/sunday/nicholas-kristof-usa-land-

of-limitations.html. Accessed October 12, 2015.

BEGINNING A SUMMARY. All summaries begin with a first sentence that contains three things: the full title of the piece being summarized as well as its author’s full name— first and last—and his or her key point, idea, or argument. For example:

In his New York Times opinion column, “U.S.A., Land of Limitations?”,

Nicholas Kristof argues that America’s current lack of economic mobility and

its noticeably absent level playing field for economic opportunity, and the fact

that “disadvantage is less about income than environment” are what

presidential aspirants need to acknowledge and confront.

THE LENGTH QUESTION. An often cited rule of thumb for summary writing is that one should be ¼ – ½ of the original. This rule is subject to qualification, of course. A particularly dense article will require more work—length—to summarize than a fairly simple argument.

A FINAL NOTE. In addition to being evaluated for standard academic English, a summary’s grade is also based on evidence of a clear understanding of what the author is arguing, and the relationships and importance of his or her ideas.