Writing A Summary With Acknowledgement

 Writing A Summary With Acknowledgement

 

Summarizing is a process of shortening a reading selection while preserving its overall meaning.  By writing a summary, you can demonstrate your understanding of a reading.

 

What are the qualities of a summary?

1. A summary is written in complete sentences.

2. A summary is written in your own words.

3. A summary maintains the author’s original meaning.

4. A summary contains the main ideas and primary supporting information included in the original work.

5. A summary contains no opinion of the writer.  In other words, no judgments as to whether the piece of writing is “good” or “interesting” are permitted in a summary.

 

Some suggestions for writing a summary:

1. Start by carefully reading the piece of writing you want to summarize to make sure you truly understand the author’s ideas.

2. Close your book or put the article away.

3. Think about the author’s main point and write a statement that expresses it.  (Use an introductory phrase from below.) This should be the first sentence in your summary.

4. Next, identify the most important information the author includes to support the main point and include this primary supporting information in your summary.

5. Mention the author’s last name again at the end of your summary.

 

How to give acknowledgement: introductory phrases

 

You can choose among many different introductory phrases to indicate the author and title of the reading.  Use the author’s whole name the first time you mention him/her and only the last name after that.  

1. (The author) states in (the reading selection) that….

2. (The author), in (the reading selection), shows that…

3. In (the reading selection), (the author) writes that….

4. According to (the author), in (the reading selection)…

 

 

Examples: 

According to Robert Hickok, in his book Music Appreciation, music is being used today in a number of ways not related to entertainment.

 

Bob Greene, in “How Unwritten Rules Circumscribe Our Lives”, explains that people take social rules very seriously.

 

 

Sample Summary with acknowledgement: 

   In “Helicopter Parenting” Hysteria, Alfie Kohn writes that although people tend to believe that helicopter parenting is both common and harmful to college-age children, research indicates that it is not as serious or as widespread as they think.  According to research, young adults with frequent parental involvement have a better sense of well-being and do better academically than those who lack parental involvement. Many of the negative ideas about helicopter parenting come from the idea that young people should become self-reliant right away, yet a strong relationship between parents and their adult children remains important.  Some limited research shows that young adults whose parents are extremely controlling have some problems, but the research doesn’t prove that helicopter  parenting is the cause.   Kohn claims that parents need to be appropriately involved with their adult children which may mean offering more support or giving them the independence that they are ready for.  (150 words)