How to Summarize
A summary is a brief restatement of the main ideas expressed in a piece of writing. Like a paraphrase, a summary expresses another person’s ideas IN YOUR OWN WORDS. However, a summary is shorter than a paraphrase. A summary shortens the original material presenting only the most important points. It does not include analysis or inference. It contains only the facts of the story.
*State only the main ideas, mention only the main characters, and tell only the main events in your own words. You may add direct quotes and parenthetical citation, if needed. Follow the plot elements outline and state one, or at the most two, sentences for each part.
*Write in literary present tense.
*Do not add detail or description.
*Do not use “you, your, I, my, me, us, we” unless it is in a direct quote.
*Match your tone with the piece you are summarizing.
Rubric
Begin with a sentence that gives the genre, title, and author of the literary piece and leads into the… ___/1 pt.
Exposition: - which includes the main character(s), setting, and general story idea/conflict. ___/1 pt.
The Rising Action includes more complications and conflict that adds to the drama. ___/1 pt.
The Climax is the high point of the story, the most dramatic part, after which there is a change in the main character. ___1 pt.
The Falling Action deals with more evidence of change and a winding down of the literary piece. ___/1 pt.
The Denouement is the end of the story. ___/1 pt.
Example:
In the short story, “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” by Ray Bradbury, a few thousand men and boys are trying to sleep the night before battle in a peach field including Joby, a 14-year-old runaway who has no weapons, only his drum. Joby is worried about the dangers of battle and breaks down crying as the General walks by. The General hears the crying, discovers it is the drummer boy, and explains that he, Joby, is needed to pull the soldiers together as one army and that it is his drum beat that gives the men courage. Joby now knows his job is very important because he is the “general of the army when the general’s left behind” (Bradbury 29). Joby, “The Drummer Boy of Shiloh,” waits for morning turning his drum face up to the sky.
Student Name: ______
Period: _____
Summary Paragraph
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