GEAR UP FOR LIFE

WRITING MENTOR: Summary

A summary is a short version of the whole thing.

A summary is short and to the point.

Summaries don't have lots of details. They probably don't have any details!

If someone is telling you about a newspaper article they read, you just want the main ideas. You don't want to sit there and hear everything. If you did, you would read the article!

Imagine someone telling you everything about a movie you haven't seen! How boring! Go see the movie! Sure, let someone summarize what it's about so that you can tell if you want to see it.

• A summary is short.

• A summary covers the main parts.

• A summary gives you a good idea without all of the details.

One of the history units talks about the first people to come to America. Read the the summary below.

The first people came to America from Asia. They crossed an ice bridge that is now the Bering Strait. Large animals also crossed. The first people hunted them for food. Later, people went south and started villages. They learned to plant food after the mammoths and other big creatures died off.

If you want more, you would have to read the unit. And if you wanted more, you would look up more information in encyclopedias or the Internet.

A good summary provides major information and leaves out minor information.

Look at the example below.

Our school played Lucky College (LC) last night. Our girls served well, spiked like pros, and played great defense. At half-time, we were ahead by two points. In the second half, we seemed to lose our steam. LC started picking up our spikes. Our serves were not as effective. Their best player couldn't miss anything.  We lost by two points, but it was a fun night for the spectators!

Notice that a summary doesn't give lots of details. You don't know how long the games lasted, or the names of the players, how tall they were, or where they played. You don't know what colors they were wearing, how many people attended, or who the referee was. A summary only gives you the most important facts from the point of view of the person writing or speaking.

Summarizing is one of the best writing skills you can develop! It takes practice. Learn to summarize, and your readers will love you for it!