First Part of an Effective Summary: Article, Publisher, and Author

Article name: usually appears as the top of the page and can also include the publisher

Example: “Semicolons: A Love Story” from the New York Times

Author name: appears beneath the title and should include the author’s position/title and a brief description; for print resources, you can usually find this information at the bottom of the article, on the back or front cover of the book, or in the “about the author” in the front or back of the book; for online resources, you can usually find this information by clicking on the author’s name, scrolling to the bottom of the article, or checking the “about” section on the website

Example: Ben Dolnick, an author of several books and articles including “Zoology,” “You Know Who You Are,” and “Shelf-Love.”

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First part of ineffective summary: In this article, the author talks about semicolons.

First part of effective summary: In the article, “Semicolons: A Love Story” from the New York Times, Ben Dolnick, an author of several books and articles, including “Zoology,” “You Know Who You Are,” and “Shelf-Love,” talks about his love affair with semicolons.
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Second Part of Effective Summary: Who? When? Where? How? Why?

Who/what is happening? Use specific names of people, places or things (otherwise called proper nouns)
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Different levels of specificity Level One: Cheating scandal

Level Two: Cheating scandal at Harvard University

Level Three: Cheating scandal at Harvard University involving as many as 125 students in a 279-person class, including the co-captains of the basketball team.

Level Four: Several months ago, a cheating scandal involving a take-home exam where undergraduates at Harvard University improperly collaborated for the Government 1310: Introduction to Congress involving as many as 125 students in a 279-person class, including the co-captains, Kyle Casey and Brandyn Curry, of the men’s basketball team.

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When is this happening? Time: the specific moment the event happened or a general statement about when the event occurred Example: Six months ago… Several months ago… On October 24, 2012… In the morning…

Timeframe: a general estimate about when something happened or when something started Example: Ongoing… About the time when… Still occurring… In the future…

Where is this happening? Specific places (proper nouns); can also be times if a place is not specified or a person Example: Davidson College has an honor code… This happened to me throughout school… Every morning…

How is this happening? The author’s evidence for their opinion or opinions or the main points of in the body paragraphs such as names of specific people (proper nouns) and details the author mentions (nouns)

Example: Dolnick mentions William James as being one author who changed his mind about using semicolons. He describes James’ writing as “Semicolons, along with exclamation points and dashes and whole sackfuls of commas, are, for him, vital tools in keeping what he called the “stream of thought” from appearing to the reader as a wild torrent.”

Why is this happening? Some helpful questions for determining the “why”: what has the author learned? what is the author’s conclusion? why does this information matter? why is it important?