Prof. F. Mathias
Prof. K. Riley
Here is a basic formula for writing successful summaries. It starts by giving you a mnemonic device for remembering what to do when you have to write one.
Summaries make me sick, so CURE ME!
The CURE tells you HOW to
write your summary; the ME tells you WHAT to include in it.
Condensed: Use only necessary words or
phrases.
Say an idea only once;
don’t repeat.
The summary should be the
length requested
or no more than 1/3 the length of the
original
article.
Unbiased: Leave out "I" and any
personal opinion.
REstated: Put
the author's ideas in your own words.
Main
Idea: Start with the
author’s name followed by a
verb like
“says, claims, believes, suggests”
and then the central point of the
article.
The central point corresponds to the Topic
Sentence in the TREE diagram.
Essential Points: Include
all major supports in the article and
and only the minor supports needed to
explain them. Major supports are Reasons;
minor supports are Explanations and
Examples.
Omit long,
direct quotes, unnecessary minor
supports and a conclusion for the summary.
Original Passage:
The door opens.
Dr. Michael DeBakey enters and walks quickly to the operating
table. His assistants have already
opened the patient’s chest and removed the diseased heart. With the skill and precision of a master,
DeBakey transplants a healthy donor heart into the patient’s chest. It takes about an hour. When DeBakey finishes, he leaves the
operating suite and goes to the scrub room.
He takes off his operating clothes, scrubs down, and puts on clean,
sterilized clothes. In a matter of
minutes, he enters another operating suite, and the whole process starts
over. In a normal working day, DeBakey
operates on five to nine patients. He
normally spend 12-15 hours a day, seven days a week, in the hospital and
performs as many heart operations in one month as most surgeons do in a
year. There is one more thing you should
know about DeBakey. He is over 80 years
old (San Diego Tribune, November 27, 1987).
There are two primary reasons Dr. Michael DeBakey
functions so successfully in such a potentially stressful environment. The first is that he appraises these
situations—doing complicated heart transplants—as challenges rather than as
threats. The advantage of challenge
appraisals is that they help a person focus on making particular decisions
or solving particular problems. In turn,
problem-focused coping brings out positive feelings and emotions, such as
excitement and eagerness, which help reduce stress levels. In contrast, threat appraisals elicit
negative emotional feelings, such as fear or anxiety, which raise levels of
stress. Because emotion-focused coping
is directed at managing negative emotional feelings, the person isn’t motivated
to solve his or her problem.
A second reason DeBakey functions so well is that he
has a winning combination
of personality factors that help him perform
under great stress. Specifically, he has
what is known as a hardy personality.
(307 words)
From Introduction
to Psychology, 5e, by Ron Plotnick
Sample Summary:
Ron Plotnick offers two
reasons why Dr. Michael DeBakey, a heart surgeon in his eighties, can work
twelve-hour days every day. First, the
doctor views his work of transplanting hearts as a challenge instead of a threat. Because he focuses on solving problems, he
enjoys good feelings that relieve stress.
People who perceive a circumstance as a threat focus on bad emotions;
thus, they create tension and do not improve the situation. Next, Dr. DeBakey has a “hardy personality”
or several emotional traits that allow him to withstand the stress of his
difficult occupation. (94 words)
Writing a Summary based on
the TREE outline
If you are familiar with the
Three-TREE sandwich model for writing a basic paragraph, you can adapt it for
writing a summary.
First, look at the diagram
for writing summaries and notice that it has some but not all of the same
parts. Also, the labels for the parts are different.
Now, learn the names of the
parts for a summary:
Topic
Sentence = Central point. This is the
main idea of the passage.
Transition Words = First, / Next, / Finally, . Use these words in your summary.
Reason = Major Support.
This is a claim or opinion for believing the central point.
Explanation and Example = Minor Support. These are details that help to explain the
major support. Include ONLY as much of
these parts as is necessary for your reader to understand the vocabulary and
ideas in the major support. In general, specific examples are too detailed to
include in a summary.
A Summary Contains A
Summary Omits
Topic Sentence/Central Point
Background
information
Transition Word + , Unneeded
Explanation
Reason/Major Support Unneeded Examples
Needed Explanation/Minor
Support Conclusion
Needed Examples/Minor
Support
If you compare the
Three-TREE Sandwich to the Summary diagram, you will see the reason for the
color of the circles in each TREE. The
colors correspond to those in a traffic signal.
Green
means “Go” or definitely include the Reason in the summary.
Orange
means “Caution” or use only the information in an Explanation needed to make
the Reason clear. Sometimes, this information will be marked off with italics,
numbers, letters or bullets in a passage.
Red means “Stop” or avoid using Examples in your summary. They generally contain specific details that would make your summary too long. In some cases, however, when an author gives only examples to support a reason, then the examples become necessary support.