What does it mean to summarize within a paper?

A summary is a condensed version of a passage. Similar to paraphrasing, summarizing involves using your own words and writing style to express another author’s ideas. Unlike the paraphrase, which presents important details, the summary presents only the most important ideas of the passage.

Why do we need to summarize?

Summarizing teaches students how to discern the most important ideas in a text, how to ignore irrelevant information, and how to integrate the central ideas in a meaningful way. Teaching students to summarize improves their memory for what is read. Summarization strategies can be used in almost every content area.

What is the best definition of a summary?

A summary is a brief statement or restatement of main points, especially as a conclusion to a work: a summary of a chapter. A brief is a detailed outline, by heads and subheads, of a discourse (usually legal) to be completed: a brief for an argument.

Is summarizing a skill or strategy?

Rated as a highly effective literacy strategy by the National Reading Panel, paraphrasing is a skill that requires students to restate what they have heard or read in their own words. Summarizing involves more that putting individual points in one’s own words.

How do you help students summarize?

To help students summarize fiction, introduce a story map or other graphic organizer, and ask them to fill in the information for a recent fictional text they read, or have them summarize a chapter of their favorite novel or story. They can also summarize the lyrics from a favorite song or poem.