Summarizing Sources-MLA

How to Summarize

Summarizing involves taking a passage of whatever length and representing it in a much shorter form. To summarize successfully, you should read the passage that you are interested in and ask yourself, “What is the main idea that the author is trying to convey? What major idea is being supported by the evidence or arguments contained in the passage?”

Tips 

  • Read through the passage carefully, taking notes in the margins.
  • Write down the author’s main point.
  • Look away from the article, and try to state the author’s main point aloud.
  • Pretend you have to compose a Tweet explaining the main point of the passage or article to an audience unfamiliar with the source. What’s the most important point/idea to convey?

Take a look at the examples of poor and high quality summarizing.

Source

Park, Alice. "The Reason for Recess." Time, vol. 179, no. 2, 16 January 2012,

content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2103732,00.html.

Original passage

“Researchers in the Netherlands report that children who get more exercise, whether at school or on their own, tend to have higher GPAs and better scores on standardized tests. In a review of 14 studies that looked at physical activity and academic performance, investigators found that the more children moved, the better their grades were in school, particularly in the basic subjects of math, English and reading.

The data support earlier research that linked exercise with greater productivity and fewer sick days among adults and will certainly fuel the ongoing debate over whether physical-education classes should be cut as schools struggle to survive on smaller budgets. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, students need about one hour of physical activity every day to remain healthy; only 18% of high school students met this requirement in the week before a 2009 survey, and 23% had not exercised at all during that period.

Ironically, the arguments against P.E. have included concerns that gym time may be taking away from study time. With standardized test scores in the U.S. dropping in recent years, some administrators believe students need to spend more time in the classroom instead of on the playground. But as these findings show, exercise and academics may not be mutually exclusive. Physical activity can improve blood flow to the brain, fueling memory, attention and creativity, which are essential to learning. And exercise releases hormones that can improve mood and suppress stress, which can also help learning. So while it may seem as if kids are just exercising their bodies when they're running around, they may actually be exercising their brains as well.”

Summarizing examples

  • Poor quality summary: The main point of the passage is that physical activity can improve many aspects of learning and that hormones released during exercise can be beneficial and help with learning.
    • Explanation: Avoid taking random words from the passage you are summarizing and including them in your summary. Provide a citation for your source.
  • High quality summary:  An article in Time reports that physical activity may aid the learning process (Park).
    • Explanation: All of the examples cited in the original passage support the same major idea. All of the supporting examples are omitted from the summary, and only the main idea is included. In addition, a citation for the article is provided.