Obviously, you cannot write a good summary essay of a source that you do not understand. One such technique is the reader's summary, which you write for yourself, as a way of understanding the text you are reading. But there is another type of summary, the summary essay, which is written for an audience other than yourself. The purpose of the summary essay is to convey to others an understanding of a text you have read, without their having to read it themselves. Thus for your readers, your summary essay functions as a substitute for the source that you are summarizing. You do not want to misrepresent your source or mislead your audience. Certainly an important feature of the summary essay, then, is its fidelity to the source; you must represent your source accurately and comprehensively, with as little of your own interpretation as possible. (Anytime you read and repeat a source, of course, you are engaging in interpretation; but the summary essay asks you to minimize your interpretation as much as possible. You should not add your own examples and explanations, for instance.) An alternative purpose of the summary essay, one that is very commonplace in college, is a demonstration of comprehension: teachers sometimes assign summary essays when they want to make sure that students fully understand an assigned source. In this case, your essay does not substitute for the source, for the teacher has read the source, too. Yet your essay will be written in the same way, with fidelity to the source. The following format works well for a summary essay:

a. The introduction (usually one paragraph)--

1. Contains a one-sentence thesis statement that sums up the main point of the source. This thesis statement is not your main point; it is the main point of your source. Usually, though, you have to write this statement rather than quote it from the source text. It is a one-sentence summary of the entire text that your essay summarizes.

2. Also introduces the text to be summarized:

(a) Gives the title of the source (using MLA or APA guidelines--p. 000);
(b) Provides the name of the author of the source;
(c) Sometimes also provides pertinent background information about the author of the source or about the text to be summarized.
The introduction should not offer your own opinions or evaluation of the text you are summarizing.

b. The body of a summary essay (one or more paragraphs) paraphrases and condenses the original piece. In your summary, be sure that you--

(1) Include important data but omit minor points;
(2) Include one or more of the author's examples or illustrations (these will bring your summary to life);
(3) Do not include your own ideas, illustrations, metaphors, or interpretations. Look upon yourself as a summarizing machine; you are simply repeating what the source text says, in fewer words and in your own words. But the fact that you are using your own words does not mean that you are including your own ideas.

c. There is customarily no conclusion to a summary essay. When you have summarized the source text, your summary essay is finished. Do not add your own concluding paragraph unless your teacher specifically tells you to.