Writing a Summary
TASK 1
Writing a Summary for the CPE
As part of the writing assignment for Task 1 you must write a summary of a section of the long reading (Reading Selection A). Students often make two mistakes in their summaries:
  1. They summarize the whole essay rather than the section the writing assignment asks them to focus on;

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  2. Students write the summary thinking that is sufficient and leave out the rest of the assignment. The summary is only one part—though a very important part—of Task 1.
Part of what you must do for Task 1 is write a short summary of the text. But remember a summary is not the same as an analysis.

Your summary should make it clear that you understand that part of the author’s text that Task 1 asks you to discuss.

Depending on the length and complexity of the original passage, your summary can be as brief as a single sentence or as long as a few paragraphs.

A good summary should be:

Comprehensive. You need to isolate all the important points in the original passage. List the points,and then review them. For your summary, include all the points that are essential to the author’s thesis.
Concise. Eliminate repetitions, even if the author restates the same points. Remember, a summary should be considerably shorter than the author’s original writing.
Coherent. A good summary is a piece of writing in its own right. While it should be developed from your list of notes, it should not sound like a list of sentences that are strung together in paragraph or essay form.
Independent. Do not imitate the author. Do not simply quote the author. Use your own words to express your understanding of what you have read. After all, your summary is based on your interpretation of the writer’s points or ideas. Do not introduce your own comments or criticisms into the summary. These should be saved for your analysis.

Summarizing for Task 1

After reading Selection A carefully, break it up into sections. The text may provide subheadings indicating subtopics. Sometimes the author will simply change focus without specifically indicating it with a title. Work on summarizing the various sections by following these steps:

  1. Write a one-sentence summary of each paragraph in that section.

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  2. Try to summarize the whole section in a single sentence.

  3. Begin your summary with the single sentence that summarized the whole section (from step 2). Follow it with the one-sentence paragraph summaries (from step 1).

  4. Reread and edit the summary you wrote in step 3 to make it clear and concise. Eliminate repetition and minor points. Provide transitional words to lead from one sentence to another. The final version should be a complete, unified and coherent whole. Check your spelling and grammar.

  5. Now check your version against the author’s original. Have you accurately described the author’s major points? Make any necessary changes to your summary.

—Adapted with permission from “Invention: Guidelines for Writing a Summary,” The Reading Writing Center, Hunter College, CUNY

 
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