How to Write Summaries

Many students have trouble turning a choppy or disorganized first draft into a coherent, well-organized paper. Here are some things you can expect when you work with a tutor to help you organize your paper.

Questions about the assignment and your writing process, such as…

• How did you go about writing this paper? Did you create an outline or a graphic organizer to keep yourself on track?
  
• Is this your first draft? Have any of your peers or your professor reviewed it with you?
• Is the order of information intentional, or did you write the paper in the order in which ideas came to mind?
  
• What’s your thesis statement or central idea, and how did you support it?
  
• Can you identify places where your writing seems unorganized and repetitive or jumps around? 
• Can you identify places where you used transitions to move between ideas? If not, can you identify places where a transition would help the reader move between ideas?
  

Writing activities, such as…

• Writing a fresh outline and checking the order against your paper.
• Reverse outlining: summarizing the main point(s) of each paragraph and evaluating the order of your ideas.
• Comparing your introduction to each paragraph throughout the paper to see whether each paragraph strengthens your main point and helps your paper.
• Using scissors to cut your paper into chunks or paragraphs and then rearranging the pieces to experiment with the order.

As a reminder, tutoring sessions typically…

• last 30 to 45 minutes.
• focus on one or two writing issues.
• help to develop and focus ideas as you talk one-on-one with a tutor.
• identify aspects of the paper you need to improve on your own.
• conclude with a short evaluation form.
• respect the confidentiality of your visit; a tutor will send a report form to your instructor only at your request.

Written by Emily Weber