Read the original passage or text very carefully. Use a pencil to highlight or underline what you take to be the main point of the original text, or make notes in the margins or on another sheet of paper. If you're summarizing an entire essay, outline the writer's argument. Now tell your audience what the original source argued. Summary Conventions 1.
Summaries can range in length from two sentences to several pages.
In any case, use complete sentences to describe an author's general points to your reader. Don't quote extensively. If you quote, use quotation marks and document the quotation. Green contends that the Republican and Democratic parties are funded by the same major corporations. Example The following paragraph is summarized below.