Revising Summaries
Once you draft your summary, take a quick break and come back to it to see it freshly. When you revise, you make sure the source is cited and all the key ideas are in order. These activities will help you revise.
Revising to Cite Sources
In your topic sentence, you should add the title and author of the text you are summarizing. By doing so, you cite the source of the ideas. Try these strategies:
- Add an introductory part:
According to “K-Pop Goes Global” by Frances Blake, Korean pop music is gaining a worldwide following through a mix of sound and technology.
- Make the title the subject:
Frances Blake’s article “K-Pop Goes Global” describes how Korean pop music is gaining a worldwide following through a mix of sound and technology.
- Add an introductory part and make the author the subject:
In the article “K-Pop Goes Global,” Frances Blake writes that Korean pop music is gaining a worldwide following through a mix of sound and technology.
Cite the source.
Use some of the strategies above to add the title and author to the following topic sentences. Then add the title and author of “The Modern Day Magellan” to the topic sentence of your summary. Make a copy of this Google doc or download a Word template.
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Topic sentence: Medieval clothes offered clues about wealth and status.
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Title: “A Fashionable History”
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Author: Leanna Jones
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Topic sentence: Zoos rely on animal mothers to raise their babies.
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Title: “Zoo Mothers”
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Author: Roy Pierce
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(Answers will vary.) According to “A Fashionable History” by Leanna Jones, medieval clothes offered clues about wealth and status.
(Answers will vary.) Roy Pierce’s article “Zoo Mothers” describes how zoos rely on animal mothers to raise their babies.
Revised Topic Sentence
(Answers will vary.) Lizbeth Mitchell's article "The Modern Day Magellan" describes how a British man named Jonathon Yates traveled around the world on his motorcycle in one year.
Revising with a Peer Response
Share your writing.
Have a trusted classmate read your summary and complete the form. Make a copy of this Google doc or download a Word template.
Revising in Action
When you revise, you add, delete, rewrite, and rearrange your writing to make it clearer. Here are revisions to a summary of “K-Pop Goes Global.”
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Paragraph Before Revisions
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A source was cited, simplified wording used, and some transitions were added.
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Paragraph After Revisions
Revise with a checklist.
Read each line. When you can answer each question with a yes, check it off. Make a copy of this Google doc or download a Word template.
Developing Your Ideas
- Does my topic sentence give the title, name the author, and state the main idea of the article?
- Do the body sentences include important details about the main idea?
- Does the summary contain my own words for the most part?
Structuring Your Ideas
- Does the information generally follow the same order as the article?
- Does my summary contain a topic sentence, body sentences, and an ending sentence?
- Do I use transitions to connect ideas?