Summarizing: Definition and Use

• A summary is a brief overview of a larger idea or section of text. It is less specific and shorter than the original. A summary may be a succinct description of an idea from one source, or a synthesis of related ideas from multiple sources.
• Difference between paraphrasing and summarizing: Paraphrasing is roughly the same length as the original, while summarizing provides the main ideas of a source or sources, but does not get into the details.
• While you won’t use quotation marks in a summary that you put in your own words, you still need to cite ideas and concepts that come from other sources.
• If you’re summarizing multiple sources, be specific when you cite. If multiple sources have provided you with the same piece of information, you can cite them all at the end of a paragraph. If you’re synthesizing several pieces of information into the same paragraph but different individual facts or ideas came from distinct sources, cite them accordingly. 

(From Information Literacy Core)

Anatomy of a Scholarly Journal -click on sections of the article for descriptions.

This guide accompanies Professor Cain's Extra Credit Assignment for Biology 1210.  It offers students guidance in locating quality scholarly articles on Biology related topics.