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CHAPTER
19
P
UTTING
I
TIN
Y
OUR
O
WN
W
ORDS
The capstone strategy for
understanding and
remembering what you
read is to take a writer’s
ideas and put them into
your own words.
This chapter will show
you how to summarize
and paraphrase what
you read.
A
sure sign that you understand something is
that you can explain it to someone else. Similarly, if you
really understand something you read, you should be able
to “rewrite” it. And rewriting what you read is a sure way to help you
remember it.
This doesn’t mean, of course, that you should sit down and copy a
book cover to cover. That wouldn’t serve any purpose. It does mean,

bly be summarized effectively in four pages.
•
Keep main ideas in the same order.
•
Be careful not to change any of the writer’s facts or ideas.
If this seems like a big challenge, just imagine how you would explain
the key ideas in a passage to a friend. Then, write that explanation down
in your own words, in your own way. Of course, you don’t need to change
key terms, but the rest of your summary should be as much in your own
words as possible.
P
RACTICE
1
Take another look at the passage you saw earlier about Sigmund Freud’s
personality theory. Beneath the first paragraph is a sample summary of
that paragraph. After you read the sample paragraph, summarize the
PUTTING IT IN YOUR OWN WORDS
193
other paragraphs. For now, don’t worry if you don’t change every word.
Obviously, key terms will stay the same. But do put the ideas in your own
words as much as possible.
Sigmund Freud, the famous psychiatrist, made many
contributions to the science of psychology. One of his great-
est contributions was his theory of the personality.
According to Freud, the human personality is made up of
three parts: the id, the ego, and the superego.
Sample Summary:
Freud’s theory of the three parts of the human personality has
been very important in psychology.
Here are the rest of the paragraphs for you to summarize. Write a one-

Answers will vary. Here’s one summary of these paragraphs. Notice how
the sentences have been put together to form one paragraph summariz-
ing the whole passage:
Freud’s theory of the three parts of the human personality
has been very important in psychology. The subconscious id
is driven by the pleasure principle. The ego, which operates
in the real world (reality principle), tries to satisfy the id. The
superego provides the ego with morals and values to do
what’s right.
Use Glossing and Highlighting to Help
You Summarize
Rather than summarizing each paragraph as soon as you read it, try
doing it this way: First, underline, highlight, or gloss each paragraph.
Then use your underlining, highlighting, or glossing to write a paragraph
summarizing the whole passage.
Take a look at this example. The passage about different types of
burns has been highlighted below. Notice how the sample summary that
follows it pulls from information that is highlighted in the passage.
There are three different kinds of burns: first degree,
second degree, and third degree. Each type of burn requires
a different type of medical treatment.
The least serious burn is the first degree burn. This burn
causes the skin to turn red but does not cause blistering.A
mild sunburn is a good example of a first-degree burn, and,
like a mild sunburn, first-degree burns generally do not
require medical treatment other than a gentle cooling of the
burned skin with ice or cold tap water.
PUTTING IT IN YOUR OWN WORDS
195
Second degree burns, on the other hand, do cause blis-

news article about the toxic chemical leak and decide what the main ideas
and key pieces of information are. Highlight, underline, or gloss the
passage. Then, summarize the article in a paragraph on a separate sheet
of paper. Remember, minor supporting facts and specific details don’t
belong in a summary. Stick to the main ideas and most important facts.