1) A summary must be comprehensive: You should isolate all the important points in the original passage and note them down in a list. Review all the ideas on your list, and include in your summary all the ones that are indispensable to the author's development of her/his thesis or main idea.
2) A summary should not include your opinions about the subject matter or the author's argumentative strategy. Even if you disagree with the text's content, you must relay only its factual elements. DOs and DON'Ts for writing summaries: Do point out the author's purpose for writing (Ex: to inform, to persuade).
