summary.paragraph

Pattern: Summary

Generally speaking, summary paragraphs do not have a set organizational pattern. They can, for example, follow any of the patterns mentioned in the Paragraph Bank as well as utilize the Paragraph Bank tricks.

The sample summary paragraph below, however, follows one of the best ways to organize a summary paragraph: moving from the general to the specific. The paragraph begins with a focused topic sentence that mentions key summary information: the title of the essay, the author, and the essay's thesis or main point. Then, the paragraph continues by explaining Lawrence's thesis in greater detail. In other words, the paragraph moves from the general (a summary of Barbara Lawrence's thesis) to the specific (how the author supports her argument).

Additionally, this paragraph also quotes key terms and phrases from the Lawrence's essay to support and illustrate its summary points. The quotes aren't long, which is good because this way they don't overwhelm the paragraph and the writer's voice.

And finally, notice that this summary paragraph ends with a question, a quote from the essay. Generally speaking, questions are a poor way to conclude an informative essay or paragraph. Questions generally make poor endings for informational writing, like a summary, because they leave the reader with questions instead of answers. Remember, in informative writing, the professor will be interested in answers. In this case, however, the author Lawrence leaves this question unanswered; it is a rhetorical device to get the reader thinking. Since this is a summary paragraph, not a reaction or an argumentative paragraph or paper, the student writer is not responsible for addressing this question. The student writer, in this case, only needs to point out that Lawrence asks the question, " why is one group any more acceptable than another?"

Sample Paragraph

English 121

In the essay, "Four Letter Words Can Hurt You," Barbara Lawrence argues that obscene language is dangerous not only because of its sadistic origins, but also because of its mechanistic functions. Flaying the tabooed words for what they really are, she tries to educate the reader to choose their words more carefully. Ms. Lawrence questions why some words are acceptable to society while others, supposedly with the same meaning, are tabooed. "Four Letter Words Can Hurt You" responds that this question can no longer be answered simply because of "sexual hangups" or "class oppression." With their brutal and sadistic origins, the tabooed words have evolved over the years to reduce the act of intercourse and the parts involved to inhuman mechanics and instruments of those mechanics. When you strip away the identity or the human factor involved, you have reduced that person to inanimate object. This, Lawrence suggests, is the real reason these words are obscene. Lawrence then argues that these "dehumanizing descriptives" are particularly damaging to all forms of sexual intimacy. For they not only damage our vision of women by figuratively reducing them to a "skirt" or a "piece," but also encourage men to be consistently self-involved. Finally, Lawrence compares sexually obscene language to racial epithets and asks a compelling question: since both word groups function similarly, why is one group any more acceptable than another?

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Bret Hann, Writing Center Coordinator
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