While summarizing, the writer provides their readers with a reduced version of the key points presented by an author. A summary may be long or even as brief as a few sentences; this depends on the intricacy of the content and the level of detail the writer wishes to impart to their readers. One requires summarizing a source in their paper when they are going to refer to that specific source and also wants that their readers comprehend the plot, main ideas, or the argument presented in the source prior to laying out their own argument regarding it, developing a response or analysis of it.
Prior to summarizing a source in the paper, one must decide what their readers require knowing regarding that specific source for the order of understanding their argument. For instance, in case one is making an argument regarding a novel, they must avoid inserting a lot of detail about the content in the book as it would merely confuse or distract the readers. One must rather fill in details scarcely and cautiously, focusing on the only areas which are required to be understood by the reader (academic.sfsu.edu).
While including a summary of a paper in the essay, one should cite the source properly. This would be done according to the referencing style followed in the paper, for instance, APA, Harvard, Oxford, and more. For the example essay presented above, the information entailed to cite in the reference list would include;
Milgram, S. (1974). The perils of obedience. In L.G. Kirszner & S.R. Mandell (Eds.) The Blair reader (pp.725-737). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Paraphrasing
When content is paraphrased from a source, the writer restates the ideas in the source using their own words and style. While a summary presents a reduced overview ...