1. SUMMARY AND
ANALYSIS
What’s the difference?!

2. SUMMARY
 Summary is basically what it sounds like…summing something
up, or giving you the basic outline or premise of a story. It tells what
happens in a text, or series of events.
 Summary is an observation.
 The purpose of a summary is to inform your readers and let them
know what's going on…give them the basic gist.

3. SUMMARY CONT.
 Summary often uses the W’s
• Who
• What
• When
• Where
W’s
• Why
• How

4. SUMMARY CONT.
 You should only use summary when you need to make points.
 If you are summarizing then you are just giving a basic outline of
the plot and you aren't doing the important work of critically
evaluating and really diving into the text.
 Think of summary as a way of recapping-like explaining to a
friend the latest episode of your favorite show…you would want to
inform them and give them the basic points.

5. ANALYSIS
 Analysis is an argument or your take on a certain interpretation of
a plot or text.
 We use analysis to take apart certain parts of a text to look at them
closer and really delve into the meaning of the words and symbols
and really see what the author was trying to get across.
 You should really hone in and narrow your focus to a specific part
of a text or passage in order to perform a good analysis.

6. ANALYSIS CONT.
 An analysis is more of an inference than an observation. Its your
take on the plot and characters.
 It was interesting to read in the PowerPoint our teacher did that
“Forming a thoughtful argument based on evidence is something we
do every day for all sorts of reasons.” I never really thought about
decision making as something so complex but perhaps it is.

7. ANALYSIS CONT.
 Think of analysis as you would a movie critic or a book critic, you
want to give the plot without giving away the juicy details. You should
give your personal opinion and perspective but in a way that is
respectful to the text.

8. IN CONCLUSION
 The differences between summary and analysis is that summary is the basic idea of a text
where analysis is more of the underlying meaning and unwritten essence.
 To help yourself differentiate you should use the PIE acronym:
P-Your argument needs to have a Point.
I-You need to have support or Illustrations to back up your point
E-You should have an Explanation why your talking about what you are, or
an explanation for the points your making.