Here's a matrix that sorts the characteristics of a good summary and a bad summary:
| Good Summary | Bad Summary | |----------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------| | It is objective. | It includes a personal opinion. | | It is brief or concise. | It includes direct quotations from the text. | | It is written in the author's own words. | It introduces new information taken from other sources. | | It includes only the key ideas/main points. | It includes specific details from the passage/novel. |
This layout outlines the key characteristics that differentiate a good summary from a bad summary.