How to Integrate Sources into Papers: 3. Summarizing

The original passage:

For nearly 1,400 years Islam, though diverse in sectarian practice and ethnic tradition, has provided a unifying faith for peoples stretching from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean and beyond. Starting in the 1500s, Western ascendancy, which culminated in colonization, eroded once glorious Muslim empires and reduced the influence of Islam. After the breakup of the Ottoman Empire following World War I and the decline of European colonial empires following World War II, Muslim nations adopted Western ideologies–communism, socialism, secular nationalism, and capitalism. Yet most Muslims remained poor and powerless. Their governments, secular regimes often backed by the West, were corrupt and repressive (Belt 78). Belt, Don. “The World of Islam.” National Geographic. January 2002: 76-85. Print.

• Despite Western-style governments, Muslim countries are mired in deep poverty and radical governments. This despite the fact that the religion has existed for several centuries. European colonization ruined the Islamic religion for a long time. You would find it hard to imagine how many Muslims there really are out there

The issue with this summary is that it is disorganized and does not follow the order of information from the original passage, trivializes the religion's historical significance with vague phrasing, uses informal language that biases the tone, is half the length of the original passage—which is longer than a summary should be—and no credit (attribution) is given to the original source.

The original passage:

For nearly 1,400 years Islam, though diverse in sectarian practice and ethnic tradition, has provided a unifying faith for peoples stretching from the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean and beyond. Starting in the 1500s, Western ascendancy, which culminated in colonization, eroded once glorious Muslim empires and reduced the influence of Islam. After the breakup of the Ottoman Empire following World War I and the decline of European colonial empires following World War II, Muslim nations adopted Western ideologies–communism, socialism, secular nationalism, and capitalism. Yet most Muslims remained poor and powerless. Their governments, secular regimes often backed by the West, were corrupt and repressive (Belt 78). Belt, Don. “The World of Islam.” National Geographic. January 2002: 76-85. Print.

• Belt states that for almost 1,500 years, Islam has united people globally. Western interference, through colonization and political ideologies, has not improved Muslims’ lives (78).

This summary is good because it aligns with the order of information of the original passage, preserves its tone, is concisely presented, and includes proper attribution and citation, making it clear where the summary begins and ends.