Final answer:
To summarize a source means to provide a brief overview using your own words while maintaining the source's main points and major details. Whether summarized, paraphrased, or quoted, the source must be properly cited to credit the original author.
Step-by-step explanation:
To give a brief overview of an entire source or a large section of a source in your own words is to summarize. This technique involves condensing the main points and major details of the source material while retaining the original intent and context. When you summarize, it is crucial that you do not provide your interpretation or opinion; instead, you convey the essence of the source's work. Like quotation and paraphrasing, a summary must also be properly cited to credit the original source, thereby avoiding plagiarism.
Summarizing is a useful strategy when responding to text, as it allows you to conserve space in your writing and maintain the flow of your paper. A paraphrase may serve a similar function but involves rephrasing ideas in your own words, potentially altering the length of the original text. Paraphrased material or specific ideas from the source can also be included in the form of paraphrase and should be attributed to the original author. Direct quotations should be used sparingly and only when the source's language is particularly striking or when featuring the author's diction. It's essential to use quotation marks around direct quotes and adhere to the formatting style mandated by the instructor.