How to Prevent Students from Cheating Coauthored by Emily Listmann In this Article Preventing Cheating on Tests Preventing Cheating on Homework and Other Assignments Preventing Cheating on Papers Community QA 16 References Students will go to tremendous lengths to cheat in school like slipping a phone in their shoe The possibilities for how to cheat are endlessly expanding especially as students have more and more technology available to them By taking steps to prevent cheating you can better help your students grow into responsible and knowledgeable adults With some forethought and effort a teacher prevent cheating before it happens and can set up the classroom to help prevent students from being able to cheat Method 1 Preventing Cheating on Tests 1 Dont allow access to test materials It is important to keep test materials secure before a test This includes making sure that all copies and the original are accounted for after copying Some students may try to access test questions before a test even if that means they have to break into your classroom or office to get them To prevent this never leave your keys hanging in the door and dont give them to a trusted student for any reason Also do not assume that tests and answer guides left at school will be safe If you are going to leave such test materials at school be sure to lock them in a file cabinet and keep the key with you at all times Be sure to change your test content from year to year This will help siblings and friends in different grades from passing on last years answers 2 Create several versions of your test Tell the students that there will be several versions given out and then give the different versions to alternating students This will prevent students from assuming that they can cheat off their neighbors test Be sure that you keep track of what test version each student has This can be done by numbering the version and having the students write the number they have on their tests Do not distinguish different versions in a way that can be seen from a distance for example by color Otherwise students can look around them for other students with the same version 3 Give open book or open note tests One way to prevent cheating is to allow students to bring information with them into class on the day of a test This forces them to study the material before the test and to figure out what they need to bring The students dont necessarily need to memorize all the information they will be tested on but they will need to know the content overall Eventually your students will learn that having the material at the their fingertips is of no use unless they have already spent time studying the material 4 Give access to test questions before the test if its closedbook If you dont want to have an open book or open note test but you want your students to focus their studying consider giving them the test questions before the test You can give them a list of more questions than you plan on giving them and tell them that you will choose your test questions out of this list That way they will be forced to review more information than you are actually going to test them on but they will be prepared for the test 5 Require students to show a student ID to take a test If your class is so big that you dont know everyone enrolled in it then a common way of cheating for students is to have someone else take the test for them To stop this require the students to show you their IDs when they enter and check this against your class roster This can be done either when entering the exam room or when collecting the exam Tell students ahead of time that you will not permit entry into the exam room or not grade an exam if the student does not appear on your roster the student does not have an ID with them or the student has a false ID 6 Allow students to use only items that you provide If you are worried about students bringing answers into the test then supply all items they will need for the test That way you can make sure that the students are taking an exam with a clean sheet of paper for example If leaning over to copy is a problem in your class you may consider investing in dividers that you pass out at test time to keep students from looking over at one anothers papers Letting students know you will be doing this beforehand will prevent some students from trying to cheat in the first place However it may drive some students towards other ways of cheating 7 Have students take all items off their desks Do not allow students to have cell phones notebooks lunchboxes or books out on their desks during tests This will eliminate older ways of cheating such as writing answers on the desk and many newer methods of cheating such as putting answers in their phones If you are especially worried about cheating do not even allow students to have labeled water bottles on their desk It is a common trick to write answers on the inside of the label and to reglue it to the bottle You may also require that backpacks be placed in the front of the room or some other open space rather than underneath desks for the duration of the exam 8 Watch the students carefully during testing Do not leave the classroom during test administration and keep an eye on what your students are doing throughout the test You may have honest students but even then you should not give them the opportunity to be tempted cheat by leaving the room If you are teaching a large class might have teaching assistants that are helping with your class Have them watch the students during testing so that more of the room can be watched at one time 9 Request that students walk up to your desk to ask questions Walking over to your students desks to answer questions during an exam puts your attention on one student giving others the chance to cheat Instead have students walk up to your desk if they have questions This allows you to help them while still keeping the rest of the class in view 10 Be cautious about students leaving the room If you allow a student to leave the classroom during an exam make sure they are not taking any test materials with them In general you should only allow students to leave the room if they absolutely need to In cases where you do decide that it is okay for a student to leave the room such as if they need to use the restroom you need to make sure that they do not take any notes or electronics with them Allow only one student to leave the room at a time This will allow you to keep track of who leaves and how long they are gone If someone is taking frequent bathroom breaks there is a chance that they have stashed answers in the bathroom You may tell a student that they must show you where their phone is and require that it stay in the room 11 Keep track of where students are sitting You can create a seating chart or you can require students to write down the names of those sitting directly next to them on their test If an allegation of I saw someone looking at my test arises it can make it easier to figure out who to talk to It also allows you to compare answers of those sitting close to each other during grading This would be especially useful in very large university courses where students may not know the names of those sitting next to them during the exam You can also create a seating chart documenting who sat where if you have a small class This way you can create a chart that keeps friends from sitting right next to one another If you have a large class number the seats and have students write their seat number on their test 12 Move students you suspect are cheating If you believe a students eyes are wandering too much reseat them First reassure the student that you are not accusing the student of cheating and that you simply want to ensure that they are showing their own work If they choose to comply take no action If they are unwilling to comply you can assume that they were cheating or had the intention of cheating If you need to reseat a student try to put them somewhere where they are away from other students Being a seat away from other students may make it easier for that student to focus on their own test 13 Limit a students ability to change their answers With short answer exams you can draw a tight box around the response or draw a line across any blank space while grading This prevents students from trying to add to their answer before requesting a regrade For scantron exams draw lines connecting the filled in answer choices before returning the scantron sheets to students This will prevent students from changing their answer and claiming that the machine made a mistake There are some websites that allow you to return exams electronically After all exams have been collected you can scan them match the submissions to students grade the exams and then release the grades online Students will login to see their scores and a scan of their exam Method 2 Preventing Cheating on Homework and Other Assignments 1 Review the honor code If your honor code states that students are not supposed to cheat and they need to report any cheating they suspect this sometimes works well On assignments and exams you can require that they sign an honor pledge stating that they did not cheat and they reported any cheating they witnessed You may choose to not grade an assignment or exam that doesnt have a signed honor pledge attached to it Make it clear what the consequences of cheating are when they sign the honor code You should also have these consequences posted on the syllabus for the class so that students can refer to it whenever needed 2 Build trust with your students A key part of preventing cheating is building a relationship with your students so they dont want to disappoint or get in trouble with you Some ways to build trust include being fair when grading not having overly high expectations and explaining your reasons for grades and class content If you express your desire to build a relationship of trust with your students and then support them and trust them in return then they are less likely to cheat Part of building trust with your students is showing your students that you care about them They are less likely to break your rules if they know that you are looking after their best interests and are invested in their success 3 Emphasize honesty with parents It is important to talk about academic honesty with parents in addition to talking about it with your students If you discuss your expectations and methods for avoiding cheating with your students parents they can help drive the message home to their children This will be especially helpful for students who have very involved parents 4 Make homework a small part of a students grade Make homework count for only roughly 10 of a students grade This is typically enough to ensure that the students do the assignments However it will make other type of work such as tests more important Most cheating on homework is in the form of excessive collaboration or searching for answers on the internet If you use this type of weighting and thoughtfully construct your exams the exams will enforce the no cheating policy for homework better than you can The students who choose to cheat will likely have their grades lowered as a result of poor performance on exams Those who are too used to being able to freely collaborate or use the internet may have a hard time with individual assessments This make it so there is very little incentive for copying solutions and not very much energy needs to be put into dealing with cheating on homework 5 Have students show their work Require that students show all of their work andor provide reasoning for the answer they arrived at It is very easy to simply copy a final answer off of another student on an exam If you suspect a student copied off of another student for an exam question or changed their answer after the fact ask them to reproduce or interpret their solution individually in your presence a few days later If there is a large difference in their ability to produce that solution during the exam and reproduce the solution individually in your presence cheating may have occurred 6 Assign group projects and presentations There are certain types of homework assignments that are more difficult to cheat on than others Group projects and presentations are particularly hard for students to cheat on unless they are all in on it together In a group each student will have specific responsibilities and they will be accountable to each other for the final product When students are working together individual students will find it harder to cheat since that cheating will be exposed to their classmates While group projects and presentations will not eliminate cheating all together they do make cheating less likely 7 Copy a random sample of assignments before returning them to students A very common way of cheating is submitting a modified assignment for a regrade Having a photocopy or scan of the original will allow you to see if the resubmitted work has been altered Should you catch a student modifying and submitting their work for a regrade the photocopy or scan becomes hard evidence when you report the case for academic action This can often happen with students who are very close to the next grade up who hope to potentially raise a B grade to a B for example So when photocopying or scanning a sample of exams before returning them focus especially on those with scores near the grade boundaries 8 Do not accept any homework submitted after solutions have been released Once solutions are released you have no control over where they can end up The copying of solutions is definitely a possibility for any homework attempted to be submitted after that time To make up for this strict policy you can choose to drop the one or two lowest homework scores If a student has a good reason for not turning in an assignment on time they should be given a slightly different assignment from the rest of the class so that no cheating can occur Method 3 Preventing Cheating on Papers 1 Define plagiarism for your students Before you assign a paper have a discussion with your students about what plagiarism is and how to avoid it This will help students to know what to avoid when writing their papers It will also eliminate their ability to claim ignorance is they get caught plagiarizing 2 Create unique essay prompts If you want to prevent students from cheating make them write essays that are unique to your specific class A prompt that compares readings or specific content from your class will produce more unique essays than a general prompt These essay prompts should be changed when teaching new classes Students may be tempted to plagiarize if students they know have written on the prompts you are giving 3 Make your expectations clear If you dont want your students working on essays together you need to make that clear before the assignment is even given Some students will work together effectively which can enhance the learning process However it can be a problem if one student just copies another students essay Decide whether you want students to work independently and then let them know so that they can not claim ignorance of your policy You can always state that you are OK with students working together but what they turn in must be their own work This allows them to work together but it also requires them to do some independent work as well 4 Use software that checks for plagiarism Since many students are very technologically savvy you can use that knowledge to your benefit Have students turn in assignments through an online software program that checks it for plagiarism such as Turnitin or PlagScan Most universities have this type of program built into the websites that they use for students If your school doesnt have this type of program available discuss getting access to one with your supervisor There tend to be more cases of cheating in the computer science department than other departments at many universities simply because they have great resources for automated cheat checking 5 Make regrade request deadlines soon after the assignment was returned Students should only require roughly one week to request a regrade after work is returned Make the deadline the same for everybody regardless of whether they picked the assignment or exam up before your set deadline This way once the class ends you are not pressured to review a ton of assignments that were returned months ago Students especially those near the course grade boundaries may want to make attempts to seek extra points to raise their course grades at the end of the term Community QA Question Do students use Bluetooth watches to cheat in exams wikiHow Contributor Community Answer Not necessarily Bluetooth but smart watches off the internet can be programmed with data that can be bought online These watches usually but not always are quite chunky or thick If you see this just ask them to take it off and place in a central basket along with phones for the duration of the exam If they are planning on cheating they will likely ask why they cant have their watch Ensure that there are clocks in the room for time keeping Not Helpful 4 Helpful 19 Question What are two ways I can help a new student who just joined the class wikiHow Contributor Community Answer Provide them with one or two buddies to help them assimilate Provide some assessments to gauge where the students fall or what they already know in the subjects youre teaching Not Helpful 0 Helpful 2 Submit Tips If you find out about some ingenious and novel type of cheating do not post the specifics here as students will then find out about it The truth is that over 90 of students are actually honest but the only way to be fair to those honest students is by being strict with those who may attempt to bend the rules Dont accuse people of cheating without evidence Warnings Certified teachers may lose credentials for allowing standardized tests to be unsecured taken or read by other teachers or students

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How to Set up a Backgammon Board Author Info 16 References In this Article Article Summary Set Up Game Rules Variations Community QA 16 References A basic game of backgammon is easy to set up but it helps to understand the layout of the board and all of its parts before you start laying out your checkers Backgammon is a fun strategy game with several different variations to help you get tons of use out of your backgammon set But if you want to know how to play the exciting game of backgammon the first thing you have to know is how to set it up Method 1 Set Up 1 Understand the backgammon board Its important to understand the basics of the backgammon board before you begin to put your checkers on it Here is what you need to know before you begin to set up your board The board has 24 narrow triangles called points The triangles alternate in color and are grouped into four quadrants of six triangles each The boards four quadrants include player ones home board player ones outer board player twos home board and player twos outer board Each players home board is in the right quadrant closest to the player The home boards are opposite each other The outer boards located in the left quadrant are also opposite each other The triangles are numbered from 124 The 24point is the point that is further from each player on the leftmost side of the players opponents home board and the 1point is the rightmost triangle on the players home court Each players points are numbered in an opposite way One players 24point is the opponents 1point one players 23 point is another players 2point and so on 2 Have each player take his or her 15 checkers Its easier to set up a backgammon board if each player sets up his or her own checkers Each player should have a set of checkers that is all one color Checkers are usually white and brown or black and red but it really doesnt matter as long as there are two different colors of checkers 3 Take two checkers and put them on your 24point Since the game is played in a horseshoe fashion this point will be the furthest away from the home board The 24point is the closest point to one player on the left side of his board and on the right side for the other player Keep in mind that as the players set up their checkers the checkers should always create mirror images of one another 4 Position five checkers on your 13point The 13point will be on the same side of the board as the 24point the rightmost point on each players opponents side If you want to be sure that you are putting them in the right spot count backwards from where you placed the 2 checkers on the 24point until you reach the 13point 5 Put three checkers on your 8point The 8point will be on the same side of the board as each players home board just two spaces away from the central bar But again if you want to be sure that you are placing the checkers in the right place count backwards from where you placed the checkers on the 13point until you reach the 8point 6 Place the five remaining checkers on your 6point The six point is right next to the bar for both players but on opposite sides of the board Count back from the 8point checkers to be sure that you are placing them in the right spot These last five checkers will be the only ones that start out in your home board You can use these checkers to create primes in your home board that may prevent the other player from reentering the board if you hit one of his blots 7 Make sure that none of the checkers are overlapping Remember that each player has his own numbering system so none of the checkers you just placed should overlap If one or more points has two different players checkers on it then you have set up the board incorrectly and will need to start over Method 2 Game Rules 1 Roll the dice at the start of each turn Each player rolls two dice during his turn Each number in the dice roll indicates how many points each checker can move Each move is separate and the two dice roll numbers should not be added together 2 Move in one direction only Checkers always move in one direction from the opposing players home board crossing the two outer boards and into the moving players home board Checkers can never go backwards only forward The movement of the checkers resembles a horseshoe 3 Place checkers on open points only Checkers can only move to open points on the board Open points either have no checkers on them have the players checkers on them or have just one of the opponents checkers on them A player can not move his checkers into a point that has two or more of the opponents checkers on it because that point is temporarily claimed by the opponent 4 Try to protect your checkers from your opponent Players should try to keep their checkers safe from their opponents To keep your checkers safe you should try to move them so each point has at least two checkers on it If you have just one checker on a point your opponent can land on it and take your checker out of the game a point with one checker is called a blot Youll have to start that checker over from the home board 5 Learn how doubles work If a player rolls doubles then he gets to move the number on the dice four separate times So if you roll two 3s you can move any checker 3 spaces 4 separate times You can also dive the spaces among different checkers 6 Bear off your checkers first to win the game Once a player has all of the checkers in his or her home board then he can begin to remove them from the game This is called bearing the checkers off the board To bear off checkers you have to roll the dice to get the points the checkers are on For example if you have two checkers on your 5point and you roll a 5 and a 3 you can remove one checker completely from the 5point and then either move the other checker on the 5point 3 points over to the 2point or move another checker on the home board If you dont roll the number of the points the checkers are on you can move them closer to the 1point but you still have to roll a 1 to get them off the board completely Method 3 Variations 1 Play a game of Nackgammon To play this variation of the game each player will place 2 checkers on his 24point 2 checkers on his 23point 4 checkers on his 13point 3 checkers on his 8point and 4 checkers on his 6point You can think of this as setting up a traditional game of backgammon except that you borrow one checker from your 13point and another from your 6point Other than the positioning the rules are the same as they are for regular backgammon 2 Set up a game of hyperbackgammon To set up the board for this game each player only needs 3 checkers total Each player should place one checker on his 24point 23point and 22point After that youre ready to play this exciting and fastpaced version of backgammon Other than the number and position of the checkers the regular rules of backgammon apply 3 Play a game of longgammon For this game each player places all of his 15 checkers on his 24point Other than this unique difference all other rules of backgammon apply Since you are placing all of your checkers at the furthermost point from your home board expect this version to take a bit longer than regular backgammon 4 Consider a game of Dutch backgammon The setup for this version of the game is easiest of all The game begins with all of the checkers off of the board so you dont have to do a thing Though the end game is the same bearing off your checkers from your home board the game starts when you have to roll the dice to enter your checkers into your opponents home board In this version you can not hit your opponents blots until you have at least one of your own checkers in your home board Community QA Question Do the colors of the points vary on some boards wikiHow Contributor Community Answer Yes Not Helpful 2 Helpful 4 Question Do I have to roll doubles to escape from the bar wikiHow Contributor Community Answer Not necessarily You can escape from the bar with either doubles or nondoubles provided any of the numbers rolled is an unblocked point in your opponents home board If you do roll doubles you can move up to four of your bar checkers to that point but if that point is blocked then you have to pass Not Helpful 0 Helpful 1 Question Do I need to roll an exact number to bare the board wikiHow Contributor Community Answer If you roll a number too high to advance any of your checkers forward you can bear off your furthest back checker If you just have a gap like checkers on your 6 and 2 points then you can only bear off if you roll a 6 or a 2 rolls of 3 4 and 5 have to be played by moving a checker forward from the 6 point Not Helpful 0 Helpful 1 Question When baring off can you use both dice added together or do you have to use them separate wikiHow Contributor Community Answer You should use them separately to do it correctly Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0 Question How do I get back on the board wikiHow Contributor Community Answer On your next turn roll the dice and place your piece in the corresponding space in the first quarter of the board If there are opposing players pieces on the spaces you rolled you dont get to play and must wait for your next turn to try again Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0 Question How can a beginner improve his or her backgammon game wikiHow Contributor Community Answer Read Win at Backgammon and its citations Then download GNU Backgammon and play it in tutor mode Not Helpful 1 Helpful 0 Unanswered Questions What is the maximum amount of checkers that can be on one square Answer this question Flag as Submit Can you answer these readers questions On How to Delete Apps on an iPad a reader asks Why does an app say that it is waiting for an update and wont allow me to remove it On How to Get Power of Attorney a reader asks How do I get power of attorney over my child On How to Do a Car Title Search a reader asks I am trying to regain a title for my 1998 vehicle so that I can sell it Tips Once you understand how to set up the backgammon game board make sure you read about how to play backgammon It is useful to read about the backgammon board in more detail and take a look at some pictures to assist you in setting up the board Warnings Make sure both players checkers form a mirror image on the board opposite all your checkers should be the same number of your opponents checkers Things Youll Need backgammon board 30 checkers in two different colours 15 of each colour two dice two dice shakers optional you can roll dice by hand one doubling cube Made Recently Uploaded 4 years ago Uploaded 4 years ago Uploaded 4 years ago Uploaded 4 years ago

O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


How to Shine Shoes Author Info In this Article Article Summary Simple Polish and Shine Spit Shine Fire Shine Community QA Wellshined shoes are an essential accessory to any sharp outfit and will make a good impression when you walk into a room There are several methods of shining shoes from a simple buffing with a chamois cloth to militarystyle spit shining to daredevilish fire shining Read below to find out which method appeals to you Method 1 Simple Polish and Shine 1 Gather your shoe shining supplies Properly shining your shoes will require certain supplies which you can purchase altogether in a specialized shoe shining kit or you can piece together individually The nonnegotiable you will need include a tin of shoe polish a horsehair shoe brush and a soft cloth Tins of shoe polish are available in a variety of colors from browns to blacks to neutrals Try to get a polish thats as close to the original color as possible Polishes are also available in both wax and cream varieties cream polishes feed the leather and make it more supple whereas wax polishes make the shoes more water resistant If possible get a tin of each and alternate between the two with every second polish The soft cloth can be a specialized buffing cloth such as a chamois or shammy or just an old tshirt Optional extras include a polishing brush used to apply the polish a toothbrush or some cotton buds sole dressing and a leather cleaner and conditioner 2 Prepare your work space It is important to prepare your work space so you can avoid getting shoe polish on any furniture or flooring Shoe polish can be extremely difficult to remove so you dont want it anywhere but on your shoes Lay down some newspaper or old paper bags on the floor or work surface and grab a cushion or pull up a comfortable chair shoe shining can take some time If youre planning on doing a very thorough job on your shoes it is probably best to remove the laces before you polish This way you can easily get at the tongue 3 Clean the shoes to remove any dirt Before you begin polishing rub down the surface of each shoe with your horsehair brush or a dampened cloth to remove any dirt dust salt or other debris This is important because if any debris is left on the surface of the shoes it might scratch the shoes as you polish Leave the shoes to dry completely before moving on the next stage If the shoes are very dirty or worn out looking you may want to clean them more thoroughly using a leather cleaner and conditioner before polishing 4 Apply the shoe polish Using an old tshirt or polishing brush apply an even layer of polish to the surface of the first shoe Use a circular motion to really work the polish into every part of the shoe Pay extra attention to the toe and heel which may need an extra layer of polish as these areas tend to get the most wear If you are using an old tshirt or cloth for this step try to wrap the cloth tightly around your hand and use your index and middle finger to work the polish into the shoe You may also want to shine the section of the sole between the heel and toe which doesnt touch the ground as this may be visible as you walk Use a toothbrush or cotton bud to work the polish into hardtoreach areas such as the edges of the upper and the crevices in the vamp Once you have finished polishing the first shoe set it aside on the newspaper and begin the same process with the second shoe Allow each shoe to dry for about 15 minutes before moving onto the next step 5 Remove the excess polish with a shoeshine brush Once the polish is dry you can begin to remove the excess with your horsehair shoeshine brush Brush the entire shoe vigorously using short even strokes Remember that the movement should come from your wrist not your elbow This step is necessary to remove the extra polish while the heat generated from the quick strokes helps the rest of the polish to sink in While an old tshirt or cloth can be used for most of the steps in the shoe shining process a proper shine brush is necessary for this particular step and can not be replaced by anything else Make sure to use a different brush for each color of polish Otherwise you run the risk of adding the previous color to the current shoe Especially when the previous polish is darker than the current You may want to use a clean cotton bud or toothbrush or cotton bud again at this point to remove any extra polish from cracks and crevices 6 Buff the shoes with a cloth The final step in the polishing and shining process is to take an old clean tshirt or chamois cloth and buff the shoes until you achieve a high shine Use a brisk sidetoside motion for buffing this may be easier to do using a shine butler or while actually wearing the shoe Some people advise breathing onto the toe of the shoe like you would do to fog a mirror before buffing to add extra shine If you like you can also apply a sole dressing to the outside edges of the sole to give them a nice shine but this is completely optional Method 2 Spit Shine 1 Prep the shoes and apply the first layer of polish The first steps involved in spit shining shoes are the same as above First you will need to clean the shoes with a damp cloth or horsehair brush to remove any dirt and debris Then you will apply the first layer of polish using a cloth or polishing brush using small circular motions to really work the polish into the leather Allow the polish to dry for about 15 minutes before moving on to the next step 2 Dip a cloth or cotton ball into water Spit shining involves using a damp cloth or cotton ball to apply successive layers of polish If using a cloth make sure to wrap it tightly around your hand with the index and middle fingers covered by the material Dip your clothcovered fingers or a cotton ball into a dish of of water until wet but not dripping The water is used to prevent the polish from sticking to the cloth and encourage it to stay on the shoes instead Some people prefer to use rubbing alcohol instead of water 3 Buff the shoes Pick up a shoe and begin buffing the first layer of dried polish using the damp cloth or cotton ball Work slowly using small circular motions to really work the polish into the shoe Spit shining is all about finesse not speed Work from the toe to the heel doing one side of the shoe at a time Move onto the second shoe once the first has developed a nice even shine 4 Dip the cloth into water again and apply a second layer of polish When you have finished buffing and the shoes are completely dry dip the cloth or cotton ball into the water again and wring out until just damp Use this dampened material to apply a second light layer of polish to the surface of the shoes using the same thorough technique as before After this second polish you should begin to see a hazy shine developing on the surface of the shoe 5 Continue to apply additional light layers of polish to the shoes with a wet cloth until you achieve the desired shine The surface of the shoes should be perfectly smooth and even with a glasslike shine It is very important that you apply multiple light layers as opposed to just one or two thick layers this allows each successive layer to build on the previous one giving spit shined shoes their mirrorlike finish If you like you can use a chamois or an old tshirt to give the shoes one final buff before wearing though this may be unnecessary Method 3 Fire Shine 1 Clean the shoes Before fire shining your shoes you will need to remove any dirt or debris using a damp cloth or horsehair brush This will prevent the surface of the shoes from becoming scratched while polishing Some people will also use a technique known as stripping before doing a fire shine which basically involves removing any previous coatings of polish from the shoes To strip your shoes Apply a few drops of rubbing alcohol to each shoe and work it into the surfaces using a cotton cloth You should notice previous layers of polish rubbing off onto the cloth It may take some time to complete this process and get the surface of the shoes evenly stripped but it will be worth it for shoes so shiny youll be able to see your reflection in them 2 Ignite the shoe polish with a lighter Now comes the fun part Open your can of shoe polish most regular brands of shoe polish will work fine and hold it upside down over a cigarette lighter Turn on the lighter and allow the surface of the polish to catch fire Quickly turn it right side up so none of the melting polish drips onto the floor Allow the polish to burn for a couple of seconds then extinguish the flame by blowing it out or carefully replacing the lid When you reopen the tin the surface of the polish should be melted and gooey Be extremely careful when using this method of shoe shining Fire is dangerous and can cause burns It may be best to wear a glove while doing this and have a bucket of water close by in case of emergencies 3 Apply the melted polish to the shoes with a dampened cloth Wrap an old tshirt around your hands and dip it into a cup of warm water until wet but not dripping Dip this wet cloth into the melted polish and start applying it to the shoes using small circular motions Take your time and try to really work the polish into the shoes in a smooth even layer Dont forget to work the polish into any hardtoreach cracks or crevices If you need more polish or if the cloth becomes too dry dip it in the water and polish again 4 Continue to apply light layers of polish until the shoes begin to shine Depending on the shoes you may need to add multiple layers of polish to achieve the desired shine Use the same technique each time dipping the damp cloth into the melted polish and working it evenly into the shoes Remember that its better to use multiple light layers of polish than one or two thick ones Make sure that you let each additional layer of polish dry completely before moving onto the next Shoe shining requires a lot of patience 5 Heat the surface of the shoes with a lighter or hair dryer This step is completely optional but will really help to add shine to your shoes Take your lighter or hairdryer set to high heat and run the flame over the entire surface of the shoe The flame should never actually touch the shoe but should be close enough to allow the polish to melt Never hold the flame over one spot or it will burn the leather Keep it moving constantly as if spray painting Stop once the polish has melted slightly and the surface of the shoes look wet Set the shoes aside for 15 to 20 minutes until the melted polish has dried 6 Apply a final layer of polish You can now apply one final layer of polish using the same technique as before Your shoes should be extremely shiny by now almost glasslike in appearance If you want you can use a chamois or any clean lintfree cloth to give the shoes one last buff Community QA Question How can I shine shoes without polish wikiHow Contributor Community Answer To make your shoes shine without polish you can use water or a dry cotton But remember if you clean with water your shoes might get damaged Not Helpful 9 Helpful 18 Question How can I get salt stains off leather wikiHow Contributor Community Answer Try shaving cream Some recommend it for almost anything from carpet stains to concrete and even to cleaning military weapons Not Helpful 3 Helpful 8 Question How do I shine shoes with cherry blossom polish Ultimate Jake Community Answer If you want to shine with cherry blossom polish get cotton wool your polish water and a brush optional to build up layers to polish Apply a few layers with the cotton water and polish On the cotton you should have water and polish Use your skin to test the amount of polish rub the cotton with polish on your wrist until you have a faint amount of polish not an incredibly intense color Rub the polish on the edge of where you are polishing once and use it to move through the middle Not Helpful 6 Helpful 5 Question Can you use petroleum jelly to shine shoes wikiHow Contributor Community Answer Yes but it can discolor the shoe Clean the leather first then apply a light coat of petroleum jelly Rub it in with a soft cloth to polish the leather and remove the excess product Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0 Question Can you use oil to shine shoes wikiHow Contributor Community Answer Yes but be aware that this may discolor the shoe Clean the shoe first then apply a light coating of oil such as olive oil walnut oil or vegetable oil Use a soft cloth to rub the oil into the shoe and to wipe off any reisude Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0 Unanswered Questions How long should I spend shining one area of the shoe Answer this question Flag as What is the oil they use on the shoe shine sponge Answer this question Flag as Can I make my shoes shine using a candle Answer this question Flag as Do I use water at any point in the process Answer this question Flag as How do you polish shoes with liquid polish Answer this question Flag as Show more unanswered questions Submit Tips In between polishing the shoes a quick brushing will restore the shine and remove the dust and grime that accumulates when walking If you have many shoes of various colors you might want to purchase neutral polish instead of investing in so many colors Silicone sponges used continually instead of polishes can build up and cause a haze to develop Use only on trips or occasionally Use matching liquid shoe polish on the outside and upper soles of the shoes as well as the leather heels Polishes build up on leather and may cause a haze to develop so it is best to occasionally use a saddle soap and leather conditioner to clean the leather Shoe polishes contain alcohol Leather is no different than your skin If you put alcohol on it the alcohol will dry it out and continual use will lead to cracking There is more alcohol in liquid and hard waxes than in cream polishes so use accordingly Another way you can shine shoes in a pinch is with a banana Use the wax for a heavier shine and in between the liquid will do The wax preserves the shoes and will not allow the rain to spot them In a hurry Instant polish gives a shine that sometimes looks even better then the oldfashioned way Dont use a brush on your shoe It is bad for the leather Warnings The basic shoe shining technique is effective for basic dress shoes but for a real hard or military shine using a brush and buffing cloth will actually make your shoes worse A hard shine can only be achieved by spitshining more often water than spit as spit is bad for the polish or fire shining Shoe polish is messy so put down some newspaper to protect the surface under your shoe shining effort Things Youll Need Liquid or wax polish Brush Soft cloth Storage box for supplies

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O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O B I O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O


How

to

Summarize

a

Story

Author

Info

ReaderApproved

In

this

Article

Article

Summary

Sample

Summaries

As

Youre

Reading

Writing

Your

Summary

Community

QA

When

youre

writing

a

summary

of

a

story

it

needs

to

be

short

sweet

and

to

the

point

Fortunately

this

isnt

hard

if

you

follow

certain

guidelines

Sample

Summaries

Sample

Summary

Plot

of

The

Lottery

Rose

Sample

Summary

Plot

of

My

Sisters

Keeper

Sample

Summary

Plot

of

Macbeth

Part

As

Youre

Reading

Read

the

story

It

will

be

very

difficult

to

summarize

a

story

without

actually

reading

it

So

crack

open

your

book

or

plug

in

some

headphones

and

listen

to

it

on

your

iPod

Dont

always

trust

the

internet

sites

that

claim

to

summarize

books

because

they

arent

always

accurate

As

youre

reading

you

need

to

keep

in

mind

what

the

central

idea

of

the

story

is

For

Lord

of

the

Rings

for

instance

the

central

idea

might

be

something

about

how

the

power

of

greed

ie

the

Ring

is

a

strong

force

for

evil

or

even

the

actions

of

one

insignificant

person

like

a

hobbit

can

change

the

world

Concentrate

fully

on

the

book

Dont

get

distracted

by

anything

not

even

music

Take

notes

Youll

need

to

take

notes

as

you

read

so

that

you

have

refer

to

them

when

youre

ready

to

start

the

summary

Look

for

the

who

what

when

where

why

These

will

give

you

the

basis

for

what

you

want

to

cover

in

your

summary

Find

the

main

characters

Youll

need

to

know

who

the

story

is

about

after

all

and

you

need

to

figure

out

which

characters

arent

as

important

to

the

narrative

If

youre

reading

a

story

with

tons

of

characters

you

wont

want

to

note

down

every

single

character

that

appears

For

example

for

Harry

Potter

and

the

Sorcerers

Stone

you

would

write

down

Harry

Potter

Ron

Weasley

Hermione

Granger

because

they

are

the

main

characters

You

might

even

note

down

Hagrid

Dumbledore

Snape

Quirrell

and

Voldemort

because

they

figure

importantly

in

the

story

You

wouldnt

need

to

write

down

Peeves

the

poltergeist

or

Norbert

the

dragon

because

while

they

are

important

in

their

places

in

the

story

they

dont

influence

the

main

storyline

enough

to

be

part

of

the

summary

A

shorter

story

like

Little

Red

Riding

Hood

is

easy

because

you

only

have

to

note

down

Red

Riding

Hood

her

grandmother

the

wolf

and

the

woodcutter

depending

on

the

version

Note

down

the

setting

The

setting

is

where

the

events

take

place

Now

this

can

get

complicated

if

the

story

youre

reading

takes

place

in

a

lot

of

different

places

If

thats

the

case

youll

need

to

be

more

broad

Continuing

the

Harry

Potter

example

the

main

action

takes

place

at

Hogwarts

so

you

could

write

down

something

like

the

magical

school

Hogwarts

in

the

United

Kingdoms

Now

for

a

story

like

Lord

of

the

Rings

which

takes

place

over

a

large

amount

of

territory

you

can

mention

that

its

MiddleEarth

and

note

some

places

of

important

like

the

Shire

Mordor

and

Gondor

You

dont

have

to

go

too

specific

like

mentioning

the

forest

Fangorn

or

the

tower

Minas

Morgul

Note

the

storys

conflict

This

means

whatever

is

the

main

problem

that

the

characters

are

having

to

overcome

It

doesnt

necessarily

have

to

be

a

villain

like

with

Harry

Potter

and

Lord

of

the

Rings

For

Harry

Potter

the

main

conflict

is

Voldemorts

attempt

to

steal

the

Sorcerers

Stone

and

return

to

menace

the

Wizard

World

and

kill

Harry

For

example

if

youre

summarizing

The

Odyssey

the

main

conflict

is

Odysseus

trying

to

get

home

to

Ithaca

Everything

about

the

story

is

driven

by

his

desire

to

get

home

and

all

the

obstacles

standing

in

his

way

Note

the

main

events

These

are

the

most

important

parts

of

the

story

You

dont

need

to

note

down

every

single

thing

that

a

character

does

In

fact

that

is

exactly

what

youre

supposed

to

not

do

Just

look

for

the

events

that

further

the

main

conflict

or

help

resolve

it

For

Harry

Potter

some

main

events

would

be

Harry

finding

out

hes

a

wizard

or

Harry

meeting

the

threeheaded

dog

and

of

course

Harry

Ron

and

Hermione

defeating

Voldemort

It

might

seem

easier

for

a

shorter

story

like

Little

Red

Riding

Hood

but

you

should

only

note

down

the

most

important

moments

like

Riding

Hood

meeting

the

wolf

getting

eaten

after

she

mistakes

the

wolf

for

her

grandmother

and

the

appearance

of

the

woodcutter

Note

the

conclusion

This

is

the

big

event

usually

that

wraps

up

the

storys

conflict

and

resolves

the

problems

Even

in

a

book

that

is

part

of

a

series

there

is

usually

some

sort

of

conclusion

to

the

story

Spoilers

below

For

Harry

Potter

the

conclusion

is

defeating

Voldemort

The

story

after

that

isnt

important

to

the

summary

even

if

it

is

important

to

the

overall

story

You

wont

need

to

go

into

the

conversation

between

Dumbledore

and

Harry

at

the

end

or

even

the

Gryffindor

House

winning

points

because

it

isnt

really

part

of

the

main

Voldemort

storyline

For

Red

Riding

Hood

the

conclusion

is

the

appearance

of

the

woodcutter

to

save

her

and

her

grandmother

For

something

like

Lord

of

the

Rings

the

conclusion

is

complicated

for

a

summary

because

you

may

want

to

stop

off

at

the

destruction

of

the

Ring

but

especially

if

the

central

idea

of

the

story

is

the

importance

of

the

the

deeds

of

one

insignificant

person

you

will

want

to

mention

the

Scouring

of

the

Shire

and

Frodos

departure

from

the

Grey

Havens

Part

Writing

Your

Summary

Organize

your

notes

The

hardest

part

is

already

finished

reading

the

book

if

youve

taken

all

your

notes

youre

completely

ready

to

write

the

summary

Youll

want

to

organize

your

notes

based

on

the

chronology

of

the

story

Look

at

where

the

story

begins

and

ends

and

how

the

main

character

gets

from

the

first

to

the

last

To

continue

with

the

Harry

Potter

example

youll

need

to

look

at

how

Harry

went

from

learning

he

was

a

wizard

to

defeating

Voldemort

For

something

like

The

Odyssey

youll

need

to

look

at

how

Odysseus

gets

from

his

losing

all

his

men

and

washing

up

on

Calypsos

island

to

defeating

the

suitors

and

convincing

Penelope

of

his

identity

A

short

story

like

Red

Riding

Hood

youll

need

to

look

at

why

Riding

Hood

was

going

into

the

woods

how

she

was

fooled

into

being

eaten

and

how

she

was

saved

Write

the

summary

This

will

be

totally

easy

now

that

youve

gotten

all

your

notes

in

order

All

you

need

to

do

is

write

a

short

paragraph

covering

the

key

points

of

who

what

when

where

why

which

youve

already

covered

in

your

notes

Make

sure

that

you

also

include

the

title

of

the

story

and

the

name

of

the

author

Make

sure

that

you

only

focus

on

the

main

plot

of

the

story

Dont

get

side

tracked

into

Harrys

Quidditch

playing

or

his

feud

with

Malfoy

Likewise

dont

quote

from

the

story

itself

You

dont

need

to

replicate

conversations

from

the

story

in

the

summary

You

might

need

to

briefly

mention

the

key

point

from

a

conversation

like

When

Harry

and

his

friends

discover

from

Hagrid

that

the

Sorcerers

Stone

might

no

longer

be

safe

they

go

to

stop

the

thief

themselves

Look

at

examples

of

plot

summaries

It

is

a

lot

easier

to

write

something

if

youve

looked

at

a

couple

examples

and

get

the

hang

of

the

kind

of

wording

to

use

and

the

way

to

incorporate

all

the

different

elements

into

one

short

cohesive

piece

JK

Rowlings

Harry

Potter

and

the

Sorcerers

Stone

tells

the

story

of

elevenyearold

orphan

Harry

Potter

who

discovers

that

he

is

a

wizard

and

goes

to

study

magic

at

the

British

school

for

wizards

Hogwarts

While

there

he

discovers

that

his

parents

were

killed

by

the

evil

wizard

Voldemort

who

was

destroyed

by

Harry

when

he

was

a

baby

With

his

friends

Ron

Weasley

who

comes

from

a

large

family

of

wizards

and

Hermione

Granger

the

smartest

witch

in

their

year

Harry

figures

out

that

the

Sorcerers

Stone

which

gives

eternal

life

is

hidden

on

the

offlimits

third

floor

When

Homers

epic

poem

The

Odyssey

tells

the

story

of

the

Greek

hero

Odysseus

and

tenyear

voyage

to

get

home

to

the

island

of

Ithaca

where

his

wife

Penelope

and

his

son

Telemachus

waited

It

begins

with

Odysseus

imprisoned

by

the

nymph

Calypso

until

the

Greek

Gods

force

her

to

free

him

The

god

Poseidon

who

harbors

a

grudge

against

Odysseus

for

blinding

his

son

the

Cyclops

Polyphemus

previously

in

his

travels

attempts

to

wreck

his

ship

but

is

stopped

by

the

goddess

Athena

Odysseus

makes

it

to

Scheria

home

of

the

Phaeacians

where

he

is

given

safe

passage

and

asked

These

summaries

cover

the

main

plots

of

the

stories

that

theyre

summarizing

They

use

sentences

like

When

Harry

finds

the

Stone

instead

of

explaining

exactly

what

it

took

to

find

the

stone

which

is

not

the

point

of

a

summary

They

are

brief

and

they

focus

only

on

the

most

important

main

characters

like

Odysseus

Penelope

the

gods

etc

Revise

your

summary

Make

sure

that

youve

edited

it

so

that

there

are

no

spelling

errors

that

the

events

are

in

their

proper

order

and

that

youve

spelled

all

the

characters

and

place

names

correctly

Its

best

to

have

a

friend

look

it

over

to

catch

anything

youve

missed

Once

youve

revised

it

the

summary

is

ready

to

go

Community

QA

Question

Which

notes

should

I

take

wikiHow

Contributor

Community

Answer

To

summarize

a

story

find

the

main

points

of

the

story

Asses

whether

the

detail

you

have

included

in

the

summary

affects

the

story

Not

Helpful

Helpful

Question

Could

I

skip

a

step

or

two

Would

it

make

a

difference

in

the

summary

wikiHow

Contributor

Community

Answer

It

shouldnt

But

if

the

steps

were

related

to

the

main

conflict

in

the

story

you

should

include

them

within

the

summary

of

the

short

story

Not

Helpful

Helpful

Question

How

do

I

write

a

summary

of

a

biography

wikiHow

Contributor

Community

Answer

Summarize

like

you

would

any

other

story

but

instead

of

a

fictional

story

you

will

be

summarizing

real

life

event

Highlight

the

main

things

that

happened

during

his

life

and

the

main

people

in

his

Not

Helpful

Helpful

Question

What

if

I

dont

want

to

do

all

that

writing

Is

there

an

easier

way

wikiHow

Contributor

Community

Answer

You

may

seek

help

from

freelancers

online

However

if

you

are

summarizing

the

story

for

school

or

something

like

that

you

will

need

to

do

the

work

yourself

You

could

ask

your

teacher

if

they

would

allow

you

to

summarize

the

story

in

another

way

like

through

a

video

presentation

Not

Helpful

Question

Is

it

OK

if

my

summaries

have

more

than

six

paragraphs

wikiHow

Contributor

Community

Answer

It

might

not

be

bad

if

you

are

summarizing

a

book

but

not

short

stories

Not

Helpful

Helpful

Question

How

many

pages

should

be

in

a

summary

wikiHow

Contributor

Community

Answer

In

general

a

summary

should

not

exceed

more

than

one

to

two

pages

Not

Helpful

Helpful

Question

What

verb

tense

should

I

use

when

summarizing

a

story

wikiHow

Contributor

Community

Answer

You

should

use

past

tenses

when

you

are

summarizing

a

story

Not

Helpful

Helpful

Question

Should

I

be

using

the

past

tense

when

I

summarize

a

story

wikiHow

Contributor

Community

Answer

Yes

you

should

write

in

past

tense

Not

Helpful

Helpful

Unanswered

Questions

How

do

I

start

a

story

summary

Answer

this

question

Flag

as

How

do

I

write

a

fifth

grade

summary

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this

question

Flag

as

What

are

some

situations

where

I

as

a

student

might

want

or

need

to

use

summarizing

Answer

this

question

Flag

as

Is

there

a

recommendation

for

the

amount

of

sentences

in

a

summary

Answer

this

question

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as

How

many

paragraphs

are

in

a

summary

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this

question

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as

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unanswered

questions

Submit

Tips

Make

sure

you

keep

your

summary

short

It

shouldnt

be

longer

than

the

original

story

Warnings

If

youre

writing

an

essay

you

shouldnt

only

summarize

the

text

Dont

include

your

opinions

when

writing

a

summary

unless

you

are

explicitly

prompted

to

by

your

teacher

References

httphomepagesmcedureading_labwriting_a_summaryhtm

httpwwwlaspositascollegeedurawSummariesphp

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