Arab Society by Halim Barakat
One-page, single-spaced chapter summary. These summaries allow the student to express his/her personal views/takes on specific issues relating to Arab culture. Your
summaries should avoid simplistic/superficial impressions on the issues discussed. Please read carefully the chapter, pay attention to the overall organization of the
chapter (headings, subheadings…); take notes of the most important ideas/points; write down the main idea of each section; avoid redundant details or explanations;
write short and clear sentences; use a dictionary to help improve grammar, word choice, and sentence structure. Remember that you are summarizing Halim Barakat’s
discussion, not yours. DO NOT use the standard high school-level approach of just writing: ″I liked this book (or article or document or movie) because it is so cool
and the ending made me feel so happy,″ or ″I hated it because it was stupid, and had nothing at all to do with my life, and was too negative and boring.″ In writing your
summary, you should bear in mind that the reader (that is me) has already read the text. Thus, do NOT summarize the contents of the chapter at length. Instead, mention
only the most important ideas of the chapter; no need to include unnecessary details or examples. First of all, be sure to mention the title of the chapter which you
are summarizing, the author, and the main issue of the chapter, using correct English! The summary should be in your own words, not the author′s. Attribute any sentence
or expression from the chapter to the author to subdue the temptation of plagiarism.