Virginia Communication and Literacy Assessment (VCLA) Practice Test

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Prepare for the VCLA Test with our engaging quiz. Use flashcards and multiple choice questions with helpful hints and explanations. Achieve exam success!

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What elements should not be included in a good summary?

Quotations, opinions, new data, and irrelevant specifics
Facts, theories, direct quotes, examples
Arguments, analyses, statistics, and bibliography
Definitions, ideas, viewpoints, and conclusions

The correct answer is: Quotations, opinions, new data, and irrelevant specifics

A good summary is designed to provide a concise and clear synthesis of the main ideas and essential points of a text without extraneous detail or personal input. Including quotations, opinions, new data, and irrelevant specifics detracts from the purpose of summarizing, which is to distill the core message of the original work. Quotations can introduce the author's voice instead of summarizing the text, while opinions can skew the summary towards personal interpretation rather than an objective representation. New data may contradict the text's original findings or scope, leading to misinterpretation. Irrelevant specifics can overwhelm the main ideas and distract readers from the text’s primary focus. This emphasizes the importance of maintaining the integrity of the original work by focusing solely on the relevant and significant points that encapsulate the author's intent.