Paper summaries should contain four main elements. These are

1. Complete citation details for the original article (e.g., authors, title, source, page numbers, year, etc.).
2. A summary of the key points and contribution of the paper. Generally this will be between a half page and a full page in length (assuming single spacing and a "reasonable" type size such as 11 point).
3. An assessment of the previous work in the area and the current paper's place in that context. This will require consulting some of the sources referenced by the paper. This section also should be about a half page to a full page in length. Also include citation references to materials examined.
4. Your evaluation of the paper and its contribution. Again, about a half page to a page in length.

The reports will have two components: a written report, following the guidelines above, and a very brief class presentation (about 5 or 6 minutes). The purpose of the class presentation will be to quickly cover the key points--i.e., what are the "take home" lessons from this paper and why might another member of the class want to read it.