How do I summarize Part 1 of Harvest of Empire by Juan Gonzalez?

Harvest of Empire by Juan González explains in detail what brought Latin Americans to the United States, and what caused them to leave their homelands. Many Latinos left dangerous or deadly conditions, some of which were at least partially caused by the US. In Part 1, González examines the 'roots' of Latin America. He credits European explorers with creating the Hispanic community in America and explores the differences between English and Spanish settlers. González then looks at the various native populations and how European explorers reacted to meeting them. He mentions that some Spanish explorers were responsible for founding US cities, and discusses some of the problems Latin Americans faced up until 1950. He discusses the destruction on the natives, sickness, and the role of the Church, and looks at "Banana Republics."

You probably want to do a more thorough summary. I'm going to outline steps for you that will allow you to do a summary of Harvest of Empire and any other book you decide to summarize in the future. Summary skills will also help you research and write research papers.

First, you need to skim the material and note down key ideas. To skim, you must read the title, subtitles, and headings. You should also quickly look at the first sentence of each paragraph and note down the key words.

Second, you should read the entire text, and continue to add to your notes. Keep your notes organized.

Third, you should use your notes to draft your summary.

As you are drafting, you may come up with some questions, such as specific dates or locations of events. To find the answers to these questions for your summary, you must scan the section of the text where you found the information you do have. Scanning means quickly looking through text for lexical clues, much like doing a word-search puzzle. For example, if you need to find a date, you can scan for a four-digit number representing a year. If you need to find a location, scan for words beginning with capital letters (proper nouns.)

When you have finished drafting your summary, read it through, add any details you think are needed, and proofread to correct any errors.

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