Writing Summaries

Writing good summaries requires accurate reading and the ability to find the main idea and most important supporting evidence in a piece of writing. Summaries are always quite a bit shorter than the original text, perhaps 75 percent shorter. When you write a summary, you give your readers an idea of the content of an article or book and save them the time and trouble of reading the entire original.

To write a goo summary, keep the following in mind:

1.      Read the original carefully.

2.      Mention the source and the author at the beginning of the summary.

3.      State the author’s main idea without distorting those ideas or adding your own.

4.      State the author’s most important supporting evidence or sub points without distorting them. Do not include details.

5.      Use your own wording. Occasionally, however, a phrase in the original may be especially striking, interesting or controversial. In that case, you may use the author’s exact words if you put quotation marks around them.

6.      Don’t include your own ideas or comments. The summary should include only the author’s ideas.

7.      Periodically remind the reader that you are summarizing someone idea.

Steps to follow:

-        Underline the key words in the topic

-        Underline the relevant parts of the texts.

-        Write the points down in note form. You should organize the information in logical fashion.

-        See which points can be combined in a complex sentence.

-        Write your summary.

If you want to start with an introductory sentence, make it brief.

Use linking words/ phrases and paraphrase where possible. Include only information which is relevant to the topic

-        Make sure your summary is within the set word limit.

-        Edit your summary, checking spelling, punctuation, etc.

~Try to be relevant, concise and coherent~

Remember that the summary should be in the present tense. Begin by mentioning the original source. Here are possible ways to include the source.

               In his article entitled “Biology as a Science,” Keith Ablow            informs us          that…..

                                                                                                                                       states

                                                                                                                                       claims

                                                                                                                                       shows us

               Or:

              

               In “Biology as a Science.” Keith Ablow                  indicates             the problems ……

                                                                                                         discusses

                                                                                                         explores                           

               Or:

               The article “Biology as a Science” by Keith Ablow examines the nature of biology as …

(Note the correct punctuation and capitalization of the citation)

Continue the summary, using your list of subheadings and your groupings as a guide to help you remember the main points covered in the article. At least once in your summary, remind your readers that you are summarizing by using a phrase like the following:

              

               The author goes on to say …

               Or:

               Ablow also reports that …

               Or:

               The article further states that …