Writing a Critical Summary of an Article or Paper

What is a critical summary?

Acriticalsummaryisaconcisereviewofanarticleorpaperthatcombinesasummaryandacriticalcomment.
Writingacriticalsummaryinvolvesanalysisandevaluation.Youneedto
understandthemainpointsinanarticle/paper
analyzethefindingsorargumentofthearticle/paper
decidetheappropriatecriteriabywhichtoevaluatethearticle/paper
provideacriticalevaluationofthearticle/paperbasedonthecriteriaselected
Theabilitytocriticallysummarizeisnotonlyimportantinacademicstudy,itisalsoimportantinyourworkbecauseit
enablesyouto
keepuptodateandadjusttochange
assessandcommentonproblemsandproposedsolutionsdiscussedinarticles,papers,reportsandother
professionalliterature,and
evaluateandcommentonsolutionsproposedintheworkplace

What steps should you take in critically summarizing an article, paper or report?
Allowenoughtime
Plantospendatleastonehalfthetimeyoudevotetothisassignmenttoreadingandunderstandingthematerial.
Beforeyoucanwriteaboutthereading,youhavetounderstandit,andthiscantakemoretimethanyouanticipate.
Doesthearticlemakesensetoyouinlayterms(couldyouexplainthistosomeonewhoknowsnothingaboutthe
topic?)Whenyoucanclearlyexplainthematerialinyourownwords,youarereadytowriteaboutit.
Scanthematerial
Readtheheadingsorsubheadingsandnotetheoverallorganizationofthepaper.
Dotheheadings/subheadingsmakesense?
Whydoyouthinktheauthororganizedthematerialinthisway?
Howdotheheadingsandsubheadingsrelatetothetitleofthepaper?
Arethereanyphotographs,charts,graphs,diagrams,maps,etc?
Readthecaptionsfortheseillustrations.
Howdotheserelatetothetitleofthepaper?
ReadtheIntroductionorAbstractandtheDiscussionorConclusionsections
Readthefirstparagraph(orthesectionheadedIntroductionorAbstract).
Identifythereasonforthearticleorpaper.
ReadtheDiscussionorConclusionsectionstoidentifyhowtheauthorisinterpretingtheresearchfindings.
Notehowtheauthorsummarizesthethesispresentedinthebodyofthepaperorwhatrecommendationss/he
makesbasedonthepaper.

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Readindetail
OnceyouvereadtheIntroductionandDiscussionorConclusionsections:
Gobacktothearticleandreadeachsectioninmoredetail.
Plantoreadeachsectionmorethanonce.
Highlightorunderlinethemainpointsandkeyphrases
Writeonesentencesummariesforeachofthemainpointsonaseparatesheetofpaper.Alwaysnotedefinitions,
keywordsandtechnicalterms.Noteanypagenumbersfordirectquotes.Keepdirectquotestoaminimumand
ensure they are copied exactly. In your writing, quotes are used to support your argument, not to form the
argumentitself.Youcanusetheseonesentencesummarieslaterwhenyoudraftyourcriticalsummary.
Leavespaceafteryouronesentencesummariesforlaternotesandcommentse.g.thingsthatarenotclear;
contradictions; points of agreement or disagreement with other readings on the same topic; controversial
statementsorviewpointspresented;whetheryouagreewithwhatisbeingsaid.
Leavespaceafteryouronesentencesummariesforlaternotesandcommentse.g.thingsthatarenotclear;
contradictions; points of agreement or disagreement with other readings on the same topic; controversial
statementsorviewpointspresented;whetheryouagreewithwhatisbeingsaid.
Expectnottofullyunderstandthearticlethefirsttime.Youwillhavetoreaditmorethanoncebeforeyoucan
talkaboutitinyourownwords.
Readanalyticallyandevaluatewhatyouread
Readinganalyticallyinvolvesidentifyingthepurpose,themainpoints,themethodologyandfindingsorconclusions.
Inaddition,analysisforacriticalsummaryinvolves
identifyingunstatedassumptions
stepsintheargumentthatarenotlogical
anyadditionalpurposesofthearticleorpaperthatarenotexplicitlystated
Evaluatingthematerialmeansmakingjudgmentsaboutthevalue(bothpositiveandnegative)ofthearticleorpaper
againstspecificcriteria.Hereisalistofgenericcriteriawhichmaybeuseful;however,notallofthemwillberelevant
forevaluatingallmaterials:
thetimelinessofthematerial
thedegreetowhichthearticleorpapermakesanoriginalcontribution
thelogicoftheviewputforward
thevalidityoftheevidenceputforward
thetheoreticalframeworkused:
istheframeworkvalid?
hastheframeworkbeenappliedappropriately?
themethodologyused:
isthemethodologyappropriate?
isthemethodologicalapproachexplainedclearly?
doesthemethodologicalapproachhaveanyweaknesses?
isthestudysufficientlycomprehensiveandthorough?
isanythingimportantomittedintheresearch?

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 thefindings:
arethefindingspresentedanddescribedclearlyandfully?
dothefindingsseemsound?
couldthedatabeinterpretedinanotherway?
do/doestheauthor(s)accountforeverythinginthedataordotheyignoresomethingthatmightbe
important?
thevalidityoftheconclusions
thethoroughnesswithwhichthetopicistreated
itsvaluecomparedtothatofotherarticles/papersonthetopic
theappropriatenessofthematerialfortheintendedaudience
theextenttowhichitmightsatisfythespecificneedsofaspecificuser

How can I structure a critical summary?

Acriticalsummaryhasanintroduction,abodyandaconclusion.Butbeforeyoubeginwritingyoursummary,make
surethatyouunderstandalltheassignmentdirectionsincludinganyspecificguidelinesabouttheassignment
structure,numberofwordsorpages,etc.Consultyourinstructorifyouareunclearaboutanyaspectofthe
assignment.
IntheIntroduction(1paragraphof34sentences),youshould:
provideacontextforthearticleorpaper(backgroundinformationorsharedknowledge)
givethetitleofthearticleorpaper,author,source,and,inthecaseofamagazineorjournalarticle,thedateof
publicationandthetext
identifytheauthorbyprofessionorimportance,ifappropriate
describethepurposeormainideaofthematerialinaonesentencestatementthatweavestogetherthethemes
fromtheonesentencesummariesyoumadewhileyoureadthematerial
giveanindicationofyouroverallimpressionofthearticleorpaperingeneralterms
IntheBody(12paragraphsof34sentenceseach),youshould:
provideananalyticalsummaryofthemainfindings/arguments/conclusionsofthearticleorpaper
discussthestrengths/usefulnessofthematerial
discusstheweaknesses/limitations/problemswiththematerial,especiallyforyourpurposes/context
makesufficientreferencestotheauthorsofthematerial
IntheConclusion(1paragraphof34sentences),youshould:
summarizewhatyouhavewrittenintheBody
makeafinaljudgmentonthevalueofthearticleindicatingthebalancethatyouseeexistingbetweenthe
strengthsandlimitationsofthematerial
commentonthefutureoftheissue/topicorimplicationsoftheviewexpressed