SUMMARY WRITING

Writing a Summary

A summary is a brief restatement of

the essential thought of a longer
composition. It reproduces the theme
of the original with as few words as
possible. When one writes a summary,
one should not interpret or comment.
All one has to do is to give gist of the
authors exact and essential meaning.

A Summary

condenses a paragraph, an essay, or a book

to its controlling idea and main points. It
should be written in complete sentences and
reworded, as in paraphrasing. Summarizing,
like outlining, is an effective study skill, for it
requires the student to differentiate between
what is essential and what is insignificant.
The relative importance of ideas must also
be recognized. Once the main idea has been
rewritten, the information will be easier to
recall later on a test or in a paper.

Uses of summary writing

1) Summary writing is a very good exercise

for improving reading comprehension.
Some students read carelessly, and gain only
a vague idea of what they have read. Summary
writing can force them to try to understand what
they read, for one can write a summary of any
passage unless he has grasped its meaning. So
summarizing is also training in concentration of
attention. It requires one to read with the mind,
as well as with the eye, on the page.

Summary writing is also helpful to

composition writing.

It trains one to express ones thought

clearly, concisely and effectively. It is an
excellent corrective of vague and
disorderly thinking and loose and diffuse
writing. When writing a summary, one has
to work within strict limits. One must
express a certain meaning in a fixed
number of words. So it is important to
chose words carefully, to make sentences
with an eye to accuracy and brevity, and
to write the summary in logical order.

3) Summary writing has

practical uses.

The ability to grasp quickly accurately

what is read, or heard, and to
reproduce it in a clear and concise way
is of great value to people of many
professions.

2. Qualities of a good summary

1)Objectivity:

No idea that is not the authors should

be included in the summary, and no
opinion of the writer should be in the
summary. No judgments (whether the
article was good or interesting) are
permitted in a summary.

2)Completeness

Depending on the assignment, the

summary should contain every main
idea in the article. Stating only the first
main idea, or only one main idea and
details to support it, will not give the
reader a complete idea of what the
article was about.

3)Balance:

Giving equal attention to each main

idea, and stressing ideas that the
author stressed, will result in an
accurate summary.

3. Questions to judge a valid

summary include

Did I include all the important ideas?

Did I omit all unnecessary words and
phrases?
Does the summary read smoothly? (Have I
made good use of transitions: also, thus,
therefore, however, etc? Have I made
every word count?)
Would a reader of my summary who had
not read the article get a clear idea of the
article?

4. The goal of the summary is

To give readers an objective, complete,

accurate, balanced view of an article
they have not read.

5. Procedure of summary writing

1) Read the article quickly, looking for main ideas.

2) Read it again carefully, absorbing the information.
3) Look for the thesis and topic sentences; they will
often give you the main ideas of the article that you
will need for your summary.
4) Depending on the assignment, select the major
ideas you will need to use in your summary. Arrange
these ideas carefully in order to achieve balance and
completeness.
5) Begin the summary with a sentence that informs
your reader of the title and author of the article.

6. Experiences in Writing
Summary

1) Omit unnecessary details

In order to make the passage
powerful and convinced, the origin will
quote examples, quotations of
authorities, definitions, details and
rhetorical phrases. Such details can be
omitted.

2) Keep some plots, reduce the

examples

Follow the chronological order of the

origin.
Simplify the descriptions, eliminate all
repetition.
Elimination of all examples, statistics,
lists, figures, opinions and judgments.

4)Compress wordy sentences and change

phrases to words and move from general to
specific
In general cite the writer
Ex. The writer explains
Ex. The writer states
Or use the writers name. The first
time use complete name. After that
only last name
Catherine Coleman explains
Coleman states .

AcademicLanguageReportingVerbs
Other words you can use instead of says or
tells or talks about

1. reports
2. points out
3. finds
4. asks
5. advises
6. describes
7. insists
8. asserts
9. claims
10. believes
11. implies

12. reveals
13.declares
14.proposes
15. observes
16. notes
17. establishes
18. maintains
19.suggests
20. explains
21. contends

Academic Language

Some introductory phrases :

1. (The author) states in (this article) that...
2. (The author, in (this article) shows that...
3. In (this article), (the author) writes that...
4. As (the author) says in (this article), ...
5. The main idea of (the author's article) is

Using transitions in the body

You will have to use transitions and other kinds of

language to make your summary flow (sound better).

Examples:
1. First the author .
2. The author begins by stating that users should.
3. He then points out that.
4. In the second part of the article..
5. In the final section of the article, the author
suggests..(Signals an End!)

ADDITIONAL NOTES ON SUMMARY

WRITING

6)Use the shortest possible transitions, e.g. but,

thus, yet, for, etc.
7)Put the main points of a dialogue in indirect
speech.
8)Analyze the origin
Try to analyze the origin. Try to find out the main
idea, topic sentences and so on.
9)Take the use of topic sentences and key
words
10) Pay attention to Persons
A formal summary should be written by the third
person and in past tense.

Tips for Writing Good Responses

In academic writing,
1. Responses are based on facts that you can support (facts
from experts, class discussions, assigned reading in your
text, and the like), not on hearsay or emotions
2. Responses are based on the original authors purpose
and audience.
3. You must provide support for the opinions you express in your
response.
4. Your opinions and interpretations appear only in your response,
not in your summary of the author's work.
5. Sometimes an instructor will ask you for a gut reaction or a
reaction based on your own experience. In that case, and only
in that case, you may stray from Point 4 above. Still, you should
try to analyze your reaction so that you can state why you
responded as you did.

Writing a Summary: Points to Remember

Do not write an overly detailed

summary: the point is to reduce the
work to its essence.
Quote from the material sparingly to
illustrate major ideas -- stick to
paraphrase for the most part.