Writing good summaries is an indispensable skill in college. Taking class notes, writing an annotated bibliography and answering essay questions require the ability to summarize well. The good news is that you probably already know how to summarize. Have you ever explained to a friend what the latest movie you saw was about? If so, then you have summarized. Your job is to learn how to do the same in writing.
So, what is a summary? According to the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate® Dictionary (11th ed.), a summary is “using few words to give the most information about something” (By permission. From Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate® Dictionary, 11th Edition ©2015 by Merriam-Webster, Inc. (www.Merriam-Webster.com)). In academic writing, the purpose of a summary is to relay the main points of whatever you are summarizing such as an article as clearly and concisely as possible.
Before you write a summary, it is important that you understand the content of what you are summarizing. For any piece of writing, I suggest that you annotate first. Take a highlighter and mark the subheadings. Highlight or write in the margins the main idea of each paragraph, which is conveniently stated in . . . ahem . . . the topic sentence. In most cases, the topic sentence is the first sentence of each paragraph. Avoid including details. We’re after the main ideas only.
Writing Good Summaries
Once the annotation is complete, you are ready to write the first draft of your summary. Keep in mind the following points:
- A summary is shorter than the original text.
- A summary is written completely in your own words. No quotations! If you quote, then you are not summarizing.
- A summary has a direct, objective style. Avoid any judgments about the original author’s style, ideas or your personal reaction to the original text.
- A summary does NOT include specific examples, illustrations, or background sections. Focus on the main ideas of the text.
- Begin your summary with a reference to the writer, title and a brief statement of the writer’s thesis.
- Next, mention the key ideas of the original text and show how those ideas relate to each other. The key components mentioned in the summary should be in the same balance as found in the original text.
- Use precise, accurate verbs to show the author’s relationship to ideas.
- FINALLY, the summary demonstrates correct usage of grammar and mechanics.
It is not difficult to write a summary with the right information. Would you like some help? Would you like to download my free “Checklist for Writing a Summary”?
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