summary

Preparing a summary requires a special kind of writing. Unlike some other types of writing, a summary should not include any of your own personal ideas. The only purpose of a summary is to condense what another author has written. This means reducing what the author has said to its main points.

Summaries are used in academic writing for every field. For example, in a business class, you might be asked to summarize an article from the Wall Street Journal. In a chemistry or physics class, a summary format is often used to prepare lab reports. In a literature class, you might be required to write summaries of novels or short stories.

A good summary should present a clear, concise idea of the main points of an article to someone who has not read it.

In order to write an effective summary, you need to have a true understanding of the original article. This means taking the time to read the article carefully to determine the author's purpose, thesis, and main supporting points.

1. Read the article once to determine the author's thesis.

2. Reread the article and take notes on the main points.

3. Using your own notes as guides, write the first draft of your summary.

It should include:

a. A topic sentence that states the name of the article, the author, and

the source.It should also include the main points of the article.

b. A body that focuses on explaining, in your own words, the main

ideas presented in the article.　An effective way to do this is by

answering the questions what, where, when, who, and why.

c. A final statement that summarizes any conclusions the author made

in the article.

4. Revise the draft of your summary. Check to see that you have

accurately summarized the author's main ideas.　 If you included any of

the author's minor points, thoughts or opinions about the topic.

5. Edit your summary to make sure that the grammar, spelling,

punctuation, and capitalization are correct.