{"id":293,"date":"2020-01-19T13:04:10","date_gmt":"2020-01-19T13:04:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paytowritepaper.com\/blog\/?p=293"},"modified":"2024-08-14T07:53:03","modified_gmt":"2024-08-14T07:53:03","slug":"write-a-summary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.paytowritepaper.com\/blog\/write-a-summary\/","title":{"rendered":"A Smart Way to Write a Summary of any Text"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A summary\nis a brief statement of the main ideas and the most important points of a text\nin own words. The task to write a summary is one of the most often tasks that a\nstudent faces in college. It is a common exercise in classes, it is an\ninevitable part of the preparation for any academic paper, and it is an\nexcellent method in the learning process in general. When you need to absorb a\nlot of information, summarizing will help you greatly because the main purpose\nof the summary is to get the point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When Do You Need to Write a Summary?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If we\nstress the word \u201cwrite\u201d, then the circumstances will be most likely connected\nwith your studies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Teachers\nassign the task to write a summary of some text to the students to perform at\nthe classes or as a part of homework very often. It has to show how well you\u2019ve\nunderstood the learning material or any other text.&nbsp; <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>You\nneed to do this yourself in the process of preparation for academic papers like\nessays. To prepare arguments for a dispute or an essay \u2013 you have to find and\nabsorb a lot of information on a certain topic, but you can&#8217;t include\neverything into a limited volume of the text. Besides, you should not retell in\nthe information you found, you need to give the essentials and your\nunderstanding of the materials. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Writing\na summary has a lot to do with learning the rules of quotation. There are\ndefinite regulations that determine how you give credits to the sources you\nobtain the information from. It is a required step, as a presentation of\nsomeone else&#8217;s words and ideas without mentioning the author is plagiarism.\nThis way you can kill two birds with one stone: write a proper summary for your\nneeds and learn these extremely important for any scientific work tips on the\ncitation.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Eventually,\nyou may write a summary to train your memory and cognitive skills, especially\nwhen you examine a new topic or learn a new language.&nbsp; <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>All in all,\nyou need a summary any time you have to condense much data into a smaller form.\nBrief notes are much easier to understand and remember. For instance, it will\nbe a great support when you will get prepared for exams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Should You Write in a Summary?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Many\nhelpful articles and guides on writing academic papers for students constantly\nclaim that you need to summarize ideas or some data for this or that part of\nyour text. However, they mostly don\u2019t clarify how exactly you are to write a\nsummary. What elements should it include, how long should it be, etc. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s\nclarify these vague things. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How long the summary should be? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>There are\nno strict requirements for the length of the text of a summary. If it is a\ncollege task, then your tutor will probably specify how large your text must\nbe. If you compose a summary for yourself during the process of learning new\nmaterial or revising some information, it will be up to you to decide. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In most\ncases, the size of the summary depends on the size of the source which you need\nto summarize. On average it takes approximately one-third of the original text.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Which criteria a good summary should meet?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>A summary\nyou need to prepare for a class assessment includes several benchmarks that you\nhave to check and make sure you cover them all: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The summary of a text must be a kind of a substitute for the original full text. You should be able to refer to the summary to refresh the necessary information in your memory and get all the necessary points without reading through the original text. If you write a summary for the class assessment, then your audience should understand the original text from the brief retelling you provide. That&#8217;s why you must provide the accurate retelling of the original and not your interpretation.&nbsp; <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The\ntext of the summary must be in your words, but you must not add your judgment\nor opinions. The summary is to put full data of the original text into a\nsmaller form, nothing more. You may further add your comments to the summary or\nuse the summarized statements to support your ideas, but you should not mix\nthem in one item.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Your\nsummarized text must cover the main idea or ideas of the original text and\nexpose them.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The\nsummary should include and explain the most important statements and arguments\nof the original text. The explanation should be brief, but it must be concise.\nNote that you should include both the supportive and disproving evidence. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Secondary\nfacts, details, and digressions are not needed in a summary.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The\nsummary must be about three times shorter than the original text. Orient the\nwork towards this value if you write a summary of some articles or a speech.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Pay\nattention to the direct citations if you find it necessary to include them in\nyour text. Keep yourself from taking many quotes, refer to the one if only you\nwant to illustrate the idea by the author&#8217;s choice of words. Be very careful\nabout citing and assure giving all credits to the sources.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is the main idea of the original text?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>As\nproviding the main ideas of the source text is obligatory in a summary, you\nneed to define those ideas at first. This is how to do this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li><strong>Read the text you have to summarize very attentively,<\/strong> and you may need doing that several times. The task is to find out what the text is about and what it tries to imply. Write down your thought about that. It is OK if you change your mind or find some new connotations when you re-read that text, as the ideas might be not so obvious. <\/li><li><strong>Explore the title is the text has it.<\/strong> The title should include at least one of the most important ideas or help the audience to apprehend it.&nbsp; <\/li><li><strong>Consider the circumstances of that original text creation.<\/strong> Where and when was it published? This will help you to grasp the context. What was the target audience of that text? In such a way you find out which events and thoughts were important for them and what the author wanted to persuade them.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to define the main arguments? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To find the\narguments to mention them in the summary, you should refer to the text\nstructure. Most original texts you will deal with in colleges have the logical\nstructure, and their parts would introduce those arguments for the ideas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol><li>Create a basic outline of the text. It is easier to grasp the information when it is well-structured, and you can divide it into meaningful parts.<\/li><li>Mark those areas and concepts that you would like to mention in your summary. <\/li><li>Formulate the main concepts described in each paragraph. If the author has already composed the sentence that defines the idea \u2013 great. Write it down separately. <\/li><li>Paraphrase these sentences \u2013 refer to the reported speech, shorten the longer constructions, etc. You should not use the same means as the original work, otherwise, it will turn your summary into a set of quotes.<\/li><li>Get rid of all unimportant facts and details. Leave the main concepts and their supportive evidence only. <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Write a Summary of the Text<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you\nare well-prepared for the task and have found the main ideas and the supportive\nand disproving arguments, you can write a summary of any text. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Compose the\nIntroduction part. You have already dealt with this item in the essay, and it\nis also needed in summary. At the very beginning of your work name the author \u2013\ngive the first and last name \u2013 and the title of the original work you are\nsummarizing. Define the type of the original work \u2013 it can be an article, a\nspeech, an essay, or any other form of writing. After that, name the main ideas\nof the text you\u2019ve selected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Body\npart of the summary will include the arguments and examples from the source\ntext. Assure that you include the meaningful fragments only, and not minor\ndetails. Note that you need to write in own words and turn the direct fragments\nfrom the original work to reported speech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check the\ninner logic of your text ad make sure that all statements are clear, and the\narguments are connected with them. Also, compose and insert transition phrases\nto lead the audience from one idea to the next one smoothly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Unlike the\ntraditional essay, a summary does not require having a conclusion. You can just\nfinish your restatement of the original text, and that will be all. You may\ninclude the Conclusion part if it is a part of the assigned task. Or, if you\nhave created a great Conclusion part in your mind and want to share it with the\naudience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Important tips for writing a summary<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>You\nshould always use the present tense in the summary even if you retell the past\nevents and the authors are long gone. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Make\nsure that you understand every detail in the original work. Check the meaning\nof any doubtful terms or phrases and analyze the logical connections to not\nproduce an incorrect interpretation. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Consider\nthe choice of words. Your vocabulary must serve to make the summary clear, but\nyou also can create a certain tone of the narrative. For example, you use the\nneutral &#8220;says&#8221; or the stronger &#8220;insists&#8221;, and this will\nproduce a different impression on the audience. Note your verbs and adverbs, as\nthey are the most powerful means.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What are the correct citation principles for a summary? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Like is\nalready mentioned, you need to give credit to the authors. It is important to\nmark the sources you used, as you have to present the summary of some other\ntext and not your ideas. Thus, follow these rules:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>The\nfull name \u2013 first name and last name \u2013 must be set for the first reference.\nFurther in the text, you use the author&#8217;s last name only.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>If\nthe author has a title like an academic degree or simple Mr. or Mrs., it is not\nrequired to mention those titles. Though you can do it to prove their\nauthority: if you summarize some scientific work, it would be helpful to\ninclude constructions like \u201cProf. Smith claims that\u2026\u201d or \u201cDoctor Williams stands\nup against that\u2026\u201d <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>You\ncan replace the names and titles of the author with pronouns \u201che\u201d or \u201cshe\u201d,\nwhen you summarize a piece of text and need to mention the same author several\ntimes in that piece. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When you\ncomplete your summary, take your time and let your mind be refreshed. The best\nway is to give yourself some rest for at least a couple of hours without the\ntext you worked on. Then get back to it, re-read it and revise. You may define\nmistakes or awkward phrases to fix. It is great if you can give your summary to\nsomeone to beta-read it and provide the feedback. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This way\nyou can write a summary of any text, no matter how large and sophisticated it\nlooks. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A summary is a brief statement of the main ideas and the most important points of a text in own&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":358,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paytowritepaper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paytowritepaper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paytowritepaper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paytowritepaper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paytowritepaper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.paytowritepaper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":359,"href":"https:\/\/www.paytowritepaper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293\/revisions\/359"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paytowritepaper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/358"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.paytowritepaper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paytowritepaper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.paytowritepaper.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}