Steps in writing a Good summary

When writing a summary, remember that it should be in the form of a paragraph. A summary begins with an introductory sentence that states the text’s title, author and main point of the text as you see it. A summary is written in your own words. A summary contains only the ideas of the original text.

Steps in writing a good summary.

• read the article to be summarized and be sure it’s understandable.
• note major points.
• write a first draft of the summary without looking at the article.
• make sure what you wrote is important and not copied.
• target your draft of being like 1 forth of the original

Read the material and take notes while you’re doing it.

You can use paper and/or you can annotate the original material. Annotating means underlining, highlighting, translating, and making notes in the margins (or on the sides) of what you’re reading. Keep in mind only to write the main ideas.

Avoid looking at the original material when you are writing.

For example, if you are summarizing a chapter of a book, try to keep the book closed! Instead, look at the notes you took early, in addition to your outline. If you look at the original material, you’ll be tempted to copy what is written, or only change a little bit – which is not enough, probably. Remember, you want to write your own original English sentences.

Be concise (brief).

Yes, you do need include all of the essential information that a person would need to understand without reading the original source, so you must include all of the main points. That’s pretty much what a summary is.

Remember, though, that you shouldn’t write more than the main points. A summary should be as brief as possible. Don’t give specific information. You shouldn’t write details such as numbers, statistics, dates, or figures unless it’s absolutely necessary for the reader to understand the main points. Don’t be too descriptive.

 Be objective.

This means you should not include your opinion in a summary. A summary is basically a short report about information from someone else’s piece of writing or lecture.

So, there you go! If you follow these tips, you’ll have more success at writing a good summary.

Remember your writing needs to be clear.

A summary needs to be easy to understand to someone who has not read, seen, or heard the original material. Write in simple English.