Summary Writing 5S PPT

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 author’s 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 one’s 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 author’s 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 writer’s name. The first

time use complete name. After that
only last name
Catherine Coleman explains…
Coleman states ….
Academic Language Reporting Verbs
Other words you can use instead of “says” or
“tells” or “talks about”
1. reports 12. reveals

2. points out 13.declares
3. finds 14.proposes
4. asks 15. observes
5. advises 16. notes
6. describes 17. establishes
7. insists 18. maintains
8. asserts 19.suggests
9. claims 20. explains
10. believes 21. contends
11. implies
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 author’s 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.

Summary Writing 5S PPT

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SUMMARY WRITING

 The ability to grasp quickly accurately what is

 No idea that is not the author’s should be

 Depending on the assignment, the summary

 Giving equal attention to each main idea, and

 Did I include all the important ideas?

 To give readers an objective, complete, accurate,

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

 1) Omit unnecessary details

 Follow the chronological order of the origin.

• Or use the writer’s name. The first

1. reports 12. reveals

 Some introductory phrases :

 You will have to use transitions and other kinds of language to

1. First the author ………….

2. Responses are based on the original author’s purpose

4. Your opinions and interpretations appear only in your response,

5. Sometimes an instructor will ask you for a gut reaction or a

• Do not write an overly detailed summary: the

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