How to Write a Summary

Some important ideas to remember about summary writing:

A summary is a re-telling of another authors article, report, study, etc. Thus, it should never
include any of your opinion, comments or additions. For example, Mary Smith rightly states
includes the summary writers opinion with the addition of rightly.

A summary uses reported language. Thus, it is helpful to review paraphrasing and reported speech
formats and grammar. See additional information about paraphrasing below.

Page number references are not included in a summary.

Never reference the author of the article by first name only.

A summary restates the most important main ideas from and is significantly shorter than the
original article. A summary can be as short as a paragraph.

It takes time to write a good summary. Try not to rush and dont get frustrated if it takes a few
readings and re-writings to get a good draft.

Getting main ideas from the original article.

Read the article quickly once looking for the overall main idea of the article. This idea may be
stated or implied. A good place to look for this overall main idea is in the introduction and the
conclusion, or the title.

Once you have this overall main idea in mind, rewrite it in your own words. A good technique is
to complete the sentence: This article is primarily about...

Read the article again. This time, read to understand. Look for a thesis, headings, topic sentences,
a conclusion, etc. to help you confirm the main idea and understand the complete article.
o Read the article as many time as necessary to understand it. You cant summarize well if
you do not understand the article.
o Read to understand the main idea in each paragraph. In English, important ideas are
conveyed in paragraphs. It is not important to understand every word.
o Use the context around unfamiliar words to try and understand meanings first. If you
cannot understand from context, look up only frequently used key words or words that
appear to be very significant to the meaning of a paragraph.
o Do not translate large portions of the article. Translation often results in shifted meaning
and poor sentence structure.

Write the main ideas and necessary supporting details* of major paragraphs on a separate page in
your own words. Paraphrase! DO NOT copy complete sentences from the article. Copying
directly from article is considered plagiarism and is illegal.
*Necessary supporting details are needed to understand a main idea. For example: The main
idea, Many important factors affect how well students learn requires some mention of some
factors, such as amount of study time, parental involvement, etc. ALT: Many important
factors, such as amount of study time, parental involvement, etc. affect how well students
learn.
To avoid copying ideas, it is a good idea to read the paragraph, cover it with an additional page,
and then rewrite it in your own words. You can note key words before you cover up original.
o If you cannot find a good paraphrase of a particular phrase or idea, use quotations marks
( ) around any string of more than two words. Remember, if you directly copy
anything from the original article and claim it as your own (i.e., without the use of
quotation marks), you are plagiarizing.

Compare every paragraph main idea to the article. Have you changed meanings? Have you
captured all of the main points and sub-points of the original?

Look over your paraphrased list of main ideas. Do you need any more supporting details to help
readers understand the summary? Remember that your readers have not read the article; your job
is to restate the main ideas briefly and clearly. This often requires adding examples in the form of
supporting details.
o Only use supporting details from the article.
o DO NOT add anything to the summary that is not in the original article.


Writing your summary.

Decide on organization. You can present information in the same order it was presented in the
article, or you can change it. You may not know for sure at this point, which is fine. J ust keep in
mind that you can change the organization as long as you do not change the original meaning.

Introduce the summary with a sentence that includes the title, the authors full name, and the
overall main idea of the article.

In the article, Raising Happy Children, Mary Smith explains the importance of
good communication in happy families and how to achieve it.

In Raising Happy Children, the author Mary Smith explains the importance of
good communication in happy families and how to achieve it.

The importance of good communication in happy families and how to achieve such
communication are explained in the article, Raising Happy Children, written by
Mary Smith.

In the body of the summary, list the main idea and necessary supporting details in an organization
that maintains the original meaning of the article.

Dont state a main idea more than once even if it appears multiple times in the original.

You can also combine lists (of necessary details for example) by using a general phrase, such as
summer sports for swimming, hiking, and tennis.

Add appropriate transitions, such as furthermore, so, because, the author continues, Smith
further explains, etc. to clarify the relationships between sentences and ideas. The summary
should read as a cohesive document and not as a list of main ideas.

To conclude, be sure you understand the authors concluding comment, solution, recommendation
or idea and paraphrase it as a last point in the summary.

Reread your summary and compare it once again to the article. Verify that you have not changed
any meanings or ideas.

Proofread for coherence (how well the main ideas flow from one to the next, grammar, sentence
structure, spelling, awkward phrasing, etc.


Paraphrasing Formats & Styles

When referring to the author, you can use: the last name, the first and last name, or an appropriate
reference, such as author, researcher, or the appropriate pronoun. Never use only the writers first
name.

Keep in mind that there are a variety of reporting verbs that you can use for paraphrases. Be sure to
pick an appropriate verb. For example, in a study an author explains and defines but does not
necessarily argue. Whereas in an opinion piece, the author may, in fact, argue a point of view. Be
sure to check which style guide you are following for correct verb tense. MLA is generally present
tense (the author states) while APA is past (the author stated) or past perfect (the researched have
stated).

Smith states
suggests
writes
reports on/about
describes
believes
observes
shows
illustrates
examines
defines
explores
argues
affirms
clarifies
focuses on
criticizes


Avoid the verbs talks about and says because an author is not actually speaking in an article.

Example Attribution phrases

Smith explained the importance of making family rules clear to children.

The author provides many example conversations for parents to study.

The author illustrates that it is important to be clear about family rules.

The author reinforces the importance of following rules.

According to Smith, rules are very important.

Following rules is an important part of healthy communication according to Smith.


Use a variety of attribution and paraphrase formats. The same structure will be your summary stilted
and boring.

Reference the article not just the author.

You may also choose to reference the article vs. the author. However, it is best to avoid
personification* of an article. For example, you can write, This study explores the importance of X.
However, it can be confusing and awkward to write, The article talks about X since an article does
not talk or speak.

The article explores
The study concentrates on
The passage describes
This passage emphasizes
This report highlights
illustrates
opposes
presents
recognizes
reports
shows
suggests
supports

*personification is the process of making some thing or object human-like.

Note that for a summary prepared in APA Style, the reporting verbs are simple past (explained) or
present perfect (have explained), whereas in MLA Style the reporting verb is simple present (explains).