How to Write a Summary of an Article

How to Write a Summary of an Article

https://owlcation.com/academia/How-to-Write-a-Summary

VIRGINIA KEARNEY

Virginia has been a university English instructor for over 20 years. She specializes in helping people write essays faster and easier.

What is a Summary?

A great summary is easy to read and explains all of the main points in the original. Important points to remember:

· The main idea of the article is conveyed clearly and concisely

· The summary is much shorter than the original document

· The summary explains the important notions and arguments

· The summary condenses a lot of information into a small space

How Do You Summarize an Article?

Summarizing an article can be boiled down to three simple steps.

1. Identify the main idea or topic.

2. Identify important arguments.

3. Write your summary.

Continue reading for detailed explanations of each of these steps.

Identify the Main Idea or Topic

The aim of an article is to convey a certain idea or topic through the use of exposition and logic.

In a summary, you want to identify the main idea of the article and put this information into your own words. To do this, you must be willing to read the article several times. On the first reading, try to gain a general notion of what the article is trying to say. Once you've done this write down your initial impression. This is most likely the thesis, or main idea, of the article. Also, be sure to include the author's first and last name and the title of the article in your notation for later reference.

Example: In the article "Why Two Best Friends Doesn't Work," author Cassandra Grimes argues that most teenage girls can't get along in groups of more than two.

When trying to identify the central idea, you should ask yourself, "Why was this essay written and published?" Clues to help determine this include the following.

How to Identify the Main Idea of an Article

1. Gather information from the title.

2. Identify the place it was published, as this can help you determine the intended audience.

3. Determine the date of publication.

4. Determine the type of essay. (Is it expository, argumentative, literary, scholarly?)

5. Take note of the tone of the piece.

6. Identify certain notions or arguments that seem to be repeated throughout.

Applying these methods of identification, let's take a look at the article "Bypass Cure" by James Johnson. We can assume the subject of the article from the title. Upon further examination, it becomes clear that the author is arguing that new research suggests the best cure for diabetes is the surgical solution of a gastric bypass.

Example: "Bypass Cure" by James Johnson records a recent discovery by researchers that people who have bypass surgery for weight control are also instantly cured of diabetes. Since rising diabetic rates and obesity has become a worldwide concern, the article provides a startling but controversial potential solution.

Now that we have identified the main idea of the article, we can move onto the next step. Think of the thesis of your summary as a caption on a picture. Example: In spite of having lost most of the season due to an injury, Jim Johnson beat his own record and won the meet, qualifying him for the state finals.

Identify Important Arguments

At this point in the preparation process, you should read the article again. This time, read more carefully. Look specifically for the supporting arguments. Some tips on how to identify the important arguments of an article are listed below.

Write Your Summary

Your summary should start with the author’s name and the title of the work. Here are several ways to do this correctly:

Using Author Tags

In writing your summary, you need to clearly state the name of the author and the name of the article, essay, book, or other source. The sentence below is a great example of how to do this.

According to Mary Johnson in her essay, "Cats Make Good Pets," the feline domestic companion is far superior to the canine one.

You also need to continue to make it clear to the reader when you are talking about the author's ideas. To do this, use "author tags," which are either the last name of the author or a pronoun (he or she) to show you are still discussing that person's ideas.

Also, try to make use of different verbs and adverbs. Your choice of author tag verbs and adverbs can contribute to the way you analyze the article. Certain words will create a specific tone. See the tables for a selection of different word choices.

List of Author Tags

Says	Explains	Comments
Persuades	Suggests	Understands
Argues	Reminds	Helps us understand
Elucidates	Presents	Intimates
Concludes	Presents the idea	Creates the impression
Criticizes	Defines	Highlights
Concedes	Shows	States
Thinks	Admits	Lists
Notes	Analyzes	Disagrees
Observes	Points out	Emphasizes
Discusses	Identifies	Implies
Insists	Responds	Shows
Proves	Rejects	Suggests

Example Summary Paragraph

The following paragraph is an example of a one-paragraph summary of an article.

In "My Favorite Shoe," Treyvon Jones explains that Nike shoes are the best brand of running shoe for serious track athletes. Jones supports this view by pointing out that Nike shoes are more comfortable, last longer, and provide more cushioning for the feet. He notes that the statistics from sales and scientific evidence of how Nike shoes are better for the feet support his claim. In addition, Jones points out that most professional runners use Nike and he tells his own story of how he won the 100-meter men's competition after switching to Nike shoes.

Below is a template showing the components of a great summary.

Summary Template

Part of Summary	Contents
Introduction Sentence	In "My Favorite Shoe," Treyvon Jones explains (insert main idea).
Supporting Arguments	Jones supports this view by pointing out (insert author's supporting arguments).
Final Point	In addition, (insert author's overarching argument and point).

How to Summarize (Video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=391&v=jLdvEFtUuMM&feature=emb_logo

Questions & Answers

Question: How can I summarize a research article?

Answer: An abstract is basically a summary of a research article. To write a good summary in your field of science, it would help to look up several research articles and look at their abstracts. Use that as a model for your own summary.

Question: How should I end my summary?

Answer: The summary should end with the author's conclusion or last main point.

Question: How do I conclude the summary of an article?

Answer: Conclude your summary with a statement about what the author is trying to convince you to believe, do, or think.

Question: How should you begin a summary?

Answer: A summary should begin by stating the name of the author (first and last) and the title of the article, along with a single sentence describing the main idea of the whole article. Here are some examples:

1. According to Tom Castaway in "Taking Your Management to the Next Level," effective management means clearly articulating your goals, supporting your employees and keeping the team on track.

2. "Supporting Your Cat's Needs" by Jane Yogurt is a humorous article that describes how a can manipulates their owner into providing them everything they want.

3. In her usual humorous style, Sanda Cunningham offers support and advice to dog owners who feel out of control in "Taking Back the Leash: A Dog Owner's Guide to Freedom from Panic Attacks."

Question: What is "skimming?"

Answer: "Skimming" means that you don't read every word. You look at the bold print in a chapter, the first sentences of each paragraph and look over a page to see if there are important points. Skimming is like doing an overview. Skimming is easy if you are reading in your own language and often we do skimming when we are looking at a newspaper, or scrolling down our social media posts. Basically, when you skim read, you are looking for the most interesting or most important things. When you find it, you might read a whole section, but you might also skip a lot that doesn't seem important.

Question: How do I write a summary? Should I use my own words?

Answer: Your summary should reinforce the main point of the article, and should always be in your own words, just like the rest of your essay. However, a summary should not add your own opinion. The response is your opinion, and the summary is just a repetition of what is in the article.

Question: How should I end a summary?

Answer: You end a summary with the conclusion of the article or a comment about the reason the author has written this piece. Here are some examples:

1. In conclusion, the article clearly articulates all of the reasons a person needs to be careful not to let their car battery freeze in winter.

2. To make sure the reader gets the point, the author concludes with a funny story of why she will never wave to a policemen at the side of the road again.

3. Although she may belabor the point too much, Johnson does clearly and effectively explain many reasons why college students should take the time to recycle as much as they can.

Question: Is skimming bad when you're summarizing an article?

Answer: I would always suggest that you start by skimming the article to get the main ideas; however, you probably need to read the article closely at least once in order to make sure you haven't missed a major point.

 

How to Write a Summary of an Article

https://owlcation.com/academia/How-to-Write-a-Summary

VIRGINIA KEARNEY

Virginia has been a university English instructor for over 20 years. She specializes in helping people write essays faster and easier.

What is a Summary?

A great summary is easy to read and explains all of the main points in the original. Important points to remember:

· The main idea of the article is conveyed clearly and concisely

· The summary is much shorter than the original document

· The summary explains the important notions and arguments

· The summary condenses a lot of information into a small space