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Vocabulary Flashcards: Writing a Summary (Academic Writing)

What is a Summary?

A summary is a distilled version of a text that captures its essential concepts in a much shorter form. It is like picking out what you need from a supermarket: you focus on the parts of the text that are most important for your purpose and discard what is unnecessary. A summary has two main purposes: to reproduce the key ideas and points of the original text, and to express these concepts with precise and specific language. 2 goals in one compact form. When preparing a summary, you must decide which parts to include and which to exclude so that the result remains faithful to the author’s intent while being concise.

Learning Objectives

  • Understand what a summary is and what it does.
  • Identify what details should be included in a summary.

Essential Questions

  • What parts of the text should be included in the summary?
  • What are we looking for when we scan a paper instead of reading it closely?

Preparing to Write a Summary

Summarizing a text is distilling its essential concepts into a paragraph or two. The two goals are:

  • to reproduce the key ideas and points of a text, and
  • to express these concepts and ideas with precise and specific language.

You must be ready to choose which parts of the text to include and which parts to exclude in your summary. Two preparatory techniques can help:

  1. previewing
  2. skimming and scanning

Key Considerations When Selecting Content

Remember: when selecting which parts to include in your summary, take note of:

  • your purpose for summarizing the text
  • your own view on what is essential in the text

Previewing

Previewing helps you set goals for reading, especially when you plan to summarize later. It orients you to what you need from the text and helps you stay focused on the parts relevant to your purposes. The goal is to identify the elements you will later condense.

Before reading in earnest, use the previewing technique to orient yourself to the text.

Steps for Previewing

  • Don’t skip the title! The title is usually written to orient the reader and provide a hint about the central concepts.
  • Consider the subject matter: have you read about this topic before? What prior information do you have or what can you guess?
  • Who is the author of the text? Is there additional information about the author in the text? What do you already know about him or her?
  • Where was this text originally published? Who might be the audience for this text? What could the audience expect to find in it?
  • When was the text originally published? Is there a connection between the time period and the field of study? Were there important events or trends at that time?
  • What seems to be the general progression of ideas in the chapter titles or headings? Why has your professor assigned this text? How does it fit into the course or subject as a whole? What facts and ideas should you remember?

Tips for Previewing

  • Read the abstract and discussion carefully and examine any graphs or figures. (Tip sources: Quipper and related slides.)

Skimming and Scanning

Skimming gives you a quick sense of the text’s overall logical progression and helps you decide which sections require more attention for your purposes. Skimming and scanning can be adjusted to fit your comfort level, but the core idea is to identify the main structure and essential ideas quickly.

Steps for Skimming (and Scanning)

  • Before skimming, apply the previewing techniques from the previous section.
  • Read the introductory paragraph carefully and try to predict the direction of the coming explanations, arguments, and examples.
  • Read the first one or two sentences of each paragraph, as well as the concluding sentence(s). Keep your eyes moving to grasp overarching concepts and the text’s pattern.
  • Read the concluding paragraph(s) to infer the author’s overall purpose, and be ready to adjust your understanding if needed.
  • Return to the beginning and perform a more focused reading to understand anything you might have missed.

What Skimming Teaches You

  • Skimming helps you grasp the paper’s quick gist without reading every word.
  • Each paragraph typically has its own main idea, often in its first or last sentence.
  • Skimming assists in connecting dots and guessing how the paper defends its thesis.

Example of Skimming and Early Reading

Example slide practice presents a paper title followed by its introductory sentences to illustrate how you begin a summary. The sample text begins:

Title: Muling Mag-abang sa Kundiman: Revisiting Edgar Samar’s Poetry

In recent years, many readers have come to know the name Edgar Samar. A broader view of Samar’s work shows that he has been prolific since as early as 1991, producing fiction and poetry for over 13 years.

From skimming these lines, you would infer that the topic concerns Edgar Samar’s prolific output and that the paper will review his poetry through specific poems presented in this study.

What Is Included in a Summary?

  • An effective summary condenses a passage into a shorter form because it communicates only the essential facts of the original text. You rewrite the text to focus on the main points for easier reference later.
  • Effective summarizing is important for both research and writing because it lets you return to pertinent information quickly.

What to Include (and What Not to Include)

  • Include the title and the author in your first sentence. The first few sentences should convey the author’s thesis so you and your reader can recall the key points quickly.
  • Long articles are often divided into subsections. Maintain these subsections and keep related information together.
  • Omit minor details and ideas that are not central to the text, but avoid omitting too much or warping the author’s original intention. Do not omit specific examples unless they are merely clarifying and not integral to the argument.
  • Avoid opinions or personal responses. A summary should reflect only the author’s ideas.
  • Try drafting your summary without looking back at the text to avoid plagiarism.

Example to Illustrate Inclusion Rules

In Koji Suzuki’s paper (1991) "Global Implications of Patent Law Variation," the author argues that the world’s patent laws have inconsistencies that can cause economic and political tensions. A summary would present the contrast between the first-to-file system common in many countries and the inventor-right system in the United States, noting that this discrepancy can undermine international agreements. The paper discusses the Paris Convention on Industrial Property and how the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has urged the U.S. to review its patent principles. A well-crafted summary would place the author and title in the opening sentence and provide the thesis early for clear guidance on the remaining content.

How to Structure a Summary

  • The author and the title should appear in the first sentence, and the thesis should be stated so the rest of the summary can be aligned with the main arguments.
  • The summary should provide an overview of the text’s main points, then discuss important details while excluding excessive examples and personal opinions.
  • The structure should reflect the original organization (subsections and logical progression), maintaining clarity and coherence for reference.
  • If a concrete example clarifies an argument, it may be included; otherwise, omit it.

Practice Exercise

Find an academic paper you have discussed in another class or read before, and write a short summary of it in no less than 250 words. This helps you apply the techniques of previewing, skimming, identifying thesis statements, and concisely conveying essential ideas.

Questions to Check Your Understanding

  • What are the goals of a summary?
  • What should you read first when skimming, and why?
  • When is scanning best used while preparing to write a summary?

Wrap Up

A summary is a shorter and more condensed form of a text. Its goals are to reproduce the key ideas and to express them with precise and specific language. A well-crafted summary helps you quickly return to pertinent information for academic writing and study.

Final Takeaways

  • Use previewing to set goals and orient yourself to the text.
  • Use skimming to understand the overall progression and identify essential sections.
  • Write with emphasis on the author’s thesis, maintaining structure and avoiding personal judgments.
  • Include only the essential points, preserving meaning and intent, and always cite the author and title in the opening line.

Bibliography (references mentioned in the lesson)

  • How to Write a Summary. Lumen Learning. Accessed March 2, 2020. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/englishcomp1v2xmaster/chapter/how-to-write-a-summary/
  • Previewing. University of Toronto. Accessed March 2, 2020. https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/preview/
  • Reading Strategies to Save Time. University of New South Wales. Accessed March 2, 2020. https://student.unsw.edu.au/reading-strategies
  • Skimming and Scanning. University of Toronto. Accessed March 2, 2020. https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/skim-and-scan/
  • Summarizing. University of Toronto. Accessed February 27, 2020. https://advice.writing.utoronto.ca/researching/summarize/