Author:
Peter Berry
Date Of Creation:
17 February 2021
Update Date:
1 July 2024
Content
Write summaries and a great way to process the information you've read, whether it's an article or a book. If you are assigned to write a school summary, the best way to start is by rereading the work. Read carefully and make notes on the main points you want to include in your summary. When starting to write, at first you should rely on memory to ensure writing in your words, then correct it so that it is clear, correct grammar, punctuation and spelling.
Steps
Part 1 of 3: Reread the work
Read the work carefully. Initially you should just read without marking. Focus on the concept that the author really wants to convey. This means you have to read a sentence or paragraph not just once. You may also have to reread the entire work. That is also a good thing.
Write down what you think is the main idea of the work. This will help you begin to rewrite the author's arguments with your own words. You can also ask yourself what ideas or topics are throughout the work. A work's title can also give you a clue to its main intentions.- Authors can also state their point more clearly through statements like "My point is ...." or I believe ...
- In fiction, the author often emphasizes the topic more. If you find that a topic of love - such as the discussion or description of love - is in the work, then one of the main points of the work is probably love.
Reread and make notes of the main points of the work. Once you have determined the main idea of the author, read the work again, paying attention to the methods that the author used to support that idea. You can find evidence by choosing details in the title, surprises in arguments or plot, repetition, or attention-grabbing details, such as features. description of the characters (if any). Make a note of these details as they appear.- To express a certain content with your words, imagine explaining or describing to someone. So you won't just repeat what the author wrote verbatim. Do the same when you write down the main points in your own words.
Do not focus on the evidence that the author uses to support the points. You just need to know what the author is arguing about. Thus, assuming as the author's main argument: "The civil rights movement in the United States really started in the 1950s," they could point out the bus boycott of black women to as evidence for this point. You only need to pay attention to the boycott movement of black women, no need to take evidence of the boycott that the author mentioned.- For works of fiction, you should avoid rewriting every event that happened in the work. Instead, you need to focus on the main points of the storyline and the main motive for them. Don't mention everything that happens to the character throughout the story.
Part 2 of 3: Write your own verbal summary
Starting with source information. You should start any abstract by mentioning the author and title of the work. This will let the reader know that you are summarizing someone else's work.- For example, you could start with something like "The play '' Pygmalion '' by George Shaw deals with issues of class and culture in England in the early 20th century.
Use memory to write down the main ideas of each section. Write your first draft without looking at notes, including the gist of each of your verbal sections. An abstract doesn't just repeat the author's writings verbatim, so it's important to use your own words.- If you are required to use the author's word verbatim, you need to enclose it in quotes so that the reader knows that it is not your word; otherwise, you will be seen as plagiarism and could be in trouble.
- Remember to use the correct format when quoting!
Present content from the point of view of the author. When you write, be sure to summarize only the original work, not to interfere with your own opinions about the work or the events in it. Summarize the content of the work, retain the author's voice and opinion.
- For example, if you think that Hamlet spends a lot of time thinking and doesn't act very much, you could write "Hamlet is a man of thought instead of action", don't write "Why Hamlet does not sometimes something? "
Use the appropriate language for the summary. You need to let the reader know that you are summarizing another person's arguments. Therefore, you should sometimes use phrases like "author argues," or "affirmative articles" when presenting those arguments. This will remind your audience that this is not your work but someone else's.
- In fictional works, you can write "Shakespeare's Hamlet spends a lot of time on the castle walls contemplating." This tells the reader that you are referring to a Shakespeare play, not composing your story.
Part 3 of 3: Edit your draft into a coherent summary
Re-read the draft you just wrote from memory. Take out your notes and compare it with a memory draft. If there is any important point that you forgot to include, add it to the second draft.
Present the summary in chronological order. Instead of haphazardly jumping from part to part of a story or article, you should interpret the content in the order of what happened. This is especially important when summarizing works of fiction.
Eliminate repetitive points. Sometimes, in an article or book, the author may mention a certain point multiple times to emphasize the main points. The summary doesn't need to be like that. When you reread your written summary, omit the repetition - even if the author says it over and over, you only need to mention it once.
- However, if you notice that a certain idea is repeated by the author, it is very important that you must include it in your summary.
Add transition sentences as needed. While you are concentrating on writing the main points, you may not pay attention to how paragraphs in the summary are linked. When you are editing your lesson, remember to connect each paragraph to the next and return to the main idea.
- For example, when you summarize an article about the causes that led to the American Revolution, you could write a summary of the author's argument about taxation, and another about religious freedom. Write something like this, "Although some colonists believed that taxes would give them representation in parliament, the author also argued that others supported the revolution because they believed they were. have the right to represent heaven in their own way. "
Check for grammar and spelling errors. Once you've finished editing what's in the draft, you'll need to check other details as well. Make sure the post has no spelling and grammar errors. Look for inappropriate, redundant, or missing punctuation, and correct it.
- Don't use spellcheckers. It can detect when you misspell a word, but not when you misspell one word for another. For example, it will not correct "where" when you mean "here".
Check out the summary's length. After you have added anything you forgot to your summary, you should double-check its length.For school summaries, you must stick to the instructions given by your teacher.
- Typically, a summary should be about a quarter of the original work's length. Thus, if the original work is 4 pages long, your abstract should be no more than 1 page.
Have someone read your post again. Others can see an argument or point of view in a completely different light from you, so you will have a new sense of the work. and your homework.
- In addition to testing accuracy, you should also ask them to evaluate the fluency and condensation of the summary. The reader must understand the content of the work or story even if only reading your summary. Don't be afraid to ask for your comments; then you can weigh their opinions and make corrections.
