Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 4: Study the topic
• Part 2 of 4: Plan Your Essay
• Part 3 of 4: Write your essay
• Part 4 of 4: Shutting Down
• Tips

2 a.m. before writing a summary essay for a school or college exam. Unfortunately, you have no idea what a generalizing essay is, much less how to write one. Fear not, WikiHow is here to help! A synthesis essay or synthesis work brings together various ideas and information from multiple sources into a coherent whole. Writing a summary essay requires the ability to classify information and present it in an organized way. While this skill is developed in high school and college, it will also come in handy in the business and advertising world. Skip to step 1 to learn how to write a summary essay.

Steps

Part 1 of 4: Study the topic

1. 1 Understand the purpose of the summary essay. The purpose of a generalizing essay is to find constructive links between parts of a work or several works with the goal of ultimately presenting and confirming an idea on a specific topic. In other words, as you research a topic, you will be looking for connections that can build a strong chain of evidence for a particular point of view on the topic. Generalizing essay types can be classified as follows:
   • Generalization-argument: This type of essay has a strong thesis statement that represents the author's point of view. Relevant research information is organized in a logical order to support this view. Official business documents, known as position papers, often take this form. Students write this type of summary essay during a subject mastery test.
   • Generalization-review: Often written as a preliminary step towards a reasoned generalization, a review is a discussion of what has been written earlier on a given topic, with a critical analysis of the sources. As a rule, more research is needed in this area, since the problem is not well covered. This type of work is common for students studying social sciences and medicine.
   • Summary-Explanation: This type of essay helps readers understand a topic by categorizing facts to make it easier for readers to understand them further. It does not defend a certain point of view, and if it contains a thesis statement, then the thesis is weak. Some business documents look like this, although they most likely have a different point of view.
2. 2 Choose a topic appropriate for your summary essay. Your topic should be broad enough to bring together multiple related sources, but not wide enough to bring disparate sources together. If you have the freedom to choose your topic, reading the sources beforehand can help you decide what to write about. However, if you are writing a summary essay at school, you may be given a topic or need to choose from a list.
   • An example of a general topic reasonably narrowed down for a summary essay: Instead of the broad topic of social media, you can discuss your opinion on the impact SMS messages have had on the English language.
3. 3 Select and read your sources carefully. If you are taking the Advanced Subject Test, sources will be provided to you.You should choose at least three sources for your essay, and perhaps one or two more, depending on the amount of time you have to study the topic and write the paper. Look for material in your sources that relates to the reason you are writing your essay (i.e. your argument).
4. 4 Develop a thesis statement. After reading the sources that you received or found yourself, you will have to formulate your opinion on your topic. Your thesis will be the main idea presented in the essay. You should cover the topic and express your point of view on this topic. The thesis should be formulated in the form of a complete proposal. Depending on the essay, your thesis statement can be either the first sentence of the beginning of the essay or the last sentence of the first paragraph.
   • Example: Sending text messages had a positive impact on the English language, as it helped the millennials create their own form of language.
5. 5 Reread the sources to find ideas that support your thesis. Browse your sources and select key quotes, statistics, insights, and facts that support your thesis. Write them down. You will use them throughout this essay.
   • If you plan to take opponents' claims and refute their theory, you should also find some quotes that go against your thesis and consider ways to refute them.
   • Example:: For the thesis statement above, it is a great solution to include quotes from linguists discussing new words that have emerged from "SMS communication", statistics that show that the English language has changed in almost every generation, and facts that show, that students still know grammar and spelling (your opponents will cite this argument as the main reason text messages had negative influence on the English language).

Part 2 of 4: Plan Your Essay

1. 1 Make an outline for your essay. You can either do it as a simple outline on paper or formulate it in your mind, but you have to decide how to present your material in the most beneficial way. If you are writing this paper for a subject mastery test, be aware that assessors will be looking for a specific structure. This structure looks like this:
   • Introductory paragraph: 1. An introductory sentence that acts like the hook of a fishing rod, grabbing the interest of the reader. 2. Defining the question that you will be discussing. 3. Your thesis statement.
   • Main body: 1. Start with a sentence that explains the reason why your thesis should be supported. 2. Your explanation and opinion on the topic of the question. 3. Evidence from your sources supporting the statement you just made. 4. Explanation of the significance of the source (s).
   • Final paragraph: 1. Indicate the significance of your topic through the evidence and reflections discussed in the article. 2. Thoughtful or thought-provoking completion.
2. 2 Use a more creative structure to present your abstract. Sometimes you have to use a more complex structure than the one listed above. You can use one or more of these methods to organize your essay:
   • Example / illustration. This could be a detailed retelling, a summary, or a direct quote from your source material that supports your point of view. You can use more than one example or illustration if your work requires it. But you shouldn't make a series of examples out of your work instead of proving your thesis.
   • The "scarecrow" method. With this technique, you present an argument to the opposite of the argument in your essay, and then show weaknesses and flaws with counterarguments. This structure shows your awareness of opposing opinions and your willingness to respond to them.You present a counterargument immediately after the thesis, followed by a rebuttal, and end with a positive argument that supports your thesis.
   • Method of assignment. The concession method is structured similarly to the scarecrow method, but it recognizes the validity of the counter-argument, showing that the original argument is stronger. This structure works well when readers take the opposite point of view.
   • Comparison and Contrast. This structure compares the similarities and highlights the differences between two objects or sources to show all the facets. Using this structure requires careful reading of the source material to find major points of similarities and differences. This type of essay can present its arguments source by source or by similarities or differences.
3. 3 Structure the background information correctly. While most generalizing essays focus entirely on the proof of the thesis, some papers present ideas found in the sources rather than focusing on the author's point of view. There are two main ways to construct this kind of generalizing essay:
   • Summary. This structure is a summary of each of your sources, reinforcing the case for your thesis. This provides concrete evidence for your point of view, but usually does not provide an opportunity to present your own opinion. This structure is the most commonly used for review articles.
   • Argument list. This is a series of sub-points that flow from the main thesis of your work. Every argument is backed up by evidence. As with the summary, the arguments must get stronger, the strongest argument must be the last.

Part 3 of 4: Write your essay

1. 1 Write the draft according to your plan. Be prepared to deviate from your plan if you find new ideas and information that support your thesis. If you are writing a summary for an exam, you will only have time to write one draft, so write it as best you can.
   • Your essay should have an introductory paragraph that includes your thesis, a body that provides evidence to support your thesis, and a conclusion that summarizes.
2. 2 Write in the third person. Use the pronouns "he", "she", use full, unambiguous sentences. Provide enough information to make your case persuasive. You should write in the active voice as much as possible, although the passive voice is acceptable if you are using the first person ("I") or second person ("you").
3. 3 Use paragraph transitions to keep your thoughts flowing. Transitions are a great opportunity to show where your sources complement each other: "Halstrom's price-fixing theory is supported by Pennington's The Climber of Economics, where she notes the following:
   • Long quotes of three or more lines should usually be grouped together in order to attract the attention of readers.

Part 4 of 4: Shutting Down

1. 1 Reread your essay. During this time, you can strengthen the arguments and improve the transitions between paragraphs and paragraphs. You should try to make your argument as concise and understandable as possible. Reading essays aloud is helpful because when you read aloud, you are more likely to notice any awkward sentences or incoherent reasoning.
   • Ask someone to revise your work. The proverb "one head is good, and two is better" has not yet been canceled. Ask a friend or colleague to review your work. What would they add or remove? The most important question is: Does your argument make sense and is it well-proven by your sources?
2. 2 Correct the work. You should review your work for grammatical, punctuation, or spelling errors.Are all names and titles spelled correctly? Are there any inappropriate suggestions or snippets? Correct them.
3. 3 Make links to sources. In most papers, this is done with footnotes in the body of the essay and a bibliography of cited papers at the end. Footnotes and quotation marks should be used for any quoted or paraphrased material. If you are writing this essay during the exam, you will not be using a specific citation system, but you need to indicate which source you used.
   • An example of a citation in a summary essay on an exam: McPherson states: “Text messaging has changed the English language in a positive way - it has given the new generation their own unique way of communicating” (Source E).
   • For a university essay, you will most likely be using the MLA format. Whichever format you use, be consistent in its use. You may also be prompted to use the APA style or Chicago style.
4. 4 Title your essay. The title should reflect the point of view of your thesis statement. Choosing a title after writing your paper will ensure that the title matches your essay, rather than matching the essay with the title.
   • Example name:: English and iPhone: Exploring the Benefits of Text Messaging.

Tips

• Just as the title should match your essay, instead of matching the essay with the title, your thesis should guide subsequent research instead of further research changing your thesis unless you find you have chosen the wrong thesis.