Gather key quotes from the text to help you pinpoint main ideas. [3] X Expert Source Richard PerkinsWriting Coach & Academic English Coordinator Expert Interview. 1 September 2021. The author might also state their thesis more plainly by saying something like “my argument is. . . . " or I believe. . . In a fiction piece, the author will more likely emphasize themes. So if you notice that love - discussions or descriptions of it, for example - come up a lot, one of the main points of the piece is probably love.
Focus on the first two sentences and the last two sentences of each chapter. That’s often where the author will put important points![5] X Expert Source Richard PerkinsWriting Coach & Academic English Coordinator Expert Interview. 1 September 2021. To put something in your own words, write it down as if you were explaining or describing it to a friend. In that case, you wouldn’t just read what the author wrote. Do the same when you’re writing down the major points in your own words.
For fiction pieces, this means avoiding rewriting every single thing that happens in the piece. Focus instead on the major plot points and the main motivator for those points. Don’t include everything that happens to the character along the way.
For example, you can start with something like “George Shaw’s ‘‘Pygmalion’’ is a play that addresses issues of class and culture in early twentieth-century England. ”
If you absolutely must use the original author’s words, put them in quotation marks. This tells your reader those words aren’t yours. Not doing this is academic plagiarism, and it can get you in a lot of trouble. Make sure you format the quote correctly!
For example, you might think that Hamlet spends a lot of time thinking and not a lot of time acting. You can say something like, “Hamlet is a man of thought, rather than action,” instead of saying, “Why doesn’t Hamlet do something once in a while?” Pay attention to moments when the author’s tone clearly highlights that something is important. [11] X Expert Source Richard PerkinsWriting Coach & Academic English Coordinator Expert Interview. 1 September 2021.
In fiction pieces, you can say something like “Shakespeare’s Hamlet then spends a lot of time brooding on the castle ramparts. " This tells your reader you’re talking about Shakespeare’s play, not inventing your own story.
If you notice an author has made the same point multiple times, though, it’s a good indicator that this is an important point, and it should definitely be in your summary.
For example, in a summary of an article about the cause of the American Revolution, you might have a paragraph that summarizes the author’s arguments about taxes, and another about religious freedom. You can say something like, “Although some colonists believed that taxes should entitle them to representation in Parliament, the author also argues that other colonists supported the Revolution because they believed they were entitled to representation in heaven on their own terms. "
Don’t use spell-checker for spelling errors. It will catch if you spell something wrong, but not if you use the wrong spelling of a word. For example, it won’t catch that you used “there” when you meant “their. "
Generally, a summary should be around one quarter the length of the original piece. So if the original piece is 4 pages long, your summary should be no more than 1 page. [16] X Research source
Not only should they be comparing your work for accuracy, ask them to read it for flow and summation. They should be able understand what happened in the article or story by reading your summary alone. [17] X Research source Don’t hesitate to ask for criticism; then weigh those criticisms and make valid changes.
