Complete Writing Guide of Summary with Examples

Do you know summaries are one of the major parts of your paper? Well, yes, they are.

Papers are boring and dull with no summaries. A summary is like the soul of a paper. Knowing how to write a summary will turn your paper into a masterpiece. Without it, your paper won't be able to specify what great ideas you have poured into your work.

In our blog, you will find out how easy writing a summary is with only five steps. If you want to learn, then look no further! Let’s get started.

What Is a Summary?

A summary is a brief synopsis of work that gives the reader an overview of its central ideas. It's a creative and effective way to summarize something you have read in a longer form.

Summaries are made of some words not to bore readers with too much information at once; that's why they're interesting. Instead, they are meant to convey the meaning or idea behind the work quickly.

Writing a summary means that the writer gathers all main points into one short descriptive paragraph with no sub-points. Also, make sure that these thoughts are in order to keep everything concise yet comprehensive.

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Reasons to Write a Summary

There are many reasons in which you might have to write the summary such as:

• To demonstrate that you’ve understood the material.
• It's a perfect way to keep notes that will help you remember what you've read.
• In a literature review, give an overview of other researchers’ work.

Summaries are quick and concise and potentially save a lot of time.

How to Write a Summary?

Here are five simple steps to write a summary for any text.

1. Identify the Main Idea

   Pick the most important point you want your reader to know. Then use your limited sentences wisely in order for them to understand what they are reading about.

   A summary is an important tool for reading comprehension. To summarize a passage, it's best to find the most significant point and get that across first. The sentence you choose should be one of your main thoughts on the work.

   The topic sentence states the writer's main ideas and summarizes them for the reader. Avoid going into detail about every thought process behind it.

2. Keep it Brief

   A summary paragraph is usually around five to eight sentences. It should be short and concise, with clear ideas that are easy for the reader to comprehend. Eliminate redundancies or repetitive text so your paragraphs remain concise and engaging.

   Besides being concise and clear, it must be creative enough for readers so they don't get bored with what they already know in their heads.

   When the paragraph is complex and long, a sentence summary at the end can be an excellent way to remind your readers of purpose as you move on.

3. No Judgments

   You don't need to provide a review or opinion on whether it was good or bad. Your goal should simply be gathering the most relevant information without being judgmental.

   Writing without judgment is a great way to keep your emotions in check when you're trying to convey something important.

   Being judgmental actually limits the ability to share what is most important information about the work.

4. Make Sure It Flows

   Transitions are important to the flow of writing, and they can help build momentum. Connect your sentences with transition words like 'therefore,' 'in conclusion,' or even just a simple comma. Make sure that you are using them in order to sound natural.

   Transition words are incredibly helpful when it comes to building momentum within our writing. They connect the thoughts while also sounding more cohesive as well as clear. Additionally, readers have no questions about what was said previously because it’s all connected due to transitions.

   There's no such thing as too many transitions but make sure they're used correctly.

5. Check the Summary Against the Article

   After reading through the article one last time, ensure that you've accurately represented the author's work. Make sure you haven't missed any essential information; take a look at your summary again.

   Make certain that it represents everything in an intriguing way while keeping its original meaning so that readers can learn more about what you're discussing.

   Just remember to use a plagiarism checker if there are lots of articles on topics similar to yours. It’ll help you to ensure that all of your writing is accurate and properly cited.

Summary Writing Format

When writing a summary, you should follow a specific writing format.

• Remember that a summary should be written in the form of a paragraph.
• A summary starts with an introductory sentence that includes the title, author, and main point of the text as you see it.
• A summary is composed entirely of your words.
• A summary consists solely of the original text's ideas. In summary, do not include any of your own thoughts, interpretations, rebates, or remarks.
• Identify the significant claims the author has used to defend the major point.
• Copy word-for-word three separate passages from the essay that you believe support or defend the essay's main point as you see it.
• Each passage should be cited by first indicating the work and the author. Put 'quotation marks' around the passage you selected, and immediately after the passage, but the paragraph number where the passages can be found.
• It is important to use source material from the essay. Why? Because when writing a paper for your professor, you will be required to defend claims with the source material.
• Write a final sentence that 'wraps up' your summary; this is usually a simple rephrasing of the main point.

Different Real-life Examples of Summary

Learn more from real-life examples to create a summary of different chapters, newspapers, articles, research papers, stories, books, and paragraphs.

How to Write a Summary of a Chapter - Example

Here is an example of how to write a summary of a chapter.

How to Write a Summary of an Article - Example

Below we have provided an example of how to write a summary of an article.

How to Write a Summary of a Research Paper - Example

Take a look at an example of how to write a summary of a research paper.

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How to Write a Summary of a Story - Example

Looking for an example to know how to write a good summary of a story? Here it is.

How to Write a Summary of a Book - Example

Want to explain a complete book in a summary? Below is an example of how to write a summary of a book.

How to Write a Summary of a Paragraph - Example

Take a look at an example of how to write a summary of a paragraph.

How to Write a Summary for a Resume - Example

Below is an example that gives you an idea of writing the summary for a resume.

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