Writing a summary

The purpose of summarising is to compress or condense large amounts of information into a few sentences. This must be done without changing the original meaning. A summary must still include all of the main points and the supporting information but it does not include minor details or repetition of the same ideas.

Topic sentences will help you to identify the main ideas in the text. Remember that a topic sentence may be at the beginning of a paragraph or at the end. If you are summarizing a chapter from a book or an article, the introduction and the conclusion will provide a good overview of the information. When writing a summary you must still record all of the bibliographic details appropriate to the text that you are reviewing.

Summarizing is a very useful tool when you are reviewing large amounts of information. It enables you to record the main points and the supporting information in a shorter and simpler version of the original. Good summaries are an excellent resource when writing or reporting research and when revising and preparing for tests and examinations.

Step 1: Read the text carefully. Be sure you understand what you are reading. You may need a dictionary to clarify some words.

Step 2: As you read make notes which represent the main ideas of the text and the supporting information.

Step 3: Use the notes that you have made to write the summary.

Step 4: Record the bibliographic details of the text.

Step 5: Review the text again and then the summary you have written. Make sure that all of the main ideas have been included and the meaning of the original text has not been changed in any way.