Ah, the summary… the students’ best friend! With the large number of materials that need to be assimilated in a short time, proofreading can be a little complicated. But, thankfully, the summary essay is there to help us remember what is most important to know in each content. There are two basic kinds of summary: Cool huh? But I must warn you: knowing how to summarize an essay is not that easy. As you already know the importance of this ally when studying, I elaborated the steps to write a summary essay outline! I got these tips when I asked someone to write my essay. Come with me:
Steps to Write A Summary Essay
1. Read and reread the text
How to start a summary essay? The first thing you should know is that preparing a summary is also a way of studying – after all, to prepare it, you need to be well in tune with the subject. You need to examine and observe that unique text. Ideally, you must read and reread the text a few times to make sure you understand everything correctly. While reading, try to sense the vogue, tone, and mood of the author. Also, try to catch and sense the primary ideas that the author wants to express. Enjoy the moment you are studying the subject! Doing some exercises may benefit to some extent.
2. Search for the most important concepts and fundamental points of the text
Now that you have read your essay a few times, you must be prepared to highlight- what is most important, that is its essence. You should try to search for some keywords on the subject, help you get organized, and highlight what is most important in the essay. You must sketch a random outline for the text after breaking down the original text into various parts. It would be easy for you to grasp when you break the text into several sections. Then read those sections once again to mark a few key points. Highlight those texts you want to refer to in your summary section and not in the essay you write. For example, if you are doing a Physics summary on thermology, the keywords can be heat, temperature, expansion, the study of gases, Kelvin scale, etc. Besides gathering the keywords, you can also highlight the essential items and phrases for understanding that content, or even what you can’t escape from being decorated. For example, in an exact story, the formulas will be essential, and, of course, they must be included in the summary. Likewise, In History, you can highlight some names of protagonists of historical facts (for example, Robespierre in the French Revolution or Otto von Bismarck in German unification); and some very representative dates (like 1945, the year in that ended World War II). Similarly, in geography, basic concepts cannot be left out, especially in geophysics. Attention! When looking for the summary essay’s fundamental parts, you will need to have some text interpretation skills. There is no point in underlining or emphasizing the entire text, so it is necessary to understand what is essential in the middle of those words—access here a guide on how we can help you improve your interpretation.
3. Organize the main ideas
Now is the time to organize what you understand about the subject. With the most important keywords and formulas, names, and dates, it’s time to guide the summary you will write. To do this, try to answer two questions: When you have gathered complete knowledge about every portion of the text, pen down a short review on the main idea every part of the text wants to convey. It is also important to list the subject on topics that you consider important (if it is a summary of History, do it in chronological order of events). This is where you can “draw” a small outline for the subject, stipulating several main concepts, like three or four, so you don’t put too many things in the summary.
4. Introduction
After following the above guidelines, the next step for you would be to write an introduction for a summary essay. It should give a brief about ideas conveyed in every section of the original text. Here, you must include the author’s name, their work title. If required, you may also include a little background about the author.
5. Main body paragraphs
In that passage, compose the idea you encountered while reading those texts in every section. You can expand them by mentioning one or more as provided in that original text. Remember to mention only the vital information and not those that may be irrelevant.
6. Conclusion paragraph
After you ended summarizing the primary ideas behind the text, your essay might be completed. On your teacher’s advice, you must include a conclusion paragraph at the end of your essay.
7. Write the text with your words
Get to work! It’s time to write your summary essay. You have read and reread the text, highlighted the most important words or formulas, already listed the most important topics. You must be almost an expert on the subject. After all that, writing will be easy. Take the subject by the general basics and then move on to the specific subjects within that subject.
Summary Essay Topics
You can write down a Summary essay on:
A research journal Any interesting article Summary of any scientific work A novel
It can be on any subject. For example, you might want to write a summary essay on:
A blog post of a famous journalist A movie by Ingmar Bergman A novel by Jack London An article in The New York Times Ben Hurr (A film) Captain Fantastic (A film) Catcher in the Rye (A book) Citizen Kane (A film) For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (A book) Lord of the Rings (A book) Mad Max: Fury Road (A film) Moby Dick (A book) Of Mice and Men (A book) Song of Two Humans (A film) The Critique of Pure Reason by Immanuel Kant
Key Points to Consider for Summary Essay
Do’s and Don’t’s in Summary Essay
Common Mistakes in Summary Essay
