How to Write a Summary

Summarizing is an invaluable skill that involves concisely recapping a longer text’s central points and overall substance using your own words. A well-written summary demonstrates your thorough understanding of the original source material while omitting unnecessary details.

Effective summarization is a critical competency for students and professionals across disciplines. It allows you to encapsulate key concepts from research, highlight salient points in essays and reports, and convey the essential takeaways from books or articles. Summaries are indispensable for note-taking, crafting literature reviews, and any situation requiring a high-level overview of external sources.

When to Write a Summary

Summaries are commonly required for a variety of tasks, such as:

• Responding to a reading assignment in a class discussion or paper
• Preparing for an exam by condensing course concepts and readings
• Providing an executive-level overview of a report, proposal, or research study
• Sharing the key takeaways from a meeting, presentation, or interview

Regardless of the context, the goal of a summary is to demonstrate your comprehensive understanding of the source material by highlighting its central points, arguments, and conclusions in your own words. This allows you to quickly review the essential information or share it effectively with others.

How to Write an Effective Summary

Follow these steps to write a well-structured, informative summary:

Step 1: Read the Text Carefully

Begin by thoroughly reading through the full text, whether it’s a journal article, book chapter, or lecture notes. As you read, pay close attention to the main topic, key points, and overall structure. Highlighting important sections or taking notes can help you identify essential information.

Step 2: Break the Text Into Sections

Before attempting to summarize a source, it is crucial to thoroughly read through the entire text multiple times. This iterative approach helps ensure you gain a comprehensive understanding of the content.

Start by quickly scanning the article to get a general sense of the topic and overall structure. Note any section headings, abstracts, or other elements that provide an initial overview.

Next, carefully read the full text, highlighting key points and taking detailed notes. Pay close attention to the author’s central arguments, supporting evidence, and conclusions.

Finally, skim the article again to confirm you have grasped the main ideas and identify any particularly important or complex passages that may require a closer re-reading.

Some helpful techniques for identifying the core content include:

• Reading the abstract, which often summarizes the author’s core points
• Closely examining headings and subheadings to understand the organizational structure
• Comparing the introduction and conclusion to discern the author’s original aims and ultimate outcomes

By thoroughly immersing yourself in the text through this multi-stage reading process, you can develop a comprehensive understanding necessary for crafting an accurate, insightful summary.

Step 3: Identify the Key Points in Each Section

For each section, determine the single most important point or central argument. What is the main purpose or primary takeaway of that portion of the text? Avoid getting caught up in minor details and focus on distilling the big picture.

Step 4: Write the Summary

Begin drafting your summary using your notes and the key points you identified. Start with an introductory sentence that clearly states the overall topic or purpose of the text. Then, summarize the main ideas, arguments, and conclusions logically, using your own words as much as possible. Aim to be concise, typically around one-third the length of the original material.

Remember to:

• Convey only the essential information without adding your own opinions or interpretations
• Use transition words like “first,” “next,” and “in conclusion” to guide the reader
• Maintain an objective, informative tone throughout

Step 5: Check the Summary Against the Original Text

Once you’ve drafted your summary, review it against the source material to ensure you’ve accurately captured the core ideas and haven’t omitted any key points. Make revisions to improve clarity, concision, and fidelity to the original.

Summary Examples

Let’s look at an example to illustrate effective summarization techniques.

Full Article Summary

Madden et al. (2019) examined the impact of mindfulness-based interventions on stress and burnout among healthcare professionals. The researchers conducted a randomized controlled trial with 150 doctors, nurses, and other medical staff, splitting them into a mindfulness training group and a control group receiving standard wellness programming. Participants in the mindfulness group attended an 8-week course teaching meditation, breathing exercises, and other evidence-based mindfulness practices. The control group did not receive any specialized training. At the end of the program and again 6 months later, all participants completed surveys measuring perceived stress, emotional exhaustion, and job satisfaction. The results showed that the mindfulness group reported significantly lower stress and burnout levels than the control group immediately after the intervention and at the 6-month follow-up. The mindfulness practitioners also demonstrated higher job satisfaction scores. These benefits were most pronounced for participants with the highest baseline stress levels. The authors conclude that integrating mindfulness training into standard wellness programming for healthcare workers could effectively combat the epidemic of stress and burnout in the medical field. They recommend further research to optimize delivery models and evaluate long-term outcomes.

Concise Summary

Madden et al. (2019) found that an 8-week mindfulness program reduced stress and burnout and increased job satisfaction among healthcare professionals compared to a control group, with the greatest benefits for those initially reporting high stress levels. The authors suggest mindfulness training could benefit standard wellness initiatives in medical settings.

This 45-word summary concisely captures the study’s core purpose, methodology, key findings, and overall conclusion using the researchers’ own language. It provides a high-level overview that retains the essential information without extraneous details.