This is it. Just when you thought that you could do any research possible, the summary came along and got you all puzzled.
That’s not surprising – writing summaries is a completely different task, and it requires special skills. And guess what? You can easily acquire these skills!
Writing a Summary: Learn the Basic Classification in Two Minutes
First of all, remember that there’s a bunch of summary types – and that there are special guidelines for each!
Writing a book summary
Writing a summary of a book is one of the easiest tasks if you know what to include. Just make sure you’ve included and paid enough attention to the following elements:
- A description of the lead character;
- A summary of the plot;
- A discussion of the ending and moral of the story.
Writing a summary: essay
- Explain the author’s main point;
- Comment on the author’s examples;
- Describe certain stylistic choices the author makes.
Writing a summary: report
- Mention the key people involved;
- List all essential dates and corresponding events;
- Draw some conclusions based on all the observations made in the report.
Writing a summary of an article
- Name the author and the article;
- List the goals, methods and hypotheses of the research;
- Comment the results of the research.
Writing a resume summary
- State key dates (birth, graduation, etc.;)
- List key accomplishments;
- Mention one or two hobbies.
Writing a plot summary
- Mention the setting;
- List the main characters;
- Explain the lead character’s background;
- Outline key turns in the plot;
- Comment on the climax and conclusion.
Writing a chapter summary
- Name the book and author;
- State the topic;
- List key facts.
Writing a summary: template
- The author and the work;
- Key details;
- Results and conclusion.
Keep in mind though that the rules are quite different when you are writing a… executive summary:
An executive summary is the list of key facts in a document. It’s just as simple as that.
Writing a Summary: Follow Eleven Important Recommendations!
What you’ll have to remember is that there are eleven steps to writing a summary perfectly well:
- Mention the name of the work which you summarize.
- Name the author of the work and his overall level of contribution to the given field.
- Mention the specific area of interest relevant for the work you summarize.
- Explain the goal of the author’s research/writing.
- Name the research method used in the work you summarize.
- State the facts/issues analyzed/described in the work.
- List the key results of the author’s research/the basic conclusions.
- Comment on the limitations of the research/oversights in the novel.
- Mention the key idea upon which the writing is based.
- Explain your vision of the issue and provide your own solutions to it.
- Explain the purpose of the stylistic devices used by the author use (if any).
- And a bonus 12th tip is to use our free online summarizer to get a brief summary of the most important info in 1 moment.
Way to go – with these writing prompts you’ll write any summary you need! And now, let’s get to some examples of writing a summary!
Writing a Summary. Check out This Excellent Paper Example!
When writing a summary, examples are the most essential thing. Follow a summary example to get your own summary perfect! Here is a concrete example of writing a summary:
Writing a Summary: Example
In the book Adventures of Mr. Doe, James Roe describes the life of a clerk in a typical postmodern manner. Setting the story in an urban backdrop, the writer splits the world in two: the real mundane life and the surreal universe where the lead character has to overcome his own fears.
One of the most important turning points in the novel is the meeting of the two selves of the main character – the real and the virtual one – and their following duel. With the help of his colleagues and under the pressure of his everyday work, the real Roe wins the fight to return to his everyday life.
The novel made a great impression on me. It helped me to understand the numerous sides of my own self and the way the society impacts them.
When writing a summary, sample writing is exactly what you need – so remember this sample summary well!