The process of summarizing is all about reading a big amount of material, finding the most important information, retailing it in your own words, and squeezing it into a small piece of writing. In general, it is an understandable process. Difficulties might occur when you’re not aware of your topic or just don’t like to paraphrase and summarize. Also, this type sometimes might be confused with evaluation essay, analysis essay, or critical essay. If you wonder: “Who will write my essay?” - that’s ok. Stop panic and get acquainted with the rules of summary essay writing.
As a rule, a summary essay can be written about a novel, book, film, article, some scientific works, or research papers. It doesn’t matter what you write your summary about. There are some constant key points to consider: the greatest “Don’t” in summary essay writing is to highlight your point of view. It is not an estimation essay. Also, you should avoid gasping all of the ideas in the essay. Don’t forget about the transitions when you move from one idea to the new one. Don’t neglect sources. It is better to double-check the meaning of a particular term than use it incorrectly. Do not write in any tenses except the present.
A summary essay has its writing format:
- It should always be written in the form of paragraphs.
- It should begin with an introduction that states the texts' main point. Keep in mind that the summary should be written in your own words as it is your interpretation of the written content.
There are some certain steps that you should follow:
- The first thing to do is to study the material that you’re working with. Thoroughly read the original text and try to catch the mood that the author intended to put to the writing. Try to find what kind of style and tone is present.
- The second step is to organize what you have already written. What you should do is to divide your text into a few sections. You can scatch a rough outline. Divide the whole material into several paragraphs. It will help you put your thoughts together. It will be way easier to analyze the whole material if you understand the order.
- Now you have your material divided into several parts. Try to find the key information in each of them. Write it down, and you will have a short overview of each section.
- After all the steps, you can begin to write the introduction. Try to keep it brief and clear. All the main ideas should be presented and rendered from the original text. Do not forget to mention the name of the author and the title of the work. The background information about the author can also be included if you want.
- After finishing the introductory paragraph, you can move onto the body paragraphs. It is the main part of your essay. All the main ideas that you’ve chosen while reading the text will be highlighted here. Try to create powerful body paragraphs that will catch the attention of the reader. You can even add some original examples from the text. The key to creating good body paragraphs is to keep them brief and avoid minor details.
- Your essay is almost finished. All that is left to do is to conclude your writing with the finishing paragraph. Note that the finishing paragraph can be avoided when writing a summary essay. It depends on the instructions that the teacher gave you.