Summarizing a source is an essential skill that has to be mastered by any student that wants to either add credibility to their writing or provide examples from scholarly papers that might support their arguments (Spatt, 2010). It also helps to highlight particularly important ideas that are essential for the development of an argument.
The voting choice was guided by the importance of summarizing for any academic discipline. It can be argued that without being able to summarize an article or a book it is difficult to make a proper background for the work that is being written (Spatt, 2010). Moreover, including the main points of someone else’s writing into a paper helps to significantly expand its breadth (Spatt, 2010). A research essay is a type of academic writing that heavily relies on the summaries of different articles and books. Without presenting the relevance of sources dealing with a particular subject and analyzing them, it is hard to develop a framework for a new study (Spatt, 2010). It is necessary to remember, that summarizing is only one of many tools for the integration of borrowed ideas and concepts into one’s writing (GeneseeLibrary, 2014). Such instruments as paraphrasing and quoting are also essential for academic writing. They have to be skillfully blended with the author’s ideas in order to create an excellent paper. The students that are able to adequately use those methods and techniques are usually distinguished by clear and comprehensive writing that has a proper context and structure (Spatt, 2010).
Summarizing a source is the process of “condensing ideas” (Spatt, 2010). The main points of the text have to be extracted and repackaged with the help of paraphrasing. However, some keywords and phrases can be used in a summary without change if they are properly quoted (GeneseeLibrary, 2014). It is necessary to retain the meaning and emphasis of the original text; however, it can be rearranged in order to highlight important details or to fit it better in the structure of the paper that is being written. While summarizing an article or a passage, key ideas have to be separated from the general information (GeneseeLibrary, 2014). They are usually repeated with minor variations in a text. It is necessary to pay close attention to facts and details in order to make a better categorization of crucial and non-crucial points. It is also important to understand why a particular text has been written so it would be easier to summarize it (Spatt, 2010).
When making a summary of extremely convoluted and abstract writing, it is recommended to make marginal notes (Spatt, 2010). The statements of an author’s ideas and opinions have to be identified and written down. They will help to better understand the key points that will have to be condensed into a couple of succinct sentences. A thesis has to be established and presented at the beginning of a summary and it should clearly state the position of an author. A well-written summary is coherent, comprehensive, and simple to read. All ideas presented in it are properly quoted or paraphrased.
References
GeneseeLibrary. (2014).Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting: A Guide to Doing it Right. Web.
Spatt, B. (2010). Writing from sources (8th ed.). New York, NY: Bedford.