A summary of summaries

Summaries are important tool but they follow special aspects. The aim of this article is to analyze a summary. The start point will consist on an analysis of a summary done by a student, in which connectors have an important role. Then, the focus will shift to the effectiveness of this previously mentioned summary and the points that are confusing or incomplete. Finally, examples of summaries will give the article a final closure.
Examining a summary about summaries done by a student is the first point to consider. In the following example there is an introductory phrase which is underlined and an easily identifiable body in the second and last paragraph. However, there is not conclusion in this summary.

In her book “The Process of Paragraph Writing”, Reid (1994) describes the main characteristics of a summary. The author claims that the general purpose of a summary is to give a limited amount of information to a specific audience.
However, summary writing is not an easy task. In order to write an accurate summary, you not only have to extract the main idea but you also have to be capable of expressing these ideas, trying to avoid repeating the exact phrases of the original material. Moreover, good summaries are clear and balanced. That is to say, the reader should not find in difficulties in understanding the main ideas of the material.
Fig. 1

This academic summary since is a description of academic – related topic (Reid, 1994). According to Reid (1994) academic summaries respect certain structural rules such as text organization. Every academic summary should have an introduction, a body and a conclusion. Consequently, this summary has not respected this structural rule since it counts with an introduction and body but it lacks of an objective conclusion.
Bodies are made up of the main ideas of the original in the same order they appear and they can include connectors. As in the example done by the student, connectors, which have been circled, help the reader to link the ideas. A summary should not be just a group of disconnected sentences but a cohesive and coherent piece of writing.
This academic summary presents same confusing or incomplete ideas. From them some questions and doubts can be developed:
- Does the author, Reid (1994) in this case, claim that the only purpose of a summary is to give a limited amount of information to a specific purpose?
- The author writes “trying to avoid repeating the exact phrase from the original material”. Does it mean that it is not possible to quote or cite a source?
Last of all, examples of summaries are presented. The sentences in the following lines are summaries of different paragraphs selected. When producing them, the audience was specified and this consisted of readers who have not read the original the text previously. So, the aim is to be clear, specific, neutral and balanced enough to allow reader to understand the main idea.
A summary is a brief description of a main idea with a specific purpose and audience. (Pintos 2008, p. 15, par. 1)
Academic summaries, which are about an academic topic, present a structure as in any text where the introduction includes certain detailed information while the body develops the main ideas. (Pintos 2008, p. 15, par. 4)
The first sentence in a summary is composed of the source and the main idea. (Pintos 2008, p. 17, par 1)
References:
Reid, J. (1994). The Process of Paragraph Writing. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall Regents.
Pintos, V. (2008) Unit 3: Academic Writing. Argentina. Universidad CAECE