Simply to say a summary is a shortened form of a piece of writing, but is that all a summary about? No, it is not. Many students often misinterpret what the summary is. What they do is actually rewriting the text but it is still far way to say "Yep, It is a summary!" What i would try to emphasize is that "a summary is not rewriting an original piece of writing" even you have made it short but when you concern with the original one, it can't be called a summary. So how to make a summary then? In writing a summary, you should use your OWN WORDS to express the main ideas and relevant details to what you have read.
When you're trying to write a summary make sure that you break down the paragraph into main points, and after all you can use your own words to give the basic ideas of the writing. To start, you might probably want to focus on the common questions What? Who? Why? When? Where? and How? questions. And therefore, you should make your reader know that you're summarizing not REWRITING.
What you need to consider when writing a summary is the main point of a writing. The ideas or the main points may be placed anywhere. generally, tthe central idea is stated in the beginning, introduction or first paragraph, and the supporting ideas of this central idea are presented one by one in the following paragraphs. Always read the introductory paragraph thoughtfully and look for a thesis statement. Finding the thesis statement is like finding a key to a locked door. Frequently, however, the thesis, or central idea, is implied or suggested. Thus, you will have to work harder to figure out what the author wants readers to understand. Use any hints that may shed light on the meaning of the piece: pay attention to the title and any headings and to the opening and closing lines of paragraphs.
Here are several steps that you have to consider in writing a summary:
1. Read and try to understand what the text is telling you about
2. Take notes as you go along to break the text into points
3. Begin by writing your THESIS STATEMENT
4. Write down the important details you need to include in the summary. Put them in a
logical order. Example: Topic Sentence followed by the evidence that may require detail 1, detail 2, and so on.
5. Now write the summary
Language is a means of communication, but a good deal of language use is deliberately obscure if not actually encrypted in some form of cipher or code. This book explores the reasons for obscurity and secrecy, and touches on some of the fascinating beliefs that underlie the constraints on using language freely.
