Writing Article Summaries
The goal of writing a summary of a chapter or an article is to offer as accurately as possible the full sense of the original, but in a more condensed form. A summary restates the author's main point, purpose, intent, and supporting details in your own words.
The process of summarizing enables you to better grasp the original, and the result shows the reader that you understand it, as well. In addition, the knowledge gained allows you to better analyze and critique the original.
First, try to find the main idea in the reading; it is usually in the first paragraph. Next, skim through the chapter, glancing at any headings and graphics. Then, read the conclusion. The intent here is to give you a review of the work and to engage effectively with it.
Now go back and read the original chapter carefully, jotting down notes on or highlighting the important points. Write the central idea and the author's reasons (purpose and intent) for holding this viewpoint. Note the supporting elements the author uses to explain or back up her or his information or claim.
Make an outline that includes the main idea and the supporting details. Arrange your information in a logical order, for example, by most to least important or chronologically. Your order need not be the same as that in the original, but keep related supporting points together. The way you organize the outline may serve as a model for how you divide and write the essay.
Write the summary, making sure to state the author's name in the first sentence. Present the main idea, followed by the supporting points. The remainder of your summary should focus on how the author supports, defines, or illustrates that main idea. Remember, unless otherwise stated by the instructor, a summary should contain only the author's views, so try to be as objective as possible.
As you revise and edit your summary, compare it to the original and ask yourself questions such as the following:
- Have I rephrased the author's words without changing their meaning?
- Have I restated the main idea and the supporting points accurately and in my own words?
Critical Analysis
The articles are significant for your learning and are prompters to evaluate collateral documents of evidence. The purpose for writing a critique is to evaluate someone's work (a book or an essay) in order to increase the reader's understanding of it. A critical analysis is subjective writing because it expresses the writer's opinion or evaluation of a text. Analysis means to break down and study the parts. Writing a critical paper requires two steps: critical reading and critical writing.
Critical reading:
- Identify the author's thesis and purpose.
- Analyze the structure of the passage by identifying all the main ideas.
- Consult a dictionary or encyclopedia to understand material unfamiliar to you.
- Make an outline of the work or write a description of it.
- Write a summary of the work.
- Determine the purpose, which could be one of the following:
- To inform with factual material
- To persuade with appeal to reason or emotions
- To entertain (to affect people's emotions)
- Evaluate the means by which the author has accomplished his purpose.
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- If the purpose is to inform, has the material been presented clearly, accurately, and with order and coherence?
- If the purpose is to persuade, look for evidence, logical reasoning, and contrary evidence.
- If the purpose was to entertain, determine how emotions are affected. Does it make you laugh, cry, or angry? Why did it affect you?
Consider the following questions:
How is the material organized?
- Who is the intended audience?
- What are the writer's assumptions about the audience?
- What kind of language and imagery does the author use?
Remember the following:
- Avoid introducing your ideas by stating "I think" or "in my opinion." Keep the focus on the subject of your analysis, not on yourself. Identifying your opinions weakens them.
- Always introduce the work. Do not assume that because your reader knows what you are writing about, you do not need to mention the work's title.
- Is the subject matter of current interest?
- What is the overall value of the passage?
- What are its strengths and weaknesses?
Support your thesis with detailed evidence from the text examined. Cite document quotes and paraphrases appropriately. Remember that the purpose of a critical analysis is not merely to inform, but also to evaluate the worth, utility, excellence, distinction, truth, validity, beauty, or goodness of something.
Even though as a writer you set the standards, you should be open-minded, well informed, and fair. You can express your opinions, but you should also back them up with evidence.
Your review should provide information, interpretation, and evaluation. The information will help your reader understand the nature of the work under analysis. The interpretation will explain the meaning of the work, therefore requiring your correct understanding of it. The evaluation will discuss your opinions of the work and present valid justification for them.