This is one of the easiest assignments a student may get. However, there are always skipping stones when it comes to papers, so even a summary can be tricky. The idea is in the name itself – the author is meant to present the original text in his own words in a short form. Typically, a summary essay is 30% to 40% of the original’s length. In any case, it should be a complete work, so that the reader doesn’t have to apply to any sources for more information. To be precise, a summary essay is a paper that contains the shortened contents of the original. Additionally, it may include a few thoughts by the author himself, in order to state the importance of the initial work.
Adhering to the summary format
In fact, if one thinks how to write a summary paper, he should remember it is still an essay. The main guideline here is following the basic structure: introduction, main body and conclusion.
- The introduction here holds the main idea of the original text and may optionally include the author’s thoughts on it. It’s a real challenge to find the keys to the readers’ minds and persuade them that the initial work is interesting. Basically, the whole idea is this – all parts of summary essay help the reader want to read the original. The introduction serves the same way for the summary.
- The main body consists of the short contents of the initial work itself. It is imperative to know how to summarize an essay, a book, a screenplay, etc., in order to do this right. There are a few tips on the matter at the end of the article, mostly because there are skipping stones here. For example, some students don’t see the difference between a summary and a paraphrase, which is a serious problem and may lead to assignment failure.
- The conclusion of a summary essay is optional and, basically, holds the author’s point of view on the original text. Students should mind that conclusions are only good if there is anything to conclude. In case the author has nothing to say on the matter, there is no use in writing this part, because it will worsen the overall impression and lower the grade.
Going through the basics of how to write a summary paper
First guideline – it is always beneficial to consult a good sample work. They are usually comprehensive and numerous around the Internet. Besides, this is an easy task, so the odds of finding an inadequate paper are quite low. The problem here is that it really takes time to read the original text thoroughly in order to summarize it. If there is no time for that, there is no way to fulfil the task without any assistance.
The latter is exactly what summary essay writing services are for. The principle is quite simple – a student states his task and orders the help. After the order has been placed, the service peruses the roster of specialists and finds those, who have already read the original text and can summarize it without spending much time. This fact really turns the tables for students, because they can get their work done in a matter of hours. The results come in the form of a custom summary essay. It means, that the paper is written from scratch in accordance with the given task, not grabbed from a database. As for the latter, such pre-written paper databases exist as well, but it’s not wise to use them. Plagiarism is a way to get expelled, so who would risk that? To tell the truth, I myself have resorted to the qualified help, when I understood I couldn’t write my summary essay. It didn’t kill me.
Second guideline – differentiating important and unimportant details is a must. The summary format implies mentioning only those things that are crucial to the idea of the original text. In order to understand the difference, it’s obvious that the student should know what the original author meant by his work.
Third guideline – the fact that a summary essay is a simple work doesn’t mean there is any real freedom in terms of structure and format. There are necessary parts, like identifying the original and presenting its idea and there are things to be avoided, like the mistakes listed in the next paragraph.
How to write a summary paper: common mistakes
- The most common issue with summary essays is the author’s own opinion. It shouldn’t be there. In case the student has a strong view on the original, he may just use the optional conclusion part to tell the reader about it. Otherwise, there is no place for imagination in a summary.
- Paraphrasing means interpreting the original text in one’s own words. Typically, a paraphrase is 100% the size of the initial work. It’s imperative to remember that a summary is short, because in case the main body of the essay is more than 50% of the original, it won’t be considered right.
- Outlines are still important with this type of essays, it’s wrong to forget them. They are like a skeleton to the work, which is then covered with “meat” – details. Sometimes there are several layers of this “growth”, but that’s just how one of the writing methods works.
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