102A 2021-22 S2

Writing Effective Summaries and Avoiding Plagiarism

What is a Summary?

A summary is an abridgement, or shortened version, that accurately expresses the main ideas of
the original text, or section of the text, through reported speech. In other words, a summary is a
distillation of the essential points in the text, or of selected sections of the text, and must adhere to
the following conventions:
i. Be shorter than the original text;
ii. Contain the main ideas in the text;
iii. Not include any opinions, evaluation or information from outside the text;
iv. Be written in reported speech;
v. Be written in your own words;
vi. Include a citation of the original source.

The Contrast between a Summary, a Paraphrase, and a Critique

 A paraphrase attempts to express the same ideas as the original text, or an aspect of the
text, in different words, word order and synonyms. This will inevitably result in slightly
different shades of meaning from the original text. However, a successful paraphrase
achieves nearly the same meaning and is about the same length as the original text. Note
that writing an accurate paraphrase is a daunting challenge even for an educated native
speaker of the language. Therefore, do not attempt to paraphrase more than a maximum of
two or three sentences. Attempts to paraphrase entire paragraphs or sections of an
academic text will almost certainly drift towards plagiarism, as the basic language and
organisation of the material will remain that of the original author(s). The alternative to
paraphrasing a short extract of a text is to quote the material.

 A critique analyses and evaluates some or all of the arguments, issues, and evidence
included in a text. A successful critique offers new perspectives on some or all of the
material in the original text by introducing new information from outside of the original text.
A critique can be shorter or longer than the original text.

Note. Newfields, T. (2001). Teaching Summarizing Skills: Some Practical Hints. ELJ Journal, 2(2), 1-7.

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How to Select the Most Appropriate Articles during Your Research

Start to narrow-down possible articles by first reading the abstracts

Nearly all academic articles begin with an abstract. An abstract is a brief overview of the article,
sometimes as short as four sentences, that includes the subject and purpose, the research
approach, the main result or finding, and the most significant conclusion. Therefore, check to see if
the subject of the article directly connects with your research question, and then identify the main
line of argument presented in the combination of the key finding and conclusion.

To further narrow down the list of texts, next read the introduction and conclusion. The introduction
will include the thesis line of argument at, or towards, the end, while the conclusion will restate the
main argument, primary supporting evidence, the main finding, and the significance of the finding.

If the text passes the tests shown above, now read the discussion to obtain more details about the
arguments, evidence, counterarguments, and key findings or results.

Finally, should you decide that the text is appropriate, now read the research methods and results,
or the literature review, to gain a more in-depth understanding of the arguments and supporting
evidence provided by the author(s).

Note that throughout this process you should continuously refer back to your question and thesis
statement to ensure that all the information you are collecting directly connects with your line of
argument, and that you have not drifted off topic. Also, keep a careful record of all your texts, one
of which should be a hard copy in your notebook.

How to make notes on the texts

One of the essential skills in the process of writing effective summaries is the selection and
accuracy of note-making in relation to key information in a text that connects directly to the thesis
statement. Note that it is futile to attempt to write directly from an academic text without making
notes as you may misunderstand the arguments and drift towards plagiarism. Also, it is a waste of
time just underlining parts of the text as, a short while later, you will have forgotten why you
underlined something, and then will need to read the entire work again.

The colour coding and five-word method

The most effective and efficient method of note-making is the colour coding and five-word method.
Academic texts are organised in numerous ways that will require you to think critically about the
types of information you wish to record, but here is a simple example.

Yellow The subject, purpose, problems, and audience

Green The main line of argument
Blue The main counterargument
Pink The main supporting argument and evidence
Purple The main finding and conclusion

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First design a colour code key and place it somewhere on the first page of the texts. Then, very
selectively, highlight the areas in the text that include key information to complete your assigned
task in the appropriate colour.

After highlighting an area of the text, immediately add a brief note in the margin of no more than
seven words that clearly and memorably summarises the information. This method not only helps
you to select only the most important information in relation to your thesis and gain a better
understanding of the organisation of the text, it also enables you to return to the text at any time to
reread key information.

Finally, the brief notes made in the margin are used as the first step in the writing of summaries
that avoids plagiarism as shown below.

The 8-Step Summarising Process of an Academic Article

Note. Edwards, R. A. (2020). The process of planning, writing, and proofreading summaries. Modern English Teacher, 29(3)

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