When students get assignments to retell specific studies, they ask themselves how to start a summary. Basically, this question arises not only because learners may not have the necessary knowledge but also they need guides as a starting point. Unfortunately, many summaries must be rewritten because students use irrelevant guides to meet standards. Therefore, this article covers a technique on how to start a summary and write a high-quality paper.
General Aspects of Summary Writing
Summary writing is a skill that all researchers need to master. Basically, a summary is one of the types of papers that require students to write in their own words. Also, the beginning of summaries is an essential section because a writer needs to understand a source under discussion. In this case, the information on how to start a summary covers an introductory paragraph, including two subsections: general details and article-specific information.
Starting Summaries
The first subsection of introductory paragraphs contains general details concerning authors and study topics. Basically, summaries should begin by presenting the names and surnames of authors. In this case, writers must provide names of authors in full forms by considering a method on how to start a summary. If there are multiple authors, instructors should consult students for further directives. Next, learners must mention titles of articles being summarized. In turn, the article’s titles must be written in a format that conforms to chosen paper formats regarding the inclusion of a source’s title in the essay’s text. As a result, such details inform readers about the necessary information concerning articles.
Ending of Summaries
The remaining information in the first paragraph is specific to articles in cases of summaries. For example, students may provide background information that places studies into context. In this case, readers are aware of general topics of interest. Then, writers have to state research questions immediately after this part. Also, pieces of information by covering the technique on how to start a summary is critical because it presents a specific aspect of general topics that is the focus of studies. Moreover, the concluding statement in the first paragraph is the study hypothesis. In turn, this sentence should provide much detail on approaches to investigating research questions. On completion of this paragraph, readers must have a complete picture of research scopes.
10 Steps of Starting a Summary
- Find an article needed to be summarized.
- Note the author(s) of this article and its title.
- Read this article.
- Find the main idea of an article.
- Outline key points that support an idea of a discussed article.
- Start a summary with an introductory sentence about an article by mentioning the name and surname of the author (s), including the title.
- Write about the main message in the article made by the author(s).
- Cover supporting points found in the article.
- Include relevant details to the topic used by the author(s).
- Conclude with a final sentence that covers the main idea of an article.
Simple Example of Starting a Summary
The article “How to Start a Summary” by Alex Turner covers the main rules of writing. In particular, the author states …”Point 1″… . For example, …”Detail 1″… . Then, Turner argues that …”Point 2″… . In this case, …”Detail 2″… . Further on, the author presents …”Point 3″… . In turn, …”Detail 3″… . As a result, Turner’s article describes that …”Main Idea”… .
In this case, “Point X” means an idea X made by the author(s), while “Detail X” covers arguments provided by the author(s) to support “Point X.” Besides, “Point X” and “Detail X” can take several sentences. Then, “Main Idea” must include all the points provided in a summary by using from one to two sentences to make a final claim made by the author(s).
Note: Writing a summary means using ideas presented by the author(s) of the article without adding new concepts or opinions. However, students must use their own words or paraphrase information, explaining what the author(s) intended to deliver to readers. Also, the typical word count of a summary is about 150 words, but it may depend on specific instructions.
Guidelines on How to Start a Summary
Guidelines govern the authorship of the summary example. Firstly, scholars must avoid direct quotations, minimizing their use, because summaries should be dominated by paraphrasing. Basically, the essence of writing summaries is to reproduce researchers’ works by using different words. It demonstrates that writers know how to start a summary because students need to read and understand sources. Also, in-text citations accompany direct quotes. Secondly, learners should avoid wordiness and use scientifically accurate language. In turn, eliminating wordy statements enables students to reduce the length of summaries.
Word Choice
The choice of words employed by students must maintain the same meaning as original texts to ensure that there are no statements that are characterized by ambiguity. Because the length of summaries is related to purposes, it may be written for different reasons. In this case, purposes dictate the length of the introduction parts and the completed summary. Hence, writers must include enough information to meet rules on how to start a summary.
Conclusion on How to Start a Summary
Correct techniques on how to start a summary have been discussed in much detail. Notably, the nature of the research paper or article review example may cause some slight variation from presented structures. Qualitative studies have propositions in the place of hypotheses that may modify outlined structures. Also, the rest of essay structure covers methods, results, discussion, and conclusion where only critical details are mentioned. In turn, see how to write an article and how to write an abstract.
