How to write a good summary?

Summarizing is an art of preparing brief, concise, small or shorter version of the original text, without losing any of its key points. Somewhere in the life of a student, he/she has to write a summary, a summary of materials by other authors, such as articles, plays, lectures, stories, chapters or presentations.

The basic idea behind writing a good successful summary is to include all key information that is short and in order. Hopefully, by the end of this article DocMerit will be able to provide you the tips and you’ll be able to write a good and impactful summary. Keep the below given points in mind while writing a summary.

1.    Read the original text until you understand.
2.    Now, follow the five words, five minutes method given below:

a.    WHO was in the plot, story or the article in 5 words or less.
Here, the WHO can be the author of the article, story or the main character or the idea of the original text.
b.    WHAT happened, in 5 words or less.
Note the five describing words that highlights the gist of what happened in the original text.
c.    WHEN it happened, in 5 words or less.
This can be an optional step depending of the genre of the original text.
d.    WHERE it happened, in 5 words or less.
This can be relatively easy to describe, again it’s an optional step.
e.    WHY it happened, in 5 words or less.
f.    HOW, in 5 words or less.

This is the actual part where you have to give extra attention, this should contain the appropriate words that best describe the original text’s idea.
g.    Set the timer for 5 minutes to complete the above steps.
3.    Now, that you have set of words, write 1-3 sentences using your words to explain the text.
4.    Follow the paragraph structure to frame the summary.
5.    Check your summary against the original text.
6.    Revise and edit your summary for errors.
7.    Now, it’s time to reward your efforts and let your summaries earn some cash. Sell your summaries on DocMerit.

FEW ADDITIONAL TIPS:
1.    Remember, summary needs to be clear to someone who has not seen, read or heard about the original text.
2.    Include all the key points.
3.    Don’t go too specific, don’t include details like numbers, statistics, dates, figures, etc.
4.    The summary should not be more than 20 words for a chapter.
5.    Follow the same order of information presented in the original text.
6.    Lastly, do not include your take or opinion on the original text.