We explain what a summary is and the types that exist. In addition, we explain what its main characteristics are and how to make one.
What is a summary?
A summary is a writing that summarizes the main ideas of a text or a subject of study, faithfully to the concepts presented in the original documents. If a summary contains personal opinions or deductions from other ideas that were not originally presented, it would no longer be a summary, but rather a different article or opinion piece.
The purpose of a summary can be diverse, such as introducing the reader or audience to the topic, being a support tool to facilitate the learning of a subject of study (that is, it summarizes the same topic raised by several different authors) or transmit only the main data of a news item so that the reader or viewer feels interested in accessing the full note.
See also: Expository texts
Summary Types
There are different types of summaries:
- Informative. It synthesizes and provides an overview, based on the important data of a document. For example, a scientific article or a press summary.
- Descriptive. It deeply synthesizes the structure of the document or a literary work. For example, you can mention the sources of information and the author’s position.
- Research. Compile information from various sources on the same topic. Unify the concepts by taking only the main aspects and prepare a synthesis of the subject objectively, citing sources and avoiding self-criticism.
- Synopsis. General summary of a particular literary or audiovisual work. The word synopsis comes from the Greek and means “overall view.” For example, the synopsis of a book explains what the work is about, without revealing the ending of the story.
- Review. It summarizes the content of a work, but from the personal evaluation of the person analyzing it. For example, the review of a film, work, musical composition, sports match, among others. It is not a summary, but rather a critique of opinion that can be positive or negative.
Characteristics of a summary
Some characteristics of a summary are:
- It is short and clear.
- Provides an overview of a topic.
- Maintain objectivity in the description and avoid self-criticism.
- Synthesizes the most relevant data of an article, speech or writing.
- It facilitates the learning of a subject of study.
- It unifies the knowledge of various authors who work on the same topic of study.
How to make a summary?
A summary can be made by following these steps:
- Read the entire document carefully.
- Underline information or paragraphs that contain important information.
- Make notes, if necessary, next to each important concept.
- Highlight the most important words with color.
- Write down the important concepts in a notebook according to what is underlined, the annotations and what is highlighted.
- Rewrite that past information in a clean form, this time more condensed.
- Review the summary and eliminate data that does not contribute to the general understanding of the topic or is not so important.