Good morning, everyone. Today I'm going to talk about how to write a summary. I think if you remember one word, it will help you to write a summary. The word is SIMPLE. This word represents six steps to writing a good summary. SIMPLE's first letter is "S". "S" here stands for the first step you should do. That is to study the text carefully. And letter "I" here stands for the second step, to identify the key points while you read the text. "M" here represents the third step of writing a summary, that is to make notes. Then the fourth one is to put points in order. The next step is to leave out unnecessary detail. The last step is to edit your first draft. Now I will talk about these steps one by one.
Let us start with studying the text. When you get an article, you should read it first fairly quickly to get a sense of the general meaning. Then read it more carefully, following the writer's argument and noticing what is fact and what is opinion, what is a general statement and what is a particular example. It is often helpful to summarise each paragraph in a few words at this stage.
Now let's turn to identifying the key points. You must go through the text and mark the places where important information is given. You can underline or highlight with a coloured pen or simply make a mark in the margin.
The third step is to make notes. This is a very important stage. You should write down the key points you've identified in note form in your own words. This is also especially important in an exam because the examiner needs to know you understand what you have written and that you are not just copying from the text.
Let's turn to the fourth step, to put points in order. You should look at the list of points you have made and see if there are any which go together. Then decide the best order to put the points in. Number the points in order.
Now let's look at the next stage, leave out unnecessary detail. This stage is much like the tailor who cuts off unnecessary parts for making clothes. You should choose the important facts and get rid of unnecessary detail.
The last stage is to edit your first draft. You should check the spelling and grammar, counting the number of words. If you have many fewer than the limit, you should add in something so it is important to check the original text again. If you have more than the limit, look for ways of combining points in one sentence or of "losing" words here and there.
If you follow the word SIMPLE, it may help you to make a good summary in an academic essay.