The Department of English Education

FITK UIN Jakarta

The goal of writing a summary of an article, a
single chapter or a whole book is to offer as
accurately as possible the full sense of the
original, but in a more condensed form. A
summary restates the author's main point,
purpose, intent and supporting details in your
own words.
A summary or prcis is a shorter version
of a longer piece of writing. The summary
captures all the most important parts of the
original, but expresses them in a [much]
shorter space
Summarizing exercises are usually set to test
your understanding of the original, and your
ability to re-state its main purpose
Summarizing is also a useful skill when
gathering information or doing research.
The summary should be expressed as far as
possible in your own words. Its not enough
to merely copy out parts of the original.
State the main point first.
Emphasize the main stages of though.
State the articles conclusion.
Summarize rather than give a table of
contents
Summarizing such texts requires adequate
understanding of the experimental method and
discussions. In such articles usually the report
follows the order:
Purpose of the experiment,
What method was used,
What results were found,
What the author concludes by looking at the
results of the study.

Method:
Subjects: 75 young male regular tea drinkers
Experimental design: Ss divided into 2 groups monitored for 2 weeks
Experimental group: given caffeinated tea mixture
Control group: placebo drink
Task: both groups given challenging tasks:
Subjected to one of 3 stressful situations and asked to prepare a verbal response
Results:
Increased blood pressure, heart rate and subjective stress ratings in both groups
50 mins after the task, cortisol levels dropped by an ave of 47% in tea-drinking
group
27% in the fake tea group
Blood platelet activation was lower in tea drinkers
Tea drinkers: greater degree of relaxation in recovery period
Conclusion and discussion:
Tea drinkers recover from stress more quickly than those who drink a fake tea
substitute
Unclear if ingredients in tea responsible
Tea drinking not decrease stress levels but brings stress hormone levels back to
normal more quickly Important bec. slow recovery after acute stress lead to
chronic illnesses e.g. heart disease

Summarizing argumentative or
theoretical texts
follow the authors main line of reasoning
spot his arguments
identify the counterarguments he puts forward to
refute another argument
differentiate between main ideas, and evidence
provided to support or refute arguments.
decide what is essential information and what is
detail.
Comprehensive: You have included in your
summary all of the authors major ideas,
assertions and findings
Accurate: in your choice of words and
paraphrasing you did not misrepresent the
authors ideas
Neutral: you tried to be objective and fair
and did not include your own evaluation or
comments
Independent: a person who has not read the
source text can understand what you have
written

The purpose of a critical analysis essay is
to accurately summarize and critique the
argument of another article or composition.
In summarizing an article, you strive to
present the author's ideas in your own
words. In critiquing the article, you try to
evaluate the author's ideas by determining
their validity
Write an introduction. In one sentence, paraphrase the thesis of the
article or essay you are responding to, including the author's name and
title of the article. Then write another sentence or two that states the
points you intend to make concerning the article's ideas. This type of
introduction will tell the reader what you plan to argue and how the
paper will progress.
Write a summary of the main ideas presented in the article or essay you
are responding to, consolidating the author's points, leaving out small
details, and avoiding any repetition in the original source. Remember
also to sequence the author's main ideas in a logical order, to use
transitions to connect their ideas, and to quote when necessary.
Write a critique of the author's points. When you critique a point, first
restate it very briefly, then state whether you agree or disagree. Finally,
analyze the author's evidence and reasoning to indicate why you agree
or disagree with the point. Each of your points should be responding in
some way to the points in the essay you are critiquing. You may
demonstrate logical fallacies in the author's argument, show
inconsistencies in the author's methods, or make practical observations
about the author's conclusions
Add a conclusion, summing up your overall reaction to the validity of
the source, explaining its strengths and weaknesses, and evaluating
how well it achieves its purpose. The conclusion should be no more
two or three paragraphs.

Tips in summarizing an essay.
Ask yourself, "what is the essay trying to tell me?" The topic of your essay may be
about secondhand smoking, global warming or just about any other. You may have to
carefully identify the topic of the essay first before you can be able to further
elaborate on your summary.
Identify the thesis of the essay. The thesis of the essay is the main argument of the
article stating something about the topic. For example, if the topic of the essay is
"secondhand smoking," the thesis states something about secondhand smoking,
something like "secondhand smoking is worse than firsthand smoking" or "the
government should look into secondhand smokers as a main concern for legislating
health laws related to smoking in public."
After identifying the thesis of your essay, you have to look for the main arguments
supporting the thesis or main claim of the essay. If the thesis of the essay is
"secondhand smoking is worse than firsthand smoking", identify the main arguments in
support of and/or against the thesis.
You can provide in your essay summary a few examples mentioned in the essay
pertaining to the main arguments. However, try to limit the number of your examples to
at least one or two as maximum since you are simply summarizing the article.
Close your summary with a brief sentence about the essay's conclusion.
DO NOT write as to whether the essay is well written or otherwise as it is not required
for a summary. It is required, however, if you are doing a review of the essay instead
of a summary.
DO provide the author's name and the title of the essay at the beginning of your
summary.
Be direct to the point. Avoid writing down ideas and words that are not relevant to the
essay.
Keep words relatively simple. Avoid exaggerations. In summarizing an essay, keep in
mind that less is more.
Tips on how to summarize a research
paper.
A research paper may have an abstract which basically tells the
reader about what to expect from the article. If the research paper
contains an abstract, it can serve as your most basic yet most concise
summary of the entire research paper.
If there is no abstract, go the introduction of the research paper.
Identify the purpose and the background of the research. These things
will serve as your introduction for your summary. The introductory part
of the research paper typically includes the thesis.
Go to the literature review and list down the main arguments of the
reviewed literature in the research paper, whether they be in support of
or against the article you are summarizing.
Identify the methodology used and the reason why the author chose
that methodology. This usually refers to the methods, calculations or
experiments applied to the variables in the research.
Write down the data analysis done by the author. This typically
includes the method used in the research in getting the needed data
from the methodology.
Briefly list down the results of the data analysis. Results may include
the outcome of the experiment, the end-products or the effects
observed at the end of the data analysis.
Provide a short summary of the discussion of the results in the
research paper. It basically includes the possible suggestions on how
to improve the research or on how to conduct future research based on
the given research.
Reiterate the conclusion made by the author.
(Name) (NIM) (Class)
Article Review Form
Article title: _______________________________________________
Writer: __________________________________________________
Journal/Newspaper: ________________________________________
Date published: ______________ Number of words: ________________
List No.: ______________

What is the main issue of the article? (please refer to
Summarizing argumentative or theoretical texts)
What is the method used in the article and what is the result?
(please refer to Summarizing an experimental report)
How did the writer put him or herself in the article?
Would you support or contradict the writer? Why?
Any personal experience or evidence or thought related to the
topic of the article?

Monkey Brain Research: The Case
Against: Student Summary
Dr Ray Greek, medical director of Europeans For Medical
Advancement, in his article titled Monkey Brain Research: The
Case Against asserts that there is no need for monkey brain
research. Dr Greek states that brain research on monkeys cannot
predict side effects on human beings. Many drugs and vaccines that
had no side effects on primates may cause serious damage in
humans, e.g. an Alzheimers vaccine that was seen completely
harmless on primates caused brain inflammation in humans.
Another reason why we should not conduct experiments on
primates is that human and primate brains are completely different
in size, biochemical pathways and genetic expression. Finally,
knowledge about human diseases came from autopsies, population
research and studies on human tissues. Greek concludes that
funding had better be spent on research involving DNA arrays,
bioinformatics, human stem cells and not on animal research.
Paper: A4, 70gr
Font: Times new roman 12
Spacing: 5 pt
Line spacing: exactly 15
Lay out: 3 cm for all sides
Maximum 800 words (one page)
Due time:
I. Oct 28 (2 articles)
II. Nov 11 (3 articles)
III. Nov 25 (3 articles)
IV. Dec 9 (2 articles)