How To Write A Summary

This is how to write a summary of any piece of written work: an essay, a chapter of a book, a short story -- anything.

a. Count the number of paragraphs in the work.

b. Estimate that each sentence you write will contain about 12 words.

c. Write down the required length of your homework assignment in words -- the number of words you have been assigned to write.

For example, if there are

• 30 paragraphs in the work to be summarized; and
• you have been assigned to write at least 350 words;

then you will need to write about 12 words on each paragraph (c/a = 11.67).

Since an average written sentence is about 12 words long, that means you will have to write about 30 sentences, or 1 sentence per paragraph.

Some Important Points

• Do not be afraid to write more words than you have been assigned. You can exceed the number of words you have been assigned by as much as 10%.

So, if you have been assigned to write a 350-400 word summary, you can write up to 440 words (110% of 400).

• NEVER write fewer words than the minimum assigned. In fact, it's always best to write at least 10% more than the minimum number of words required.

So, if you have been assigned to write a 350-400 word summary, never write fewer than 385 words (110% of 350).

• Please NOTE: This is an ESTIMATE, not a hard-and-fast rule.
  • Some paragraphs will seem more important to you than others. You should write somewhat more about those paragraphs.
  • Some paragraphs, especially very short ones, may seem not to contain anything important. In that case, don't summarize them.
  • A paragraph may seem less important. So you can either write a shorter sentence about it, or include it in a sentence about the preceding or following paragraph.

This is a guideline, an average: 1-2 sentences per paragraph.

The longer the piece of writing you have to summarize, the more sentences you will have.

But no matter how long the material to be summarized is, you are going to have to write about one sentence minimum on each paragraph, and sometimes two (or, occasionally, even three) sentences on each paragraph.