A summary is a brief introduction to the main points of one selected topic or a piece of work. Writing it means one managed to understand what the author tried to deliver and one is ready to express the key points to a reader. Commonly, a summary is an exercise people come across daily. They read, watch or hear something and then interpret it shortly. However, educational establishments expect more than one to two sentences of explanation. They require prolific research of the selected information decorated with the standards and structured per academic rules. Thus, it becomes a little bit tough task as far as many colleges do not provide their students with instructions. But, do not write it off as lost. The Internet and Google accommodate such expectations and concerns and provide dozens of samples and syllabuses one might find helpful.
First off, make sure you are on the same page with a professor in terms of a topic. For instance, Ethics can be very tricky because it easily adjoins to related sciences and subjects. Secondly, understand what a professor expects from you. It can be just an evaluation of the previous materials or one article or book, in particular. Or, it serves as a brief exam on how you understand a class.
Ethics is a science and discipline dealing with moral principles. It is how people live, communicate with each other, and respect the social rules and nature. It can involve many fields or areas of interest such as law, religion, etiquette, art, and even communication. Thus, students should not find it hard to select one topic for their stellar summary. Another question arises on what to choose to be unique and avoid banal conclusions.
Usually, one can refer this question to a professor but it is highly recommended to bring ideas as well. Otherwise, it will make you look helpless or it won’t be fair regarding your colleagues who are also assigned this task. Here the Internet can help you tremendously. Check the samples online, derive inspiration and see what has been already well-researched.
Otherwise, take a look at the following topics that might be of interest to you:
In fact, you can take anything related to this discipline but it is always worth to base your writing on a certain article. During your classes, you probably come across many studying materials with the list of authors who have dedicated their lives to one or another problem. Take one and start researching information. You do not need to grab obligatorily the whole work for a paper but derive some concepts that can be summarized or negotiated.
Let’s summarize a few main points for your writing before you start the composition.
Do’s:
+ Do read the selected piece of work throughout and a few times. For the top results, 5 times are more than enough if it concerns a short story or article;
+ Do highlight or write down key details that will be used further on in your summary;
+ Do use reporting and transitional words to make a paper look smooth and logical;
+ Do mention citations, evidence, facts that can prove everything you summarize.
Dont’s:
– Do not provide your personal opinion during the whole text. This paper is only for addressing the author’s ideas;
– Do not criticize;
– Do not exceed the required word count;
– Do not attach any illustrative materials;
– Do not use slang unless it is required;
Once a student selects the article for a summary, it is a must to stay objective. Today, many people do not neglect the opportunity to write something about moral principles but they forget about being up to the point without criticizing. Objective details help readers to acknowledge also solutions rather than listening only to the cons of one or another occurrence. Take it into consideration when you pick up the topic.
So, the summary of an article will involve the following structure:
Brief Example: ‘In the article ‘Should I Tell My Manager About My Worsened Medical Condition?’ Mark Spencer argues that a relationship between bosses and employees should be always built on trust and sincerity. He mentions that many companies lose their dedicated workers because they do not make advances with unforeseen occasions and make job responsibilities only worse and worse. He offers a new strategy that can help employees boost their health during the duties and a working solution to improve the relationship in personnel.’
Look your summary starts with the introduction to the topic mentioning the author’s name and his maid ideas. Then, it provides facts regarding the issues. Finally, sentences are decorated with reporting words such as mentions, offers, argues. All in all, the topic deals with a moral principle regarding job responsibilities, and hesitations on how one employee should act in case of worsened health conditions.
Note, if you have selected the book or short story for a summary, the structure won’t differ much from the article. But, you also have to pay attention to the availability of conclusions regarding the whole original story. Unlike articles, books have more pages and accordingly more information that should be summarized. Thus, it is crucial to use an outline.
Take a piece of paper and during the actual reading, note down everything worthy. If a book is lengthy, capture main ideas from chapters. You can combine this stage with the skimming technique. Skimming is reading only the main ideas without a detailed investigation. It perfectly fits those works that are hard to read because of their word count. So, one chapter will involve two to three sentence only that will be further on transferred into a summary.
Structure:
Do not forget about reporting words as well. And, make sure everything is written in the present tense.
What to do if you want to add quotes? Usually, they are better to avoid but if the central detail requires an accurate interpretation, use online sources that can cite it for you.
Any summary should be exactly a summary, strange it may sound. Students commonly misinterpret and start retelling a story. Look, that’s the reason why many rumors around this type of paper complexity exist. You do not need to tell much and explain everything in detail. The same, a student must not provide personal opinions or criticism that will make a work biased one.
Also, there will be no point in summarizing the work if you do not understand the author’s purpose of writing. Accordingly, rereading it more than two times is justified. Whenever you hesitate any argument, go back to the original piece of work, and focus your attention on that part.
Another problem concerns the concentration. A summary does not appreciate your creativity. You do not need to come up with unique statements or attach anecdotes with rhetorical questions. It may sound controversial because Ethics is a part of Philosophy but a summary is a part of accurate conclusions that requires your research on up to the point comments.
Major components of any Summary:
Keep in mind, do not repeat similar reporting words in the same paragraph more than two times. If your summary is large, you have enough space to use them as different as possible. If it is only 250-500 words, write down the top 5 and allocate them separately.
Here comes the final stage of your struggle with a perfect summary in Ethics. And, you may relax as far as the major problems are far behind if you followed the above-mentioned tips. Now, everything depends on proofreading and editing. Those students who have much time in-stock can leave their works to rest for some time and then come back to their revision or if needed redoing. Those who run out of time and miss all possible deadlines, feel free to check your summary on the next “drama-queens”:
Finally, before submitting work, spend time editing it. Read a text backward, aloud, or one time for one mistake only. Check whether the structure is met, if there is sufficient word count, and it brings any value at all. If these components are met, rest assured knowing your work will get an A+ grade or at least your professor will accept it with no trouble.
References: