How to Write a Summary of a Research Paper? Student Guide!
Learning to write a good summary is important in early classes as students are going to ask for composing one at several points during their academic careers, be they in school, college, or university. It is one of the most fundamental skills that students are taught in primary classes and goes right through their educational years.
Besides academics, writing a summary can probably help you in your daily life as it shows that you have comprehended the material perfectly.
Here in this article, we are going to unveil some easy steps to write a summary of a research paper that everyone can follow to churn out excellent outcomes.
Before going further, let’s first understand what is a research paper summary.
What is a summary of a research paper?
A summary of a research paper is a part of academic writing that translates the results of the research paper to provide the reader with a complete extract of the paper. It is usually written in a brief yet concise manner without overlooking any significant findings.
Composing a well-curated research summary is all about discovering the key points in the paper and compressing them in a way that makes it easier for readers to grasp the concept. Make sure to spend a significant amount of time gathering detailed knowledge of the subject matter for easy comprehension and saving time in writing a research summary.
Why it is important to include a summary in a research paper?
Simply put, a research summary serves as a doorway that directs the audience directly to your research paper sections with an appropriate level of knowledge required. It will make the readers more interested in your pile of research papers.
So, make certain to include a summary in your research paper and write it engaging and attractive while keeping everything compact too.
How to write a research paper summary?
Now you know what is a research summary and how important it is to write and add a research summary to your research paper. The next thing is to focus on how to write an exceptional one.
Well, writing a summary is often considered a quick and easy task. However, it is very challenging to extract 200-300 words from a long-drawn-out research paper that makes this common crowd perception absolutely wrong.
Stick to the article to the end to learn easy steps to write a research summary.
1. Read the research paper carefully
The first and the most basic step to write a summary is reading the paper thoroughly and carefully. This step is essential to maintain comprehension of the concepts discussed in the paper’s body. If you’re having trouble following along, here’s a step-by-step guide:
- Scan the complete paper once
A quick read will provide you with enough background information to acquire a handle on the fundamental methods and concepts.
- Gather the keypoints
After reading the article carefully, make a list of the points you want to focus on in your research summary, and then underline the most important pieces of text.
- Read it again
Read the material a few more times to understand the numerous experimental results, data analysis, and implementation in different contexts.
Repetitive reading the entire paper is tedious so, to help you get through this rough patch, here are some recommendations.
- Read the abstract first
Go straight to the abstract and start reading. By reading the abstract, you will learn the basic purpose behind the study’s subject and the expectations that were made going into the paper.
- Comprehend headings and subheadings
In order to fully comprehend each part, it is imperative that you thoroughly go through all headers and subheadings. You can read the introduction and conclusion at the same time to get a clearer understanding of the intent of the work and how the findings match up to expectations.
2. Create an outline
The second step in writing a summary is to write a comprehensive research outline before beginning the actual summary writing of the paper. Using a research summary outline will also make it easier for you to organize your work and generate awesome results.
Pick up the important points from every section such as the introduction, methods, results, and conclusion.
3. Start writing the summary
When you have gathered a short list of the most important points mentioned in the paper, now is the time you can start writing the summary.
Under no circumstances should you copy and paste the findings from the original research paper. As an alternative, consider writing each piece out in your own words.
Not just this will demonstrate your comprehensive mastery of the subject matter but also gives outstanding outcomes. You also have the option of using a summarizing tool, often known as a text summarizer that summarizes the paper in a manner that does not alter the article’s true intent.
A text summarizer tool eats up the ideas behind each section of the paper and generates a high-quality summary, not leaving any important points behind.
1. Incorporate graphics
Incorporating graphics like charts, tables, pie diagrams, etc. is a great strategy to summarize and condense a research work. Using visuals simply conveys the facts, previous occurrences, and probability data surrounding a subject.
2. Stay away from plagiarism
It will be quite common to choose a few sentences or maybe the full paragraphs based on the level of clarity found in certain areas of the text.
Whatever the case is, You are not supposed to engage in any form of copying and pasting under any circumstances. If you are paraphrasing some sentences , you should do so with great focus and attention.
The most effective strategy for achieving this goal is to write each part from scratch, making use of the notes that you have compiled as you read the mother piece.
The best method to guarantee that your work is original and free of plagiarism is to demonstrate your comprehension using just your own words.
3. Limit your word count
Be careful about the word count while writing a summary. It is easy when you maintain a complete control over words while pulling out summary lines from different sections of the paper individually. A summary and the research paper should not be of same length. So, make sure to be concise it to 250-400 words. At the end, you are responsible for strictly adhering to whatever the standard word limit is.
4. Proofread it multiple times & make it error free
The process of drafting the research summary can be extremely stressful and energy draining process for all who haven’t done it before.
Despite this, you shouldn’t use it as an excuse to avoid reviewing your work multiple times for errors such as spelling errors, poor grammar, excessive wordiness, and structure flaws.
Your research summary will have the potential to stand out from the rest if it is precisely composed in terms of both its technicality and its understanding in terms of the context.
5. Watch your style
Always pay attention to the way you express facts and findings in summary writing. You must use the words carefully, and in any scenario, they should not convey your own viewpoints on the subject matter.
The complete study summary should be written in the most professional, exact, grounded in fact, and evidence-based writing style possible.
6. Let someone proofread for you
To ensure that your study summary is error-free, you should have a trusted colleague or friend proofread it for you. Notice that if your colleague can follow along without checking the original paper. This will assist you in assuring the summary’s quality.
Conclusion
Summarizing a research paper needs the full comprehension and concept of the complete research paper. Following the above-mentioned steps will make the whole process a breeze. You can also try a summary generator tool to save more time without compromising the quality and context.