Method 1: Read the full article
1. Skim and mark the key points of the article. Skim and mark the key points of the article before reading the whole text. Write down or mark the questions in the text or the purpose of the article.
Note topic sentences and assumptions in the text.
Mark all arguments.
Write down or label the methodology of the research if it is in the text.
Mark sentences about findings, conclusions, or results.
2. Read through the text. After marking the main points, read the article carefully and pay attention to the details in the text. For a more thorough understanding, you can read each part more than once.
As you read, ask yourself some questions about the article. Follow the article as it unfolds and determine if the final results and conclusions are complete or practical.
3. Be careful to write in your own words. As you read through the entire article, jot down important facts or interesting details in your own words. Writing in your own words greatly reduces the risk of unintentionally plagiarizing the original text.
Don't just repeat the original text by reversing the order of its statements. Instead, rewrite it completely without looking at the original.
If you find it difficult to write in your own words, you can just write down phrases instead of complete sentences.
4. Summarize each part. At the end of each section, stop and summarize the main argument of the section in one sentence. If the essay suddenly begins to elaborate on another argument, stop and finish the argument from the previous section before you continue reading.
Method 2: Master basic overview skills
1. Understand the purpose of your overview. An overview that's just for notes has to be written from a different perspective than the one you'll use in your paper. If you're writing the overview for yourself, write as much detail about the essay as possible, as this will help you to get a lot of information from just reading the overview afterwards.
If you want to use the overview as part of your essay, the focus of the overview should be on information related to your own topic.
2. Account for citation information. At the beginning of the overview, give the full title of the article and the full name of the author. You don't need to mention the date of publication of the article you're using, or the journal, book, newspaper or magazine. However, this information needs to be written in the references or bibliography section.
List only the publication dates and sources that are relevant to your paper. For example, if the author makes a point in one article, and in a second article written a few years later, refutes the point of the first article, you need to account for the order in which the two articles were published.
3. In the opening section, again, you should explain the title and subject. In the first paragraph of your overview, you should likewise give an account of the title of the original article and the author's thesis or hypothesis. Clearly explain how the article relates to your thesis. For example, if your paper is about a certain health condition and the article you are summarizing is about a treatment for that health condition, make sure that the reader understands that the treatment is related to the content of your paper.
4. Have an argument. In the next paragraphs, go back to your notes to identify and rewrite the arguments in the original text. It is important to account for all the main arguments and theses, which will help to understand them better.
Write only the key information that will help you understand the content of the original text.
5. State the conclusion of the article. At the end of the overview, restate the conclusion of the author of the original article. Note that the conclusion of the article includes an analysis of the results, research or ideas, and a call for measures.
6. Write with credit to the author of the original article. When you write an overview, always account for the fact that you write this information from other authors . For example, with "Smith believes", "Smith found" and "Smith expressed a different point of view" and so on to indicate the author.
7. Don't quote directly. The overview must be written in your own words. Therefore, you should only quote directly when there is no way to represent the information in the original text. If possible, do not have any direct quotes in the overview.
8. Check your overview against the original text. The overview must be concise, complete, factual and objective. The length of the overview should be at least a quarter of the length of the original text and no shorter. Refer to your outline to control the length of the overview.
The overview must contain all the main ideas of the article, but cannot be a restatement of the original text.
The overview must give an accurate account of the ideas and assertions of the original text.
The overview must not contain your personal analysis or opinion about the original article. If you have an analysis of the findings of the original article, you would be better off writing about it in another part of the paper.
Method 3: Writing an overview for a scientific or research article
1. Give an account of the purpose of the experiment or study. Essentially, this is the thesis of the essay. Explain what the study is about and why the researcher did the study. As you introduce the article, point out how the researcher's purpose matches the purpose of your own paper.
Briefly explain the researcher's academic standing, which strengthens the reliability of the overview and the article.
2. Explain the researcher's hypothesis. At the beginning of the overview, give an account of what the researcher hopes to achieve at the end of the study. Do not make any hints about whether the hypothesis is correct or not.
3. Describe the experimental methods. To further increase the reliability of the study, you need to clearly and briefly describe the methodology of the experiment. Give an account of the experimental subjects.
Describe the purpose of the experiment. This includes the timeline of the experiment, how the subjects will be grouped, and the difference between the experimental and reference groups.
Similarly, describe the tasks or actions to be taken during the experiment.
4. Write the results. After describing the experimental method, account for the results of the experiment. If possible, write percentages and ratios.
Suggest any irregularities in the results.
5. Explain the researcher's analysis of the results. State the conclusions the researcher made based on the results. Do not write your own analysis in the overview. If you have an analysis of the results, you are better off writing it in another part of the paper.
Method 4: Writing an overview for a refutation or argumentative essay
1. Figure out the author's thesis. At the beginning of your paper, restate the thesis of the original article in your own words. The thesis should be a sentence that summarizes the author's point of view or idea.
You can also give a brief account of how the thesis as a whole relates to the topic, or a brief summary of the topic, but this section can be omitted if you have already described the topic at the beginning of your paper.
2. State the author's main argument. Explain each of the main arguments in the text, including the arguments that will help understand that argument. This part of the overview can be difficult to write. The author of the original text will list a lot of details to support the argument, and you will need to pick and choose which are the most important details and which can be omitted.
Mainly summarize the central argument, as well as arguments that are directly related to your thesis. If an argument doesn't have anything to do with your thesis, you can skip it as long as the thesis isn't completely dependent on it.
3. Find the arguments that the author uses to refute other arguments. Because a refutation essay usually refutes another point of view, you should account for all the evidence or points in the text that refute the other point of view. However, if there are none in the text, you should not speculate on your own about the arguments the essay might use when you write your overview. If you want to speculate about relevant information, wait until after the overview is written.
4. State the author's conclusion. Usually, this is another statement of the original topic. In the overview, do not indicate your personal conclusions. State only the author's conclusion or point of view.
Method 5: Writing an overview for a journal or news article
1. Take notes on the main events in the text. In your notes, list all the major events described in the text. Events in the text may not be written in chronological order. As you write down the main events, label them chronologically and then write the overview.
2. Put the main events in chronological order. If the news is not written in chronological order, you write it by rearranging the events in chronological order. The original article is basically an overview of the story or events that took place. Even though the original article may have focused on only one point of the event, your overview should still restore the full picture of the event.
3. If possible, give the background of the story. If the separate story is about only part of a series of events, you should also explain how the events in the text relate to that series of events. This is especially important for a series of events, rather than actually separate articles.
For example, if you're doing an overview of an article about a school that doesn't allow students to bring in peanut butter sandwiches, you might consider mentioning that other schools in the area have taken the same step.
4. Make mention of editorial points or conclusions. If the reporter or editorial writer draws a conclusion or expresses an opinion about an event in the text, write it in the overview. In the overview, do not indicate your personal opinion or analysis about the article.