How to Summarize a Journal Article

How to Summarize a Journal Article Four Parts:Rea Parts:Readin ding g the Article Artic lePla Plannin nning g a Draft Dra ftWritin Writing g Your Summa S ummary rySample Sample Summa Su mmari ries esCommunity Community Q&A Summariing a !ournal article is the process of highlighting and presenting a focused o"er"ie# of  a completed research study that is pu$lished in a peer%re"ie#ed scholarly source' A !ournal article summary pro"ides potential readers #ith a short descripti"e commentary co mmentary gi"ing them some insight into the article(s focus' Writing Writing and summariing a !ournal article is a common tas) for college students and research assistants ali)e' You You can learn to read the article effecti"ely #ith an eye for summary plan a successful summary and #rite it to completion'

Part 1 Reading the Article * Read the abstract.  A$stracts are short paragraphs #ritten $y the author to summarie research articles' A$stracts A$stracts are usually included in most academic !ournals and are generally no more than *++%,++ *++ %,++ #ords' -he a$stract pro"ides a short summary of the content of the !ournal article pro"iding you #ith important highlights of the research study' o

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-he purpose of an a$stract a$ stract is to allo# researchers to .uic)ly scan a !ournal an d see if specific research articles are applica$le to the #or) they are doing' /f you(re collecting research on immune system responses in rodents you(ll $e a$le to )no# in *++ #ords not no t only #hether or not the research is in your field $ut #hether the conclusions $ac) up your o#n findings or differ from it'0*1 Remem$er that an a$stract and an article summary are t#o different things so an article summary that loo)s !ust li)e the a$stract is a poor summary'0,1 An a$stract is highly condensed and cannot pro"ide the same le"el of detail regarding the research and its conclusions that a summary can'021

, Understand the context of the research.  3a)e sure you )no# #hat specifically the authors #ill $e discussing or analying #hy the research or the topic matters #hether or not the article is #ritten in response to another article on the topic etc' 4y doing this you(ll learn #hat arguments .uotes and data to pic) out and analye ana lye in your summary'

2 Ski to the conclusion.  S)ip ahead to the conclusion and find out #here the proposed research ends up to learn more a$out the topic and to understand #here the complicated

outlines and arguments #ill $e leading' /t(s much easier to comprehend the information if you read the researchers( conclusions first' o

You still need to go $ac) and actually read the article after coming to the conclusion $ut only if the research is still applica$le' /f you(re collecting research you may not need to digest another source that $ac)s up your o#n if you(re loo)ing for some dissenting opinions'

5 !dentif" the main argument or osition of the article.  -o a"oid ha"ing to read through the #hole thing t#ice to ha"e to remind yourself of the main idea ma)e sure you get it right the first time' -a)e notes as you read and highlight or underline main ideas' o

Pay special attention to the $eginning paragraph or t#o of the article' -his is #here the author #ill most li)ely lay out their thesis for the entire article' Figure out #hat the thesis is and determine the main argument or idea that the author or authors are trying to pro"e #ith the research' 

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6oo) for #ords li)e hypothesis, results, typically, generally, or clearly to gi"e you hints a$out #hich sentence is the thesis'

7nderline highlight or re#rite the main argument of the research in the margins' 8eep yourself focused on this main point so you(ll $e a$le to connect the rest of the article $ac) to that idea and see ho# it #or)s together' /n the humanities it(s sometimes more difficult to get a clear and concise thesis for an article $ecause they are often a$out comple9 a$stract ideas li)e class in  post%modern poetics or feminist film for e9ample;' /f it(s unclear try to articulate it for yourself as $est as you can understand the author(s ideas and #hat they(re attempting to pro"e #ith their analysis'

< Scan the argument.  Continue reading through the "arious segments of the !ournal article highlighting main points discussed $y the authors' Focus o n )ey concepts and ideas that ha"e $een proposed trying to connect them $ac) to that main idea the authors ha"e put for#ard in the $eginning of the article' o

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Different areas of focus #ithin a !ournal article #ill usually $e mar)ed #ith su$% section titles that target a specific step or de"elopment during the course of the research study' -he titles for these su$%sections are usually $old and are in a larger  font than the remaining te9t' 8eep in mind that academic !ournals are often dry reading' /s it a$solutely necessary to read through the author(s <++ #ord proof of the formulas used in the

glycerine solution fed to the frogs in the research study= 3ay$e $ut pro$a$ly not' /t(s usually not essential to read research articles #ord%for%#ord as long as you(re  pic)ing out the main idea and #hy the content is there in the first place'

> #ake notes while "ou read.  ?fficiency is )ey #hen you(re doing research and collecting information from academic !ournals' Read acti"ely as you com$ through the material' Circle or highlight each indi"idual portion of the !ournal article focusing on the su$% section titles' -hese segments #ill usually include an introduction methodology research results and a conclusion in addition to a listing of references'051

Part $ Planning a %raft * &rite down a brief descrition of the research.  /n a .uic) free #rite descri$e the academic !ourney of the article listing the steps ta)en from starting point to concluding results descri$ing methodology and the form of the study underta)en'-here is no need to  $e too specific@ that(s #hat the actual summary #ill $e for' When you(re first getting started it(s helpful to turn your filter off and !ust .uic)ly #rite out #hat you remem$er from the article' -hese #ill help you disco"er the main points necessary to summarie'

, %ecide what asects of the article are most imortant.  You might refer to these as the main supporting ideas or sections of the article' While these may $e mar)ed clearly #ith su$headings they may re.uire more #or) to unco"er' Anything that(s a ma!or point used to support the main argument of the author needs to $e present in the summary' o

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Depending on the research you may #ant to descri$e the theoretical $ac)ground of the research or the assumptions of the researchers' /n scientific #riting it(s important to clearly summarie the hypotheses the researchers outlined $efore underta)ing the research as #ell as the procedures used in follo#ing through #ith the pro!ect' Summarie $riefly any statistical results and include a rudimentary interpretation of the data for your summary' /n humanities articles it(s usually good to summarie the fundamental assumptions and the school of thought from #hich the author comes as #ell as the e9amples and the ideas presented throughout the article'

!dentif" ke" 'ocabular" to use in the summar".  3a)e sure all the ma!or )ey#ords that are used in the article ma)e it into your summary' Any #ords or terms that the author coins need to $e included and discussed in your summary'

5 Aim to kee it brief.  ournal summaries don(t need to $e any#here close to the length of the articles themsel"es' -he purpose of the summary is to pro"ide a condensed $ut separate description of the research either for use for the primary research collector or to help you redigest the information at a later date in the research process' o

As a general rule of thum$ you can pro$a$ly ma)e one paragraph per main point ending up #ith no more than <++%*+++ #ords for most academic articles' For most !ournal summaries you(ll $e #riting se"eral short paragraphs that summarie each separate portion of the !ournal article'

Part ( &riting )our Summar" * Start b" defining the research *uestion.  -o#ard the $eginning of the article possi$ly in the introduction the authors should discus the focus of the research study and #hat the targeted o$!ecti"es #ere for conducting the research' -his is #here your summary should  $egin' Descri$e in your o#n #ords the main argument the authors hope to pro"e #ith their research' o

/n scientific articles usually there is an introduction #hich esta$lishes the  $ac)ground for the e9periment or study and #on(t pro"ide you #ith much to summarie' /t #ill $e follo#ed $y the de"elop ment of a research .uestion and testing procedures though #hich are )ey in dictating the content for the rest of the article'

, %iscuss the methodolog" used b" the authors.  -his portion discusses the research tools and methods used during the study'0<1 /n other #ords you need to summarie ho# the authors or researchers came to the conclusions they came to #ith first%hand research or data collection' o

-he specifics of the testing procedures don(t usually need to $e included in your summary in their entirety@ they should $e reduced to a simple idea of ho# the research .uestion #as addressed' -he results of the study #ill usually $e  processed data sometimes accompanied $y ra# pre%process data' Bnly the  processed data needs to $e included in the summary'

2 %escribe the results.  Bne of the most important parts of the summary needs to $e descri$ing #hat the authors accomplished as a result of their #or)'0>1 Were the authors successful and did they meet their o$!ecti"es for co nducting the research= What conclusions ha"e the authors dra#n from this research= What are the implications of this research as descri$ed in the article= o

3a)e sure your summary co"ers the research .uestion the conclusionsresults and ho# those results #ere achie"ed' -hese are crucial parts of the article and cannot $e left out'

5 +onnect the main ideas resented in the article.  For some summaries it(s important to sho# ho# the relationships among the ideas presented $y the authors de"elop o"er the course of the article' -he primary o$!ecti"e of the su mmary is to present a $rief o"er"ie# of the authors( essential points to the reader ma)ing it important that you unpac) those arguments and e9plain them in your o#n #ords' Fill in the $lan)s and assumptions helping to clarify the research and summarie it $riefly' o

-his is sometimes more important in summaries dealing #ith articles in the humanities' For e9ample it might $e helpful to unpac) dense arguments a$out  poet eorge Eer$ert(s relationship to the di"ine #ith more pedestrian summaries: -he author see)s to humanie Eer$ert $y discussing his daily routines as opposed to his philosophies'G

< %on,t draw "our own conclusions.  A summary of an article shouldn(t editorialie or offer your o#n interpretations of the data unless e9plicitly stated as part of the assignment' /n general the point of a summary is to summarie the authors( points not to offer your o#n additions and editorials' -his can $e difficult for some ine9perienced research #riters to get the hang of at first $ut remem$er to )eep the / out of it'

> Refrain from using direct *uotations of text from the -ournal article.  Quotations are more often used #hen #riting a college paper or essay and are less important for a G !ournal article summary' Focus more on paraphrasing the ideas #hen #riting a !ournal article summary #ithout losing focus of their meaning and intende d content'

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Use resent tense.  Al#ays use the present tense #hen you are discussing the contents of a scholarly article'0H1 -his #ill help you maintain a parallel grammatical structure throughout'

I Re'ise "our draft. ood #riting happens in re"ision' o $ac) and compare the focus and content of #hat you ha"e #ritten to see that it matches and supports the conte9t of the !ournal article' A !ournal article that has $een properly summaried pro"ides potential readers #ith a short re"ie# #hich is important #hen they are $ro#sing and searching for  specific information a$out a particular topic'