difference a summary and an essay

The Difference between an Essay and a Summary

If you sat down to write your essay and realized that what you've been assigned to write is a summary, you may be asking yourself what the difference is. Don't worry, there are just a few things you need to know.

What is an Essay?

An essay is a short, informative piece of writing that requires an introduction with a thesis statement that explains the writer's point in writing the essay. The introduction is followed by a body of at least three paragraphs with topic sentences that relate back to the thesis statement and expand on it. Finally, an essay should end with a conclusion that sums up the points and explains why those points led the writer to the conclusions they made on the topic.

Traditionally, an essay comes in four basic types: expository, descriptive, narrative, and persuasive. While essays are short in length, they should fully lay out the writer's thoughts in a concise way.

What is A Summary?

While an essay includes a summary at the end, the definitions of an essay and a summary are quite different. A summary is usually a very short piece of writing that is concise yet thorough. When all the main points in a piece of writing are explained in a much shorter way, a summary is complete.

What Should You Include in Each?

For most essays, you should include relevant information from outside sources and a bibliography or works cited page that gives proper credit to the writers of those sources. A clear thesis statement is key, as every essay should have a point that's easy to understand to anyone reading your essay. You should also include a summary of all your main points.

A summary should include only a quick recap of what's written in your essay or any other piece of writing you're summarizing. Give only the main points and a brief description of why they're important without expanding on them or adding additional commentary not found in the writing itself. A summary is never the place to introduce new information.

If you've been assigned a summary to write, your teacher or professor just wants to know that you understood the writing and were able to clearly identify the most relevant points. For an essay, you're being asked to offer new thoughts or information in a way that is solely yours.

Summary: Using it Wisely

What this handout is about.

Knowing how to summarize something you have read, seen, or heard is a valuable skill, one you have probably used in many writing assignments. It is important, though, to recognize when you must go beyond describing, explaining, and restating texts and offer a more complex analysis. This handout will help you distinguish between summary and analysis and avoid inappropriate summary in your academic writing.

Is summary a bad thing?

Not necessarily. But it’s important that your keep your assignment and your audience in mind as you write. If your assignment requires an argument with a thesis statement and supporting evidence—as many academic writing assignments do—then you should limit the amount of summary in your paper. You might use summary to provide background, set the stage, or illustrate supporting evidence, but keep it very brief: a few sentences should do the trick. Most of your paper should focus on your argument. (Our handout on argument will help you construct a good one.)

Writing a summary of what you know about your topic before you start drafting your actual paper can sometimes be helpful. If you are unfamiliar with the material you’re analyzing, you may need to summarize what you’ve read in order to understand your reading and get your thoughts in order. Once you figure out what you know about a subject, it’s easier to decide what you want to argue.

You may also want to try some other pre-writing activities that can help you develop your own analysis. Outlining, freewriting, and mapping make it easier to get your thoughts on the page. (Check out our handout on brainstorming for some suggested techniques.)

Why is it so tempting to stick with summary and skip analysis?

Many writers rely too heavily on summary because it is what they can most easily write. If you’re stalled by a difficult writing prompt, summarizing the plot of The Great Gatsby may be more appealing than staring at the computer for three hours and wondering what to say about F. Scott Fitzgerald’s use of color symbolism. After all, the plot is usually the easiest part of a work to understand. Something similar can happen even when what you are writing about has no plot: if you don’t really understand an author’s argument, it might seem easiest to just repeat what he or she said.

To write a more analytical paper, you may need to review the text or film you are writing about, with a focus on the elements that are relevant to your thesis. If possible, carefully consider your writing assignment before reading, viewing, or listening to the material about which you’ll be writing so that your encounter with the material will be more purposeful. (We offer a handout on reading towards writing .)

How do I know if I’m summarizing?

As you read through your essay, ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I stating something that would be obvious to a reader or viewer?
• Does my essay move through the plot, history, or author’s argument in chronological order, or in the exact same order the author used?
• Am I simply describing what happens, where it happens, or whom it happens to?

A “yes” to any of these questions may be a sign that you are summarizing. If you answer yes to the questions below, though, it is a sign that your paper may have more analysis (which is usually a good thing):

• Am I making an original argument about the text?
• Have I arranged my evidence around my own points, rather than just following the author’s or plot’s order?
• Am I explaining why or how an aspect of the text is significant?

Certain phrases are warning signs of summary. Keep an eye out for these:

• “[This essay] is about…”
• “[This book] is the story of…”
• “[This author] writes about…”
• “[This movie] is set in…”

Here’s an example of an introductory paragraph containing unnecessary summary. Sentences that summarize are in italics:

The Great Gatsby is the story of a mysterious millionaire, Jay Gatsby, who lives alone on an island in New York. F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote the book, but the narrator is Nick Carraway. Nick is Gatsby’s neighbor, and he chronicles the story of Gatsby and his circle of friends, beginning with his introduction to the strange man and ending with Gatsby’s tragic death. In the story, Nick describes his environment through various colors, including green, white, and grey. Whereas white and grey symbolize false purity and decay respectively, the color green offers a symbol of hope.

Here’s how you might change the paragraph to make it a more effective introduction:

In The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald provides readers with detailed descriptions of the area surrounding East Egg, New York. In fact, Nick Carraway’s narration describes the setting with as much detail as the characters in the book. Nick’s description of the colors in his environment presents the book’s themes, symbolizing significant aspects of the post-World War I era. Whereas white and grey symbolize the false purity and decay of the 1920s, the color green offers a symbol of hope.

This version of the paragraph mentions the book’s title, author, setting, and narrator so that the reader is reminded of the text. And that sounds a lot like summary—but the paragraph quickly moves on to the writer’s own main topic: the setting and its relationship to the main themes of the book. The paragraph then closes with the writer’s specific thesis about the symbolism of white, grey, and green.

How do I write more analytically?

Analysis requires breaking something—like a story, poem, play, theory, or argument—into parts so you can understand how those parts work together to make the whole. Ideally, you should begin to analyze a work as you read or view it instead of waiting until after you’re done—it may help you to jot down some notes as you read. Your notes can be about major themes or ideas you notice, as well as anything that intrigues, puzzles, excites, or irritates you. Remember, analytic writing goes beyond the obvious to discuss questions of how and why—so ask yourself those questions as you read.

The St. Martin’s Handbook (the bulleted material below is quoted from p. 38 of the fifth edition) encourages readers to take the following steps in order to analyze a text:

• Identify evidence that supports or illustrates the main point or theme as well as anything that seems to contradict it.
• Consider the relationship between the words and the visuals in the work. Are they well integrated, or are they sometimes at odds with one another? What functions do the visuals serve? To capture attention? To provide more detailed information or illustration? To appeal to readers’ emotions?
• Decide whether the sources used are trustworthy.
• Identify the work’s underlying assumptions about the subject, as well as any biases it reveals.

Once you have written a draft, some questions you might want to ask yourself about your writing are “What’s my point?” or “What am I arguing in this paper?” If you can’t answer these questions, then you haven’t gone beyond summarizing. You may also want to think about how much of your writing comes from your own ideas or arguments. If you’re only reporting someone else’s ideas, you probably aren’t offering an analysis.

What strategies can help me avoid excessive summary?

• Read the assignment (the prompt) as soon as you get it. Make sure to reread it before you start writing. Go back to your assignment often while you write. (Check out our handout on reading assignments ).
• Formulate an argument (including a good thesis) and be sure that your final draft is structured around it, including aspects of the plot, story, history, background, etc. only as evidence for your argument. (You can refer to our handout on constructing thesis statements ).
• Read critically—imagine having a dialogue with the work you are discussing. What parts do you agree with? What parts do you disagree with? What questions do you have about the work? Does it remind you of other works you’ve seen?
• Make sure you have clear topic sentences that make arguments in support of your thesis statement. (Read our handout on paragraph development if you want to work on writing strong paragraphs).
• Use two different highlighters to mark your paper. With one color, highlight areas of summary or description. With the other, highlight areas of analysis. For many college papers, it’s a good idea to have lots of analysis and minimal summary/description.
• Ask yourself: What part of the essay would be obvious to a reader/viewer of the work being discussed? What parts (words, sentences, paragraphs) of the essay could be deleted without loss? In most cases, your paper should focus on points that are essential and that will be interesting to people who have already read or seen the work you are writing about.

But I’m writing a review! Don’t I have to summarize?

That depends. If you’re writing a critique of a piece of literature, a film, or a dramatic performance, you don’t necessarily need to give away much of the plot. The point is to let readers decide whether they want to enjoy it for themselves. If you do summarize, keep your summary brief and to the point.

Instead of telling your readers that the play, book, or film was “boring,” “interesting,” or “really good,” tell them specifically what parts of the work you’re talking about. It’s also important that you go beyond adjectives and explain how the work achieved its effect (how was it interesting?) and why you think the author/director wanted the audience to react a certain way. (We have a special handout on writing reviews that offers more tips.)

If you’re writing a review of an academic book or article, it may be important for you to summarize the main ideas and give an overview of the organization so your readers can decide whether it is relevant to their specific research interests.

If you are unsure how much (if any) summary a particular assignment requires, ask your instructor for guidance.

Works consulted

We consulted these works while writing this handout. This is not a comprehensive list of resources on the handout’s topic, and we encourage you to do your own research to find additional publications. Please do not use this list as a model for the format of your own reference list, as it may not match the citation style you are using. For guidance on formatting citations, please see the UNC Libraries citation tutorial . We revise these tips periodically and welcome feedback.

Barnet, Sylvan. 2015. A Short Guide to Writing about Art , 11th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Corrigan, Timothy. 2014. A Short Guide to Writing About Film , 9th ed. New York: Pearson.

Lunsford, Andrea A. 2015. The St. Martin’s Handbook , 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St Martin’s.

Zinsser, William. 2001. On Writing Well: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction , 6th ed. New York: Quill.

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Make a Gift

Introduction

Goals and Goal Setting

Goals Common to All RST Writers

Other Goals to Consider

Defining My Own Goals

Advice about Assignments

Getting Started: Listing Topics to Write about in the Tutorial

Narrative One: Personal Piece on a Significant Experience

Narrative Two: Academic Piece on a Significant Experience

Summary/Response One

Summary/Response Two

Tutorial Evaluation Postscript

On Using the Resources for Writers

Generating and Developing Ideas

Finding/Expressing Main Ideas

Showing v. Telling Sentences

Focusing Topic Sentences

Thesis Statements

Reading Strategies

Assessing Your Reading Strategies

Summarizing

Writing Effective Summary and Response Essays

Discourse Analysis Worksheet

Trade Magazines

Selecting Readings

A summary is a concise paraphrase of all the main ideas in an essay. It cites the author and the title (usually in the first sentence); it contains the essay's thesis and supporting ideas; it may use direct quotation of forceful or concise statements of the author's ideas; it will NOT usually cite the author's examples or supporting details unless they are central to the main idea. Most summaries present the major points in the order that the author made them and continually refer back to the article being summarized (i.e. "Damon argues that ..." or "Goodman also points out that ... "). The summary should take up no more than one-third the length of the work being summarized.

The Response:

A response is a critique or evaluation of the author's essay. Unlike the summary, it is composed of YOUR opinions in relation to the article being summarized. It examines ideas that you agree or disagree with and identifies the essay's strengths and weaknesses in reasoning and logic, in quality of supporting examples, and in organization and style. A good response is persuasive; therefore, it should cite facts, examples, and personal experience that either refutes or supports the article you're responding to, depending on your stance.

Two Typical Organizational Formats for Summary/Response Essays:

1. Present the summary in a block of paragraphs, followed by the response in a block:

Intro/thesis Summary (two to three paragraphs) Agreement (or disagreement) Disagreement (or agreement) Conclusion

Note: Some essays will incorporate both agreement and disagreement in a response, but this is not mandatory.

2. Introduce the essay with a short paragraph that includes your thesis. Then, each body paragraph summarizes one point and responds to it, and a conclusion wraps the essay up.

Intro/thesis Summary point one; agree/disagree Summary point two; agree/disagree Summary point three; agree/disagree Conclusion

summary vs analysis

In academic writing, writers are often expected to use a combination of summary and analysis in their papers. However, the two processes are often confused especially by beginning writers. This handout aims to help you better identify the differences between summary and analysis.

• The purpose of a summary is to reduce information already known down to its essential parts.
• The information stated usually consists of the main points and key supporting points.
• Summaries can use direct quotes or paraphrasing to convey the main or key points. However, more often, a paraphrase is used.
• Summaries do not evaluate, judge, or interpret the information. They present the facts as the original writer or speaker intended.
• When writing a summary, writers should avoid adding their personal reactions, biases, opinions, and beliefs.
• Summaries are typically substantially shorter than their source texts, as they contain only the key points presented in an abbreviated form.
• The purpose of an analysis is to interpret or find meanings or patterns in information.
• Analyzing statements will take a step beyond summary and describe the writer’s personal findings and interpretations of the source material.
• An analysis usually is presented after a statement of evidence, which can have direct quotes or summary. After the evidence is presented, the analysis of that evidence should not summarize or describe the information. Rather, an analysis will uncover something new about the evidence.
• Analysis can provide readers a more thorough understanding of the facts presented, but writers should avoid adding their personal reactions, biases, opinions, and beliefs.
• Although an analysis may be influenced by personal beliefs, an analysis tends to be based more in facts and patterns than thoughts and emotions.

Below, we have provided an example of a summary paragraph and an analysis paragraph to help you identify the differences between them.

Prompt : You will choose a short film, and determine what the short film is communicating to its audience through the marriage of narrative and technique. Your job is to construct an analysis around a thesis statement arguing what the message is that is being communicated within this short piece. This message isn’t the plot; rather, you need to find out what the main theme of the story is, and then tell us how the short film conveys that through the use of various techniques.

Summary Paragraph Example

In “Mr. Foley,” a short film directed by D.A.D.D.Y., the sound effects are the star. In film production, a Foley artist is the person who generates sound effects artificially to play over footage. This important job is exaggerated into absurdity in this short film, where a man named Mr. Foley wakes up in a hospital and suddenly all the sounds he makes and hears is produced by a team sitting in his room. The first thing we hear as an audience is white noise, almost like a record player’s static. Next, as Mr. Foley’s bandages are removed we hear music start to swell. We also catch glimpses of hands manipulating cloth and ripping tape off a surface as well. Sounds are exaggerated to the extreme: as the nurse clicks her pen one of the men across the room clicks a giant pen.

• The preceding papragraph is a great example of a summary. It merely describes what is happening in this short film, without analyzing any meaning or providing any argument about the different sounds and shots it mentions.
• However, this would not be appropriate for the prompt given above. It clearly asks for an analysis of the short film’s use of technique, so some revision of the paragraph above is needed to make it appropriate for the assignment. Below is a paragraph with more analysis added.

Analysis Paragraph Example

In “Mr. Foley,” a short film directed by D.A.D.D.Y., the sound effects are the star. In film production, a Foley artist is the person who generates sound effects artificially to play over footage. This important job is exaggerated into absurdity in this short film, where a man named Mr. Foley wakes up in a hospital and suddenly all the sounds he makes and hears is produced by a team sitting in his room.  Through the exaggeration of sound effects, “Mr. Foley” emphasizes the artificiality of sound production in Hollywood, and questions its efficacy and representation of reality.  For example, the very first sound we hear as an audience is white noise, almost like a record player’s static.  This ambient sound represents blank, neutral noise in absence of other sounds, but is quite obviously artificial. Thus, the message of the film begins to take shape within even the first few seconds of the story.  As Mr. Foley’s bandages begin to be removed, music swells and the camera cuts to close up shots of hands manipulating cloth and ripping tape off of a surface.  When the camera cuts back to Mr. Foley’s face (with surprise spreading across it), we understand that these sounds represent the gauze rubbing against itself and tearing away from his skin.  In the next shots, we see both occurring in the same frame as the nurse clicks her pen and one of the men making the sounds clicks a giant pen to create an extreme exaggerated version of that sound. However,  by visually pointing out the artificial production of the sounds, the film highlights their fake, false nature, calling into question Hollywood’s overproduction of sounds.

• This version more appropriately responds to the above prompt, because it not only points out and describes details from the short film, but also follows through on them to connect them to the meaning presented in the thesis statement (italicized). The bolded portions indicate the analysis injected into this paragraph.

• Grammar Checker
• Paraphrasing Tool
• Critique Report
• Writing Reports
• Learn Blog Grammar Guide Community Events FAQ
• Grammar Guide

How to Write a Summary (Examples Included)

By Ashley Shaw

Have you ever recommended a book to someone and given them a quick overview? Then you’ve created a summary before!

Summarizing is a common part of everyday communication. It feels easy when you’re recounting what happened on your favorite show, but what do you do when the information gets a little more complex?

Written summaries come with their own set of challenges. You might ask yourself:

• What details are unnecessary?
• How do you put this in your own words without changing the meaning?
• How close can you get to the original without plagiarizing it?
• How long should it be?

The answers to these questions depend on the type of summary you are doing and why you are doing it.

A summary in an academic setting is different to a professional summary—and both of those are very different to summarizing a funny story you want to tell your friends.

One thing they all have in common is that you need to relay information in the clearest way possible to help your reader understand. We’ll look at some different forms of summary, and give you some tips on each.

Let’s get started!

What Is a Summary?

How do you write a summary, how do you write an academic summary, what are the four types of academic summaries, how do i write a professional summary, writing or telling a summary in personal situations, summarizing summaries.

A summary is a shorter version of a larger work. Summaries are used at some level in almost every writing task, from formal documents to personal messages.

When you write a summary, you have an audience that doesn’t know every single thing you know.

When you want them to understand your argument, topic, or stance, you may need to explain some things to catch them up.

Instead of having them read the article or hear every single detail of the story or event, you instead give them a brief overview of what they need to know.

Academic, professional, and personal summaries each require you to consider different things, but there are some key rules they all have in common.

Let’s go over a few general guides to writing a summary first.

1. A summary should always be shorter than the original work, usually considerably.

Even if your summary is the length of a full paper, you are likely summarizing a book or other significantly longer work.

2. A summary should tell the reader the highlights of what they need to know without giving them unnecessary details.

3. It should also include enough details to give a clear and honest picture.

For example, if you summarize an article that says “ The Office is the greatest television show of all time,” but don’t mention that they are specifically referring to sitcoms, then you changed the meaning of the article. That’s a problem! Similarly, if you write a summary of your job history and say you volunteered at a hospital for the last three years, but you don’t add that you only went twice in that time, it becomes a little dishonest.

4. Summaries shouldn’t contain personal opinion.

While in the longer work you are creating you might use opinion, within the summary itself, you should avoid all personal opinion. A summary is different than a review. In this moment, you aren’t saying what you think of the work you are summarizing, you are just giving your audience enough information to know what the work says or did.

Now that we have a good idea of what summaries are in general, let’s talk about some specific types of summary you will likely have to do at some point in your writing life.

An academic summary is one you will create for a class or in other academic writing. The exact elements you will need to include depend on the assignment itself.

However, when you’re asked for an academic summary, this usually this means one of five things, all of which are pretty similar:

• You need to do a presentation in which you talk about an article, book, or report.
• You write a summary paper in which the entire paper is a summary of a specific work.
• You summarize a class discussion, lesson, or reading in the form of personal notes or a discussion board post.
• You do something like an annotated bibliography where you write short summaries of multiple works in preparation of a longer assignment.
• You write quick summaries within the body of another assignment . For example, in an argumentative essay, you will likely need to have short summaries of the sources you use to explain their argument before getting into how the source helps you prove your point.

Regardless of what type of summary you are doing, though, there are a few steps you should always follow:

• Skim the work you are summarizing before you read it. Notice what stands out to you.
• Next, read it in depth . Do the same things stand out?
• Put the full text away and write in a few sentences what the main idea or point was.
• Go back and compare to make sure you didn’t forget anything.
• Expand on this to write and then edit your summary.

Each type of academic summary requires slightly different things. Let’s get down to details.

How Do I Write a Summary Paper?

Sometimes teachers assign something called a summary paper . In this, the entire thing is a summary of one article, book, story, or report.

To understand how to write this paper, let’s talk a little bit about the purpose of such an assignment.

A summary paper is usually given to help a teacher see how well a student understands a reading assignment, but also to help the student digest the reading. Sometimes, it can be difficult to understand things we read right away.

However, a good way to process the information is to put it in our own words. That is the point of a summary paper.

A summary paper is:

• A way to explain in our own words what happened in a paper, book, etc.
• A time to think about what was important in the paper, etc.
• A time to think about the meaning and purpose behind the paper, etc.

Here are some things that a summary paper is not:

• A review. Your thoughts and opinions on the thing you are summarizing don’t need to be here unless otherwise specified.
• A comparison. A comparison paper has a lot of summary in it, but it is different than a summary paper. In this, you are just saying what happened, but you aren’t saying places it could have been done differently.
• A paraphrase (though you might have a little paraphrasing in there). In the section on using summary in longer papers, I talk more about the difference between summaries, paraphrases, and quotes.

Because a summary paper is usually longer than other forms of summary, you will be able to chose more detail. However, it still needs to focus on the important events. Summary papers are usually shorter papers.

Let’s say you are writing a 3–4 page summary. You are likely summarizing a full book or an article or short story, which will be much longer than 3–4 pages.

Imagine that you are the author of the work, and your editor comes to you and says they love what you wrote, but they need it to be 3–4 pages instead.

How would you tell that story (argument, idea, etc.) in that length without losing the heart or intent behind it? That is what belongs in a summary paper.

How Do I Write Useful Academic Notes?

Sometimes, you need to write a summary for yourself in the form of notes or for your classmates in the form of a discussion post.

You might not think you need a specific approach for this. After all, only you are going to see it.

However, summarizing for yourself can sometimes be the most difficult type of summary. If you try to write down everything your teacher says, your hand will cramp and you’ll likely miss a lot.

Yet, transcribing doesn’t work because studies show that writing things down (not typing them) actually helps you remember them better.

So how do you find the balance between summarizing the lessons without leaving out important points?

There are some tips for this:

• If your professor writes it on the board, it is probably important.
• What points do your textbooks include when summarizing information? Use these as a guide.
• Write the highlight of every X amount of time, with X being the time you can go without missing anything or getting tired. This could be one point per minute, or three per five minutes, etc.

How Do I Create an Annotated Biography?

An annotated bibliography requires a very specific style of writing. Often, you will write these before a longer research paper . They will ask you to find a certain amount of articles and write a short annotation for each of them.

While an annotation is more than just a summary, it usually starts with a summary of the work. This will be about 2–3 sentences long. Because you don’t have a lot of room, you really have to think about what the most important thing the work says is.

This will basically ask you to explain the point of the article in these couple of sentences, so you should focus on the main point when expressing it.

Here is an example of a summary section within an annotation about this post:

“In this post, the author explains how to write a summary in different types of settings. She walks through academic, professional, and personal summaries. Ultimately, she claims that summaries should be short explanations that get the audience caught up on the topic without leaving out details that would change the meaning.”

Can I Write a Summary Within an Essay?

Perhaps the most common type of summary you will ever do is a short summary within a longer paper.

For example, if you have to write an argumentative essay, you will likely need to use sources to help support your argument.

However, there is a good chance that your readers won’t have read those same sources.

So, you need to give them enough detail to understand your topic without spending too much time explaining and not enough making your argument.

While this depends on exactly how you are using summary in your paper, often, a good amount of summary is the same amount you would put in an annotation.

Just a few sentences will allow the reader to get an idea of the work before moving on to specific parts of it that might help your argument.

What’s the Difference Between Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Using Quotes?

One important thing to recognize when using summaries in academic settings is that summaries are different than paraphrases or quotes.

A summary is broader and more general. A paraphrase, on the other hand, puts specific parts into your own words. A quote uses the exact words of the original. All of them, however, need to be cited.

Let’s look at an example:

Take these words by Thomas J. Watson:

”Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t as all. You can be discouraged by failure—or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember, that’s where you will find success.”

Let’s say I was told to write a summary, a paraphrase, and a quote about this statement. This is what it might look like:

Summary: Thomas J. Watson said that the key to success is actually to fail more often. (This is broad and doesn’t go into details about what he says, but it still gives him credit.)

Paraphrase: Thomas J. Watson, on asking if people would like his formula for success, said that the secret was to fail twice as much. He claimed that when you decide to learn from your mistakes instead of being disappointed by them, and when you start making a lot of them, you will actually find more success. (This includes most of the details, but it is in my own words, while still crediting the source.)

Quote: Thomas J. Watson said, ”Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all. You can be discouraged by failure—or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember, that’s where you will find success.” (This is the exact words of the original with quotation marks and credit given.)

Avoiding Plagiarism

One of the hardest parts about summarizing someone else’s writing is avoiding plagiarism .

That’s why I have a few rules/tips for you when summarizing anything:

1. Always cite.

If you are talking about someone else’s work in any means, cite your source. If you are summarizing the entire work, all you probably need to do (depending on style guidelines) is say the author’s name. However, if you are summarizing a specific chapter or section, you should state that specifically. Finally, you should make sure to include it in your Work Cited or Reference page.

2. Change the wording.

Sometimes when people are summarizing or paraphrasing a work, they get too close to the original, and actually use the exact words. Unless you use quotation marks, this is plagiarism. However, a good way to avoid this is to hide the article while you are summarizing it. If you don’t have it in front of you, you are less likely to accidentally use the exact words. (However, after you are done, double check that you didn’t miss anything important or give wrong details.)

3. Use a plagiarism checker.

Of course, when you are writing any summary, especially academic summaries, it can be easy to cross the line into plagiarism. If this is a place where you struggle, then ProWritingAid can help.

Just use our Plagiarism Report . It’ll highlight any unoriginal text in your document so you can make sure you are citing everything correctly and summarizing in your own words.

Find out more about ProWritingAid plagiarism bundles.

Along with academic summaries, you might sometimes need to write professional summaries. Often, this means writing a summary about yourself that shows why you are qualified for a position or organization.

In this section, let’s talk about two types of professional summaries: a LinkedIn summary and a summary section within a resume.

How Do I Write My LinkedIn Bio?

LinkedIn is all about professional networking. It offers you a chance to share a brief glimpse of your professional qualifications in a paragraph or two.

This can then be sent to professional connections, or even found by them without you having to reach out. This can help you get a job or build your network.

Your summary is one of the first things a future employer might see about you, and how you write yours can make you stand out from the competition.

Here are some tips on writing a LinkedIn summary :

• Before you write it, think about what you want it to do . If you are looking for a job, what kind of job? What have you done in your past that would stand out to someone hiring for that position? That is what you will want to focus on in your summary.
• Be professional . Unlike many social media platforms, LinkedIn has a reputation for being more formal. Your summary should reflect that to some extent.
• Use keywords . Your summary is searchable, so using keywords that a recruiter might be searching for can help them find you.
• Focus on the start . LinkedIn shows the first 300 characters automatically, and then offers the viewer a chance to read more. Make that start so good that everyone wants to keep reading.
• Focus on accomplishments . Think of your life like a series of albums, and this is your speciality “Greatest Hits” album. What “songs” are you putting on it?

How Do I Summarize My Experience on a Resume?

Writing a professional summary for a resume is different than any other type of summary that you may have to do.

Recruiters go through a lot of resumes every day. They don’t have time to spend ages reading yours, which means you have to wow them quickly.

To do that, you might include a section at the top of your resume that acts almost as an elevator pitch: That one thing you might say to a recruiter to get them to want to talk to you if you only had a 30-second elevator ride.

If you don’t have a lot of experience, though, you might want to skip this section entirely and focus on playing up the experience you do have.

Outside of academic and personal summaries, you use summary a lot in your day-to-day life.

Whether it is telling a good piece of trivia you just learned or a funny story that happened to you, or even setting the stage in creative writing, you summarize all the time.

How you use summary can be an important consideration in whether people want to read your work (or listen to you talk).

Here are some things to think about when telling a story:

• Pick interesting details . Too many and your point will be lost. Not enough, and you didn’t paint the scene or give them a complete idea about what happened.
• Play into the emotions . When telling a story, you want more information than the bare minimum. You want your reader to get the emotion of the story. That requires a little bit more work to accomplish.
• Focus. A summary of one story can lead to another can lead to another. Think about storytellers that you know that go off on a tangent. They never seem to finish one story without telling 100 others!

To wrap up (and to demonstrate everything I just talked about), let’s summarize this post into its most essential parts:

A summary is a great way to quickly give your audience the information they need to understand the topic you are discussing without having to know every detail.

How you write a summary is different depending on what type of summary you are doing:

• An academic summary usually gets to the heart of an article, book, or journal, and it should highlight the main points in your own words. How long it should be depends on the type of assignment it is.
• A professional summary highlights you and your professional, academic, and volunteer history. It shows people in your professional network who you are and why they should hire you, work with you, use your talents, etc.

Being able to tell a good story is another form of summary. You want to tell engaging anecdotes and facts without boring your listeners. This is a skill that is developed over time.

Take your writing to the next level:

20 Editing Tips from Professional Writers

Whether you are writing a novel, essay, article, or email, good writing is an essential part of communicating your ideas., this guide contains the 20 most important writing tips and techniques from a wide range of professional writers..

Be confident about grammar

Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

Ashley Shaw

Ashley Shaw is a former editor and marketer/current PhD student and teacher. When she isn't studying con artists for her dissertation, she's thinking of new ways to help college students better understand and love the writing process. You can follow her on Twitter, or, if you prefer animal accounts, follow her rabbits, Audrey Hopbun and Fredra StaHare, on Instagram.

Get started with ProWritingAid

Drop us a line or let's stay in touch via:

Conclusion vs. Summary

What's the difference.

Conclusion and summary are two different elements of a written piece, but they serve similar purposes. A conclusion is the final part of an essay or article where the writer wraps up their main points and provides a final thought or opinion. It is a more detailed and comprehensive section that often includes a synthesis of the main arguments presented throughout the text. On the other hand, a summary is a condensed version of the entire piece, highlighting the main ideas and key points without providing any new information or personal opinions. It is a brief overview that allows readers to quickly grasp the main content of the text. While a conclusion offers a more in-depth analysis and reflection, a summary provides a concise overview of the entire piece.

Further Detail

Introduction.

When it comes to writing, two terms that often confuse people are "conclusion" and "summary." While both serve the purpose of wrapping up a piece of writing, they have distinct attributes and play different roles. In this article, we will explore the differences and similarities between conclusions and summaries, shedding light on their unique characteristics and how they contribute to the overall structure and impact of a written work.

Definition and Purpose

A conclusion is the final part of a written work, be it an essay, research paper, or any other form of academic or non-academic writing. It aims to provide closure to the reader by summarizing the main points, restating the thesis or main argument, and offering a final thought or reflection. In essence, a conclusion is the author's last opportunity to leave a lasting impression on the reader and reinforce the key ideas presented throughout the text.

On the other hand, a summary is a condensed version of a larger piece of writing. It focuses on the main ideas, key arguments, and supporting evidence presented in the original work. The purpose of a summary is to provide a concise overview of the text, allowing readers to grasp the main points without having to read the entire piece. Summaries are commonly used in academic settings, such as when reviewing research articles or summarizing chapters of a textbook.

Content and Structure

When it comes to content, a conclusion typically includes a brief summary of the main points discussed in the body of the text. It may also restate the thesis statement or main argument in a slightly different way, emphasizing its significance and relevance. Additionally, a conclusion often offers a final thought or reflection, leaving the reader with something to ponder or consider after finishing the piece.

On the other hand, a summary focuses solely on the main ideas and key points of the original work. It does not include personal reflections or new information. Instead, a summary aims to provide an objective overview of the text, allowing readers to quickly grasp the main concepts without delving into the details.

In terms of structure, a conclusion is typically longer than a summary. It may span several paragraphs, depending on the length and complexity of the original work. A conclusion often begins with a transition phrase or signal word, such as "In conclusion" or "To sum up," to indicate that the writer is wrapping up the discussion. It then proceeds to summarize the main points and restate the thesis before offering a final thought or closing statement.

On the other hand, a summary is much shorter and more concise. It aims to capture the essence of the original work in a few sentences or paragraphs. A summary does not require a formal introduction or conclusion but should still provide a clear and coherent overview of the text.

Usage and Application

Conclusions are commonly used in various forms of writing, including essays, research papers, reports, and even speeches. They serve as a way to tie together the main ideas and arguments presented throughout the text, leaving the reader with a sense of closure and understanding. A well-crafted conclusion can leave a lasting impact on the reader, reinforcing the main message and providing a sense of satisfaction.

Summaries, on the other hand, are particularly useful when dealing with lengthy or complex texts. They allow readers to quickly grasp the main points and decide whether they want to delve deeper into the full work. Summaries are commonly used in academic settings, such as when writing literature reviews, abstracts, or executive summaries. They also find application in journalism, where journalists often provide a summary of an event or news story in the opening paragraphs.

Conclusion vs. Summary: Key Differences

While conclusions and summaries share the common goal of wrapping up a piece of writing, they differ in several key aspects:

• A conclusion is the final part of a written work, while a summary is a condensed version of the original text.
• A conclusion includes a brief summary of the main points, restates the thesis, and offers a final thought, while a summary focuses solely on the main ideas and key points.
• A conclusion is typically longer and may span several paragraphs, while a summary is shorter and more concise.
• Conclusions are commonly used in various forms of writing, while summaries are particularly useful for condensing lengthy or complex texts.

In conclusion, while conclusions and summaries serve different purposes and have distinct attributes, they both play crucial roles in the overall structure and impact of a written work. A conclusion provides closure to the reader, summarizing the main points and leaving a lasting impression, while a summary offers a condensed overview of the text, allowing readers to quickly grasp the main ideas. Understanding the differences between these two elements is essential for effective writing and communication, enabling writers to craft compelling conclusions and concise summaries that enhance the reader's understanding and engagement.

Comparisons may contain inaccurate information about people, places, or facts. Please report any issues.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

Dr. Sandi Van Lieu

In your classes, you may be asked to analyze text. Analysis is not simply summary—summary gives the reader a shortened overview of the topic.

A summary would be telling the reader what happened in the story. Take for example, summaries about the short story “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson:

Example 1 Summary:

“The Lottery” is about a town that comes together every year for a tradition. The town’s people draw a name, and the person’s whose name is drawn is killed by everyone else.

Example 2 Summary:

The black box in “The Lottery” is used to hold slips of paper with the names of the townspeople. It is old and splintered, and every year the townspeople talk about replacing the box, but no one wants to break tradition.

The examples above tell us what the story is about. They present facts, but they are not arguments.

In your courses, you’ll be asked do higher-level thinking . Summary, which gives a brief overview of the main points, is a lower level of thinking. Using analysis and evaluation are higher levels of thinking. Analysis is when you break down something (in this case, breaking down the story) into parts in order to see how they relate.

Evaluation is to make a judgment about something based on evidence. Analysis and evaluation go above and beyond summary to explain, examine, and tell us what you think or what you believe about the text or topic. They give arguments . Take, for example, the same above summaries about “The Lottery,” but revised to show analytical thinking:

“The Lottery,” a fiction story by Shirley Jackson, was written to portray the point that tradition often overtakes reason, and humans sometimes stick to traditions that are outdated or irrelevant simply because they don’t want to make changes.

The above examples don’t just give facts; they make arguments about the text. The second example breaks down the symbol of the black box and makes arguments about what it represents.

Using Analysis for Arguments and Support

Each body paragraph of an essay should include analysis. When you’re revising your essay, look at each individual body paragraph and ask yourself: Am I simply re-telling the story/text and giving facts, or am I making an argument about the story?

In addition to having analysis in each body paragraph, you should also include support. You can tell me that “The Lottery” is an argument for breaking traditions, but I need to “see” that—you have to prove it to me. This is where using the text and outside sources as quotes, paraphrases, and summaries will come in.

Find a passage of something you have read for a college course—an article, a story, a textbook pages, etc. Then do the following:

1. Read the passage. Then without looking at it, write a summary of it.

2. Now, make an argument in the form of analysis  or evaluation of the passage.

Additional Resources:

• A professor’s explanation and examples of an analysis essay.
• OWL’s basic information on what is a literary analysis, with a presentation.
• OWL’s information on writing a thesis for a literary analysis.
• A college handout that breaks down writing an analysis essay in an easy format.
• This is a professor’s assignment and helps break the analysis down.
• A college document with great advice about how to write an analysis (and specific examples of such).

Attribution

• “Summary vs. Analysis,” created by Dr. Sandi Van Lieu and licensed under CC BY NC SA 3.0 .

The RoughWriter's Guide Copyright © 2020 by Dr. Sandi Van Lieu is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Share This Book

• Key Differences

Know the Differences & Comparisons

Difference Between Summary and Conclusion

In the absence of conclusion, the research paper might seem incomplete. It is often contrasted with a summary, but there are subtle differences between the two. A summary is nothing but a short and clear account of the text, covering the main points, facts or elements only.

Content: Summary Vs Conclusion

Comparison chart.

Definition of Summary

A summary is the compact account of the main text, i.e. an article, essay, drama, or some other form of literature. It gives an overview of the key points of the piece of writing. Moreover, one can also summarize anything which he/she has seen and heard, like speech, movie or lecture, etc.

It is typically about 5% to 15% of the original work, i.e. it may extend up to one to three paragraphs, which is around 100 to 300 words. It simply depends on the length of the text which is summarized. Its aim is to describe a piece of writing while including considerably less content than its original.

Ideal Summary

• An ideal summary is one that objectively highlights the entire form of literature.
• It should cover the focal point of every paragraph and the evidence supporting it.
• It should exclude all the irrelevant examples, details and information.
• It can make use of the keywords used in the original work, but should not use the same sentences and phrases, except if quotation marks are used.
• It must express the sense of the original work while using your own words and sentences.

Definition of Conclsuion

Conclusion refers to the epilogue which is given at the end of something, to deduce the findings. It forms part of the thought process, which combines all the points discussed, so as to reach a comprehensive idea or statement.

It is the final step in the process of reasoning, in which judgement, decision or opinion is formed after complete investigation and consideration. To conclude something, different types of perspectives are considered. It is only 10% of the research paper, which has two segments – summary and final thought .

Ideal Conclusion

• The conclusion is said to be ideal when it gives an interesting insight and should end on a positive note.
• Highlights the main argument presented in the piece of writing.
• Sums up the answer to the question, often stated in the introduction.
• Refer back the questions, states the key points and findings, and wind up the discussion with the final observation.
• Reinforces the primary theme of the study.
• Makes a strong and long-lasting impression on the reader.
• It should never introduce new points.

Key Differences Between Summary and Conclusion

The points stated below discuss the differences between summary and conclusion:

• A summary is an abridgement of the work of literature, which covers the key points succinctly. On the contrary, conclusion refers to the final part of the discourse which sums up the argument and gives a statement of opinion or judgement.
• A summary is written to provide the reader with a precise and objective narrative of the central ideas and aspects of the original text. Conversely, conclusion paragraph wraps up the text and presents the reader that you have accomplished, what you have set forth in the beginning.
• While a summary restates the facts and elements, which are discussed in the original text, conclusion tends to synthesize all the points and wrap up the discussion. It helps the reader understand the importance of the research.
• Ideally, the length of the summary is 5% to 15%, whereas the conclusion constitutes only 10% of the original work.
• A summary often demonstrates the central ideas of the text clearly and concisely. In contrast, the conclusion introduces a new outlook, proposes a course of actions, provides a solution to the problem, makes suggestions for further study, and makes deductions on the basis of the argument.
• A summary only includes the ideas of the original text. One should not insert their opinion, criticism, comments or interpretations. As against, the conclusion can include the researcher’s or writer’s views, ideas and criticisms at the end.

In a nutshell, a summary condenses the material as well as it informs the reader about the vital points. Contrastingly, a conclusion gives the reader the sense of completeness of the argument or topic, with a reason or final thought. It focuses on the final outcome of the argumentation or research.

You Might Also Like:

essay ordering says

September 23, 2022 at 10:59 pm

Irresistible! Thank you a lot for this type and precise carrier.your offerings is higher than higher.

September 25, 2022 at 2:50 am

I will recommend my students to visit and read the explanation you give here. Thank you.

Endalkachew Sisay says

January 24, 2023 at 2:09 pm

I really appreciate the points you have addressed for us. Keep up the good work!!!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

• Essay Topic Generator
• Essay Grader
• Reference Finder
• AI Outline Generator
• Paragraph Expander
• Essay Expander
• Literature Review Generator
• Thesis Generator
• Text Editing Tools
• AI Rewording Tool
• AI Sentence Rewriter
• AI Article Spinner
• AI Grammar Checker
• Spell Checker
• PDF Spell Check
• Paragraph Checker
• Free AI Essay Writer
• Paraphraser
• Grammar Checker
• Citation Generator
• Plagiarism Checker
• AI Detector
• AI Essay Checker
• Proofreading Service
• Editing Service
• AI Writing Guides
• AI Detection Guides
• Citation Guides
• Grammar Guides
• Paraphrasing Guides
• Plagiarism Guides
• Summary Writing Guides
• STEM Guides
• Humanities Guides
• Language Learning Guides
• Coding Guides
• Top Lists and Recommendations
• AI Detectors
• AI Writing Services
• Coding Homework Help
• Citation Generators
• Editing Websites
• Essay Writing Websites
• Language Learning Websites
• Math Solvers
• Paraphrasers
• Plagiarism Checkers
• Reference Finders
• Spell Checkers
• Summarizers
• Tutoring Websites
• Essay Checkers
• Essay Topic Finders

Most Popular

10 days ago

Survey Reveals High Cost of Course Materials Stops Students from Success

Professors share 5 myths students believe about college, how to write a character analysis essay, anxiety among students: what do teachers think about it, dorm overbooking and transitional housing: problems colleges are trying to solve, analysis vs summary.

If you are a student, you have probably been asked to write both an analysis and a summary at least once throughout your educational journey. Those are common tasks in academic writing, but they serve distinct purposes and require different approaches. The key difference is that an analysis involves examining and interpreting the deeper meaning or implications of a subject, while a summary provides a concise overview of its main points or content. In this article, we’ll discuss the definitions, key differences, and specific steps to writing both a summary and an analysis, with a focus on how these skills can enhance your understanding and critical thinking in a writing center context.

Defining Terms: What is a Summary and What is an Analysis

A summary is a concise, neutral account of the main ideas, events, or arguments of a work, whether it’s a book, an article, or a movie. It distills the content down to its essentials, without offering any interpretation or opinion. The goal of a summary is to provide a clear, understandable overview for someone who may not be familiar with the original work.

An analysis , on the other hand, goes beyond simply recounting the content. It involves examining the elements of a work, such as its structure, themes, and characters, and interpreting their significance. Analysis requires critical thinking and the ability to draw conclusions and make connections between different parts of the work. It’s an exploration of the deeper meaning and implications of a piece.

The Key Differences Between Analysis vs Summary

While both summaries and analyses are important writing skills, they serve different purposes and require different approaches. Here are the main differences.

The primary aim of a summary is to condense information, providing a clear and concise overview of a work’s main points. It strips away the details to present the essence of the story or argument in a nutshell. On the other hand, an analysis seeks to interpret and evaluate the work. It goes beyond merely recounting the events or arguments and delves into the significance, effectiveness, and implications of the elements within the work.

In terms of content, summaries focus on the main points or events of a work without delving into the finer details. They provide a straightforward account of what happens or what is argued, without offering commentary or interpretation. Analyses, however, explore the underlying themes, structures, and meanings of a work. They examine how the elements of the work contribute to its overall impact, considering factors like symbolism, character development, and narrative techniques.

The voice used in a summary is neutral and objective. It aims to present the information in an unbiased manner, without the writer’s personal opinions or interpretations influencing the account. In contrast, analyses are more subjective, reflecting the writer’s perspective and critical thinking. An analysis allows the writer to express their views on the effectiveness of the work, the relevance of its themes, and the implications of its arguments.

Finally, the depth of exploration in these two types of writing differs significantly. Summaries are surface-level, providing a broad overview without going into depth about the work’s complexities. They are typically brief and to the point. Analyses, however, go deeper into the nuances of a work. They dissect the components of the work, examining how they interrelate and contribute to the overall meaning or effectiveness. An analysis is more detailed and comprehensive, offering a richer, more insightful exploration of the work.

Here’s a comparison table to help you memorize and visualize the key differences:

Explore the new Summarizer Tool to generate custom summaries!

Need a quick summary? Here!

How to write an analysis.

Writing an analysis requires a structured approach and careful attention to detail. Here’s a more detailed breakdown of each step in the process:

Understand the Assignment

Before you start, it’s important to understand what your analysis should focus on. Read the assignment prompt carefully and clarify any doubts with your instructor. Determine whether you need to analyze a specific element of the work, such as the theme, character development, or narrative structure. Knowing the scope of your analysis will help you stay focused and relevant.

Read or View the Work Carefully

Immerse yourself in the work you’re analyzing. Whether it’s a book, a film, or a painting, engage with it attentively and critically. Take notes as you go, highlighting any details, patterns, or moments that stand out to you. These observations will form the basis of your analysis.

Identify Key Elements

After you’ve familiarized yourself with the work, start identifying the key elements that contribute to its overall meaning. Look for recurring themes, significant symbols, pivotal characters, or impactful scenes. Consider how these elements interact and what they reveal about the work’s message or purpose.

Develop a Thesis Statement

Based on your observations, formulate a thesis statement that captures your interpretation of the work. Your thesis should be clear, arguable, and focused. It should provide a roadmap for your analysis, indicating the aspects you’ll explore and the stance you’ll take.

Gather Evidence

To support your thesis, gather evidence from the work. This might include direct quotes, specific examples, or detailed descriptions of scenes. Make sure your evidence is relevant and directly supports the points you’re making in your analysis.

Organize Your Analysis

Structure your analysis logically. Start with an introduction that presents your thesis statement and gives an overview of the work. Then, divide the body of your essay into paragraphs, each focusing on a different aspect of your thesis. Use topic sentences to introduce each paragraph’s main idea, and make each paragraph flow smoothly into the next. Conclude your analysis by summarizing your main points and reiterating your thesis, possibly with some final reflections on the work’s overall significance.

Write and Revise

Once you have a clear structure, start writing your analysis. Be concise and precise in your language, and make sure each sentence contributes to your argument. After writing your first draft, revise it for clarity, coherence, and logical flow. Check for grammatical errors and make sure your analysis adheres to academic integrity and APA style guidelines, if required. Revising and polishing your analysis will strengthen your argument and enhance the overall quality of your writing.

How to Write a Summary

Writing a summary requires a clear understanding of the original work and the ability to distill its main points into a concise format. Here’s a more detailed look at each step in the process:

• Read the Work: Begin by thoroughly reading or viewing the work you need to summarize. Pay attention to its overall structure and the way the content is organized. Try to grasp the main points and the author’s or creator’s purpose. This initial understanding is crucial for writing an effective summary.
• Identify the Main Ideas: As you read, take note of the key concepts, events, or arguments presented in the work. Look for the central ideas in each section or chapter, and try to understand how they contribute to the overall message or storyline. These main ideas will form the backbone of your summary.
• Write a Thesis Statement: Based on your understanding of the work, create a thesis statement that captures its essence. This statement should be concise and encapsulate the primary focus or argument of the work. It will serve as the guiding idea for your summary.
• Outline the Main Points: Organize the main ideas you’ve identified in the same order as they appear in the original work. Creating an outline will help you structure your summary logically and cover all the important points. This outline doesn’t have to be detailed; it should just provide a roadmap for your summary.
• Write the Summary: Using your outline as a guide, start writing your summary. Use your own words to present the main points, and avoid copying sentences directly from the original work. Keep your summary brief and to the point, focusing on the most important information. Make sure to include your thesis statement at the beginning and summarize the work’s main ideas in a logical order.
• Review and Revise: After writing your summary, review it so that it accurately reflects the main points of the original work. Check for clarity and coherence, and make sure your summary is concise and free of unnecessary details. Revise any parts that need improvement. After all, your summary should maintain academic integrity and avoiding plagiarism.

Comparing Analysis vs Summary: Examples

Let’s take Ray Bradbury’s novel “Fahrenheit 451” as an example:

Summary : “Fahrenheit 451” is a dystopian novel set in a future where books are banned and “firemen” burn any that are found. The story follows Guy Montag, a fireman who becomes disillusioned with his role in suppressing knowledge and begins to seek out and read forbidden books. His quest for understanding leads him to question the society he lives in and ultimately rebel against it.

Analysis : In “Fahrenheit 451,” Ray Bradbury explores themes of censorship, the role of technology in society, and the search for knowledge. Through the character of Montag, Bradbury critiques a society that values conformity and entertainment over critical thinking and individualism. The burning of books symbolizes the suppression of dissenting ideas, while Montag’s journey represents the transformative power of literature.

In the provided examples, the summary of “Fahrenheit 451” condenses the plot into a concise overview , focusing on the main events and characters . It presents an objective and factual account of Guy Montag’s journey from a conformist fireman to a seeker of knowledge in a dystopian society where books are banned. The summary is neutral, avoiding any interpretation or evaluation of the themes or the author’s intentions.

On the other hand, the analysis of “Fahrenheit 451” goes beyond the surface-level events to explore the underlying themes and significance of the novel. It interprets the story as a critique of censorship, the impact of technology on society, and the value of critical thinking and individualism. The analysis is subjective, reflecting the writer’s perspective and critical thinking. It presents an argument about the deeper meaning of the novel , supported by evidence from the text, such as the symbolism of fire and the character development of Montag.

Understanding the differences between summary and analysis is necessary for developing effective writing skills, especially in a writing center context. A summary provides a concise overview of a work, while an analysis offers a deeper exploration of its elements and meanings. Both are valuable tools for academic and professional writing, and mastering them can enhance your critical thinking, academic integrity, and ability to communicate complex ideas.

Can a summary include personal opinions?

No, a summary should not include personal opinions. It is meant to provide a concise and objective overview of the main points or events of a work without any interpretation or evaluation. The purpose of a summary is to give readers a clear understanding of the content without the influence of the writer’s personal views.

When should I use analysis in my writing?

You should use analysis in your writing when you need to examine and interpret a work more deeply, exploring its themes, structure, and meaning. Analysis is often used in academic writing, literary criticism, and research papers to provide a detailed examination of a text or topic. It is appropriate to use analysis when you want to present your own perspective, support your arguments with evidence, and engage in critical thinking about the subject matter.

Is analysis more important than summary in academic writing?

Both analysis and summary have their importance in academic writing, and their relevance depends on the purpose of the writing. A summary is vital for providing a clear and concise overview of a work or topic, which is essential for background information or when reviewing literature. Analysis, on the other hand, is important for developing and presenting original arguments, exploring deeper meanings, and engaging in critical evaluation. In academic writing, analysis is often considered more significant because it demonstrates the writer’s ability to think critically and contribute new insights to the field.

Follow us on Reddit for more insights and updates.

Comments (0)

Welcome to A*Help comments!

We’re all about debate and discussion at A*Help.

We value the diverse opinions of users, so you may find points of view that you don’t agree with. And that’s cool. However, there are certain things we’re not OK with: attempts to manipulate our data in any way, for example, or the posting of discriminative, offensive, hateful, or disparaging material.

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

More from Summary Writing Guides

Synthesis vs Summary

Best Summarising Strategies for Students

How To Summarize A Story

Remember Me

Is English your native language ? Yes No

What is your profession ? Student Teacher Writer Other

Forgotten Password?

Username or Email

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between an abstract and a summary.

An abstract concisely explains all the key points of an academic text such as a thesis , dissertation or journal article. It should summarize the whole text, not just introduce it.

An abstract is a type of summary , but summaries are also written elsewhere in academic writing . For example, you might summarize a source in a paper , in a literature review , or as a standalone assignment.

All can be done within seconds with our free text summarizer .

Frequently asked questions: Working with sources

Synthesizing sources means comparing and contrasting the work of other scholars to provide new insights.

It involves analyzing and interpreting the points of agreement and disagreement among sources.

You might synthesize sources in your literature review to give an overview of the field of research or throughout your paper when you want to contribute something new to existing research.

You can find sources online using databases and search engines like Google Scholar . Use Boolean operators or advanced search functions to narrow or expand your search.

For print sources, you can use your institution’s library database. This will allow you to explore the library’s catalog and to search relevant keywords.

Lateral reading is the act of evaluating the credibility of a source by comparing it with other sources. This allows you to:

• Verify evidence
• Contextualize information
• Find potential weaknesses

As you cannot possibly read every source related to your topic, it’s important to evaluate sources to assess their relevance. Use preliminary evaluation to determine whether a source is worth examining in more depth.

This involves:

• Reading abstracts , prefaces, introductions , and conclusions
• Looking at the table of contents to determine the scope of the work
• Consulting the index for key terms or the names of important scholars

You might have to write a summary of a source:

• As a stand-alone assignment to prove you understand the material
• For your own use, to keep notes on your reading
• To provide an overview of other researchers’ work in a literature review
• In a paper , to summarize or introduce a relevant study

You can assess information and arguments critically by asking certain questions about the source. You can use the CRAAP test , focusing on the currency , relevance , authority , accuracy , and purpose of a source of information.

Ask questions such as:

• Who is the author? Are they an expert?
• Why did the author publish it? What is their motivation?
• How do they make their argument? Is it backed up by evidence?

Critical thinking skills include the ability to:

• Identify credible sources
• Evaluate and respond to arguments
• Assess alternative viewpoints
• Test hypotheses against relevant criteria

Critical thinking refers to the ability to evaluate information and to be aware of biases or assumptions, including your own.

Like information literacy , it involves evaluating arguments, identifying and solving problems in an objective and systematic way, and clearly communicating your ideas.

It is important to find credible sources and use those that you can be sure are sufficiently scholarly .

• Consult your institute’s library to find out what books, journals, research databases, and other types of sources they provide access to.
• Look for books published by respected academic publishing houses and university presses, as these are typically considered trustworthy sources.
• Look for journals that use a peer review process. This means that experts in the field assess the quality and credibility of an article before it is published.

In academic writing, the sources you cite should be credible and scholarly. Some of the main types of sources used are:

• Academic journals: These are the most up-to-date sources in academia. They are published more frequently than books and provide cutting-edge research.
• Books: These are great sources to use, as they are typically written by experts and provide an extensive overview and analysis of a specific topic.

Scholarly sources are written by experts in their field and are typically subjected to peer review . They are intended for a scholarly audience, include a full bibliography, and use scholarly or technical language. For these reasons, they are typically considered credible sources .

Popular sources like magazines and news articles are typically written by journalists. These types of sources usually don’t include a bibliography and are written for a popular, rather than academic, audience. They are not always reliable and may be written from a biased or uninformed perspective, but they can still be cited in some contexts.

There are many types of sources commonly used in research. These include:

• Journal articles
• Encyclopedias

You’ll likely use a variety of these sources throughout the research process , and the kinds of sources you use will depend on your research topic and goals.

You usually shouldn’t cite tertiary sources as evidence in your research paper, but you can use them in the beginning stages of the research process to:

• Establish background information
• Identify relevant keywords and terms
• Familiarize yourself with current debates in your field

Use tertiary sources in your preliminary research to find relevant primary and secondary sources that you will engage with in more depth during the writing process .

What constitutes a tertiary source depends on your research question and how you use the source.

To determine whether a source is tertiary, ask:

• Am I examining the source itself, or am I using it for background information?
• Does the source provide original information ( primary ) or analyze information from other sources ( secondary )? Or does it consolidate information from other sources (tertiary)?

Primary sources provide direct evidence about your research topic (photographs, personal letters, etc.).

Secondary sources interpret and comment on information from primary sources (academic books, journal articles, etc.).

Tertiary sources are reference works that identify and provide background information on primary and secondary sources . They do not provide original insights or analysis.

A tertiary source may list, summarize , or index primary and secondary sources or provide general information from a variety of sources. But it does not provide original interpretations or analysis.

Some examples of tertiary sources include:

• Bibliographies
• Dictionaries

It can sometimes be hard to distinguish accurate from inaccurate sources , especially online. Published articles are not always credible and can reflect a biased viewpoint without providing evidence to support their conclusions.

Information literacy is important because it helps you to be aware of such unreliable content and to evaluate sources effectively, both in an academic context and more generally.

Information literacy refers to a broad range of skills, including the ability to find, evaluate, and use sources of information effectively.

Being information literate means that you:

• Know how to find credible sources
• Use relevant sources to inform your research
• Understand what constitutes plagiarism
• Know how to cite your sources correctly

When searching for sources in databases, think of specific keywords that are relevant to your topic , and consider variations on them or synonyms that might be relevant.

Once you have a clear idea of your research parameters and key terms, choose a database that is relevant to your research (e.g., Medline, JSTOR, Project MUSE).

Find out if the database has a “subject search” option. This can help to refine your search. Use Boolean operators to combine your keywords, exclude specific search terms, and search exact phrases to find the most relevant sources.

Proximity operators are specific words used alongside your chosen keywords that let you specify the proximity of one keyword in relation to another.

The most common proximity operators include NEAR ( N x ), WITHIN ( W x ), and SENTENCE .

Each proximity operator has a unique function. For example, N x allows you to find sources that contain the specified keywords within a set number of words ( x ) of each other.

Boolean operators are specific words and symbols that you can use to expand or narrow your search parameters when using a database or search engine.

The most common Boolean operators are AND , OR , NOT or AND NOT , quotation marks “” , parentheses () , and asterisks * .

Each Boolean operator has a unique function. For example, the Boolean operator AND will provide search results containing both/all of your keywords.

A Boolean search uses specific words and symbols known as Boolean operators (e.g., AND , OR ) alongside keywords to limit or expand search results. Boolean searches allow you to:

• Prioritize keywords
• Exclude keywords
• Search exact keywords
• Search variations of your keywords

The CRAAP test is an acronym to help you evaluate the credibility of a source you are considering using. It is an important component of information literacy .

The CRAAP test has five main components:

• Currency: Is the source up to date?
• Relevance: Is the source relevant to your research?
• Authority: Where is the source published? Who is the author? Are they considered reputable and trustworthy in their field?
• Accuracy: Is the source supported by evidence? Are the claims cited correctly?
• Purpose: What was the motive behind publishing this source?

To avoid plagiarism when summarizing an article or other source, follow these two rules:

• Write the summary entirely in your own words by paraphrasing the author’s ideas.
• Cite the source with an in-text citation and a full reference so your reader can easily find the original text.

A summary is always much shorter than the original text. The length of a summary can range from just a few sentences to several paragraphs; it depends on the length of the article you’re summarizing, and on the purpose of the summary.

A summary is a short overview of the main points of an article or other source, written entirely in your own words. Want to make your life super easy? Try our free text summarizer today!

Ask our team

Want to contact us directly? No problem.  We  are always here for you.

• Email [email protected]
• Start live chat
• Call +1 (510) 822-8066
• WhatsApp +31 20 261 6040

Our team helps students graduate by offering:

• A world-class citation generator
• Plagiarism Checker software powered by Turnitin
• Innovative Citation Checker software
• Professional proofreading services
• Over 300 helpful articles about academic writing, citing sources, plagiarism, and more

Scribbr specializes in editing study-related documents . We proofread:

• PhD dissertations
• Research proposals
• Personal statements
• Admission essays
• Motivation letters
• Reflection papers
• Capstone projects

Scribbr’s Plagiarism Checker is powered by elements of Turnitin’s Similarity Checker , namely the plagiarism detection software and the Internet Archive and Premium Scholarly Publications content databases .

The add-on AI detector is powered by Scribbr’s proprietary software.

The Scribbr Citation Generator is developed using the open-source Citation Style Language (CSL) project and Frank Bennett’s citeproc-js . It’s the same technology used by dozens of other popular citation tools, including Mendeley and Zotero.

You can find all the citation styles and locales used in the Scribbr Citation Generator in our publicly accessible repository on Github .