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Research Summary – Structure, Examples and Writing Guide

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Research Summary

Definition:

A research summary is a brief and concise overview of a research project or study that highlights its key findings, main points, and conclusions. It typically includes a description of the research problem, the research methods used, the results obtained, and the implications or significance of the findings. It is often used as a tool to quickly communicate the main findings of a study to other researchers, stakeholders, or decision-makers.

Structure of Research Summary

The Structure of a Research Summary typically include:

• Introduction : This section provides a brief background of the research problem or question, explains the purpose of the study, and outlines the research objectives.
• Methodology : This section explains the research design, methods, and procedures used to conduct the study. It describes the sample size, data collection methods, and data analysis techniques.
• Results : This section presents the main findings of the study, including statistical analysis if applicable. It may include tables, charts, or graphs to visually represent the data.
• Discussion : This section interprets the results and explains their implications. It discusses the significance of the findings, compares them to previous research, and identifies any limitations or future directions for research.
• Conclusion : This section summarizes the main points of the research and provides a conclusion based on the findings. It may also suggest implications for future research or practical applications of the results.
• References : This section lists the sources cited in the research summary, following the appropriate citation style.

How to Write Research Summary

Here are the steps you can follow to write a research summary:

• Read the research article or study thoroughly: To write a summary, you must understand the research article or study you are summarizing. Therefore, read the article or study carefully to understand its purpose, research design, methodology, results, and conclusions.
• Identify the main points : Once you have read the research article or study, identify the main points, key findings, and research question. You can highlight or take notes of the essential points and findings to use as a reference when writing your summary.
• Write the introduction: Start your summary by introducing the research problem, research question, and purpose of the study. Briefly explain why the research is important and its significance.
• Summarize the methodology : In this section, summarize the research design, methods, and procedures used to conduct the study. Explain the sample size, data collection methods, and data analysis techniques.
• Present the results: Summarize the main findings of the study. Use tables, charts, or graphs to visually represent the data if necessary.
• Interpret the results: In this section, interpret the results and explain their implications. Discuss the significance of the findings, compare them to previous research, and identify any limitations or future directions for research.
• Conclude the summary : Summarize the main points of the research and provide a conclusion based on the findings. Suggest implications for future research or practical applications of the results.
• Revise and edit : Once you have written the summary, revise and edit it to ensure that it is clear, concise, and free of errors. Make sure that your summary accurately represents the research article or study.
• Add references: Include a list of references cited in the research summary, following the appropriate citation style.

Example of Research Summary

Here is an example of a research summary:

Title: The Effects of Yoga on Mental Health: A Meta-Analysis

Introduction: This meta-analysis examines the effects of yoga on mental health. The study aimed to investigate whether yoga practice can improve mental health outcomes such as anxiety, depression, stress, and quality of life.

Methodology : The study analyzed data from 14 randomized controlled trials that investigated the effects of yoga on mental health outcomes. The sample included a total of 862 participants. The yoga interventions varied in length and frequency, ranging from four to twelve weeks, with sessions lasting from 45 to 90 minutes.

Results : The meta-analysis found that yoga practice significantly improved mental health outcomes. Participants who practiced yoga showed a significant reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms, as well as stress levels. Quality of life also improved in those who practiced yoga.

Discussion : The findings of this study suggest that yoga can be an effective intervention for improving mental health outcomes. The study supports the growing body of evidence that suggests that yoga can have a positive impact on mental health. Limitations of the study include the variability of the yoga interventions, which may affect the generalizability of the findings.

Conclusion : Overall, the findings of this meta-analysis support the use of yoga as an effective intervention for improving mental health outcomes. Further research is needed to determine the optimal length and frequency of yoga interventions for different populations.

References :

• Cramer, H., Lauche, R., Langhorst, J., Dobos, G., & Berger, B. (2013). Yoga for depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Depression and anxiety, 30(11), 1068-1083.
• Khalsa, S. B. (2004). Yoga as a therapeutic intervention: a bibliometric analysis of published research studies. Indian journal of physiology and pharmacology, 48(3), 269-285.
• Ross, A., & Thomas, S. (2010). The health benefits of yoga and exercise: a review of comparison studies. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 16(1), 3-12.

Purpose of Research Summary

The purpose of a research summary is to provide a brief overview of a research project or study, including its main points, findings, and conclusions. The summary allows readers to quickly understand the essential aspects of the research without having to read the entire article or study.

Research summaries serve several purposes, including:

• Facilitating comprehension: A research summary allows readers to quickly understand the main points and findings of a research project or study without having to read the entire article or study. This makes it easier for readers to comprehend the research and its significance.
• Communicating research findings: Research summaries are often used to communicate research findings to a wider audience, such as policymakers, practitioners, or the general public. The summary presents the essential aspects of the research in a clear and concise manner, making it easier for non-experts to understand.
• Supporting decision-making: Research summaries can be used to support decision-making processes by providing a summary of the research evidence on a particular topic. This information can be used by policymakers or practitioners to make informed decisions about interventions, programs, or policies.
• Saving time: Research summaries save time for researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and other stakeholders who need to review multiple research studies. Rather than having to read the entire article or study, they can quickly review the summary to determine whether the research is relevant to their needs.

Characteristics of Research Summary

The following are some of the key characteristics of a research summary:

• Concise : A research summary should be brief and to the point, providing a clear and concise overview of the main points of the research.
• Objective : A research summary should be written in an objective tone, presenting the research findings without bias or personal opinion.
• Comprehensive : A research summary should cover all the essential aspects of the research, including the research question, methodology, results, and conclusions.
• Accurate : A research summary should accurately reflect the key findings and conclusions of the research.
• Clear and well-organized: A research summary should be easy to read and understand, with a clear structure and logical flow.
• Relevant : A research summary should focus on the most important and relevant aspects of the research, highlighting the key findings and their implications.
• Audience-specific: A research summary should be tailored to the intended audience, using language and terminology that is appropriate and accessible to the reader.
• Citations : A research summary should include citations to the original research articles or studies, allowing readers to access the full text of the research if desired.

When to write Research Summary

Here are some situations when it may be appropriate to write a research summary:

• Proposal stage: A research summary can be included in a research proposal to provide a brief overview of the research aims, objectives, methodology, and expected outcomes.
• Conference presentation: A research summary can be prepared for a conference presentation to summarize the main findings of a study or research project.
• Journal submission: Many academic journals require authors to submit a research summary along with their research article or study. The summary provides a brief overview of the study’s main points, findings, and conclusions and helps readers quickly understand the research.
• Funding application: A research summary can be included in a funding application to provide a brief summary of the research aims, objectives, and expected outcomes.
• Policy brief: A research summary can be prepared as a policy brief to communicate research findings to policymakers or stakeholders in a concise and accessible manner.

Advantages of Research Summary

Research summaries offer several advantages, including:

• Time-saving: A research summary saves time for readers who need to understand the key findings and conclusions of a research project quickly. Rather than reading the entire research article or study, readers can quickly review the summary to determine whether the research is relevant to their needs.
• Clarity and accessibility: A research summary provides a clear and accessible overview of the research project’s main points, making it easier for readers to understand the research without having to be experts in the field.
• Improved comprehension: A research summary helps readers comprehend the research by providing a brief and focused overview of the key findings and conclusions, making it easier to understand the research and its significance.
• Enhanced communication: Research summaries can be used to communicate research findings to a wider audience, such as policymakers, practitioners, or the general public, in a concise and accessible manner.
• Facilitated decision-making: Research summaries can support decision-making processes by providing a summary of the research evidence on a particular topic. Policymakers or practitioners can use this information to make informed decisions about interventions, programs, or policies.
• Increased dissemination: Research summaries can be easily shared and disseminated, allowing research findings to reach a wider audience.

Limitations of Research Summary

Limitations of the Research Summary are as follows:

• Limited scope: Research summaries provide a brief overview of the research project’s main points, findings, and conclusions, which can be limiting. They may not include all the details, nuances, and complexities of the research that readers may need to fully understand the study’s implications.
• Risk of oversimplification: Research summaries can be oversimplified, reducing the complexity of the research and potentially distorting the findings or conclusions.
• Lack of context: Research summaries may not provide sufficient context to fully understand the research findings, such as the research background, methodology, or limitations. This may lead to misunderstandings or misinterpretations of the research.
• Possible bias: Research summaries may be biased if they selectively emphasize certain findings or conclusions over others, potentially distorting the overall picture of the research.
• Format limitations: Research summaries may be constrained by the format or length requirements, making it challenging to fully convey the research’s main points, findings, and conclusions.
• Accessibility: Research summaries may not be accessible to all readers, particularly those with limited literacy skills, visual impairments, or language barriers.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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How To Write A Research Summary

It’s a common perception that writing a research summary is a quick and easy task. After all, how hard can jotting down 300 words be? But when you consider the weight those 300 words carry, writing a research summary as a part of your dissertation, essay or compelling draft for your paper instantly becomes daunting task.

A research summary requires you to synthesize a complex research paper into an informative, self-explanatory snapshot. It needs to portray what your article contains. Thus, writing it often comes at the end of the task list.

Regardless of when you’re planning to write, it is no less of a challenge, particularly if you’re doing it for the first time. This blog will take you through everything you need to know about research summary so that you have an easier time with it.

What is a Research Summary?

A research summary is the part of your research paper that describes its findings to the audience in a brief yet concise manner. A well-curated research summary represents you and your knowledge about the information written in the research paper.

While writing a quality research summary, you need to discover and identify the significant points in the research and condense it in a more straightforward form. A research summary is like a doorway that provides access to the structure of a research paper's sections.

Since the purpose of a summary is to give an overview of the topic, methodology, and conclusions employed in a paper, it requires an objective approach. No analysis or criticism.

Research summary or Abstract. What’s the Difference?

They’re both brief, concise, and give an overview of an aspect of the research paper. So, it’s easy to understand why many new researchers get the two confused. However, a research summary and abstract are two very different things with individual purpose. To start with, a research summary is written at the end while the abstract comes at the beginning of a research paper.

A research summary captures the essence of the paper at the end of your document. It focuses on your topic, methods, and findings. More like a TL;DR, if you will. An abstract, on the other hand, is a description of what your research paper is about. It tells your reader what your topic or hypothesis is, and sets a context around why you have embarked on your research.

Getting Started with a Research Summary

Before you start writing, you need to get insights into your research’s content, style, and organization. There are three fundamental areas of a research summary that you should focus on.

• While deciding the contents of your research summary, you must include a section on its importance as a whole, the techniques, and the tools that were used to formulate the conclusion. Additionally, there needs to be a short but thorough explanation of how the findings of the research paper have a significance.
• To keep the summary well-organized, try to cover the various sections of the research paper in separate paragraphs. Besides, how the idea of particular factual research came up first must be explained in a separate paragraph.
• As a general practice worldwide, research summaries are restricted to 300-400 words. However, if you have chosen a lengthy research paper, try not to exceed the word limit of 10% of the entire research paper.

How to Structure Your Research Summary

The research summary is nothing but a concise form of the entire research paper. Therefore, the structure of a summary stays the same as the paper. So, include all the section titles and write a little about them. The structural elements that a research summary must consist of are:

It represents the topic of the research. Try to phrase it so that it includes the key findings or conclusion of the task.

The abstract gives a context of the research paper. Unlike the abstract at the beginning of a paper, the abstract here, should be very short since you’ll be working with a limited word count.

Introduction

This is the most crucial section of a research summary as it helps readers get familiarized with the topic. You should include the definition of your topic, the current state of the investigation, and practical relevance in this part. Additionally, you should present the problem statement, investigative measures, and any hypothesis in this section.

Methodology

This section provides details about the methodology and the methods adopted to conduct the study. You should write a brief description of the surveys, sampling, type of experiments, statistical analysis, and the rationality behind choosing those particular methods.

Create a list of evidence obtained from the various experiments with a primary analysis, conclusions, and interpretations made upon that. In the paper research paper, you will find the results section as the most detailed and lengthy part. Therefore, you must pick up the key elements and wisely decide which elements are worth including and which are worth skipping.

This is where you present the interpretation of results in the context of their application. Discussion usually covers results, inferences, and theoretical models explaining the obtained values, key strengths, and limitations. All of these are vital elements that you must include in the summary.

Most research papers merge conclusion with discussions. However, depending upon the instructions, you may have to prepare this as a separate section in your research summary. Usually, conclusion revisits the hypothesis and provides the details about the validation or denial about the arguments made in the research paper, based upon how convincing the results were obtained.

The structure of a research summary closely resembles the anatomy of a scholarly article . Additionally, you should keep your research and references limited to authentic and  scholarly sources only.

Tips for Writing a Research Summary

The core concept behind undertaking a research summary is to present a simple and clear understanding of your research paper to the reader. The biggest hurdle while doing that is the number of words you have at your disposal. So, follow the steps below to write a research summary that sticks.

1. Read the parent paper thoroughly

You should go through the research paper thoroughly multiple times to ensure that you have a complete understanding of its contents. A 3-stage reading process helps.

a. Scan: In the first read, go through it to get an understanding of its basic concept and methodologies.

b. Read: For the second step, read the article attentively by going through each section, highlighting the key elements, and subsequently listing the topics that you will include in your research summary.

c. Skim: Flip through the article a few more times to study the interpretation of various experimental results, statistical analysis, and application in different contexts.

Sincerely go through different headings and subheadings as it will allow you to understand the underlying concept of each section. You can try reading the introduction and conclusion simultaneously to understand the motive of the task and how obtained results stay fit to the expected outcome.

2. Identify the key elements in different sections

While exploring different sections of an article, you can try finding answers to simple what, why, and how. Below are a few pointers to give you an idea:

• What is the research question and how is it addressed?
• Is there a hypothesis in the introductory part?
• What type of methods are being adopted?
• What is the sample size for data collection and how is it being analyzed?
• What are the most vital findings?
• Do the results support the hypothesis?

Discussion/Conclusion

• What is the final solution to the problem statement?
• What is the explanation for the obtained results?
• What is the drawn inference?
• What are the various limitations of the study?

3. Prepare the first draft

Now that you’ve listed the key points that the paper tries to demonstrate, you can start writing the summary following the standard structure of a research summary. Just make sure you’re not writing statements from the parent research paper verbatim.

Instead, try writing down each section in your own words. This will not only help in avoiding plagiarism but will also show your complete understanding of the subject. Alternatively, you can use a summarizing tool (AI-based summary generators) to shorten the content or summarize the content without disrupting the actual meaning of the article.

SciSpace Copilot is one such helpful feature! You can easily upload your research paper and ask Copilot to summarize it. You will get an AI-generated, condensed research summary. SciSpace Copilot also enables you to highlight text, clip math and tables, and ask any question relevant to the research paper; it will give you instant answers with deeper context of the article..

4. Include visuals

One of the best ways to summarize and consolidate a research paper is to provide visuals like graphs, charts, pie diagrams, etc.. Visuals make getting across the facts, the past trends, and the probabilistic figures around a concept much more engaging.

5. Double check for plagiarism

It can be very tempting to copy-paste a few statements or the entire paragraphs depending upon the clarity of those sections. But it’s best to stay away from the practice. Even paraphrasing should be done with utmost care and attention.

Also: QuillBot vs SciSpace: Choose the best AI-paraphrasing tool

6. Religiously follow the word count limit

You need to have strict control while writing different sections of a research summary. In many cases, it has been observed that the research summary and the parent research paper become the same length. If that happens, it can lead to discrediting of your efforts and research summary itself. Whatever the standard word limit has been imposed, you must observe that carefully.

7. Proofread your research summary multiple times

The process of writing the research summary can be exhausting and tiring. However, you shouldn’t allow this to become a reason to skip checking your academic writing several times for mistakes like misspellings, grammar, wordiness, and formatting issues. Proofread and edit until you think your research summary can stand out from the others, provided it is drafted perfectly on both technicality and comprehension parameters. You can also seek assistance from editing and proofreading services , and other free tools that help you keep these annoying grammatical errors at bay.

8. Watch while you write

Keep a keen observation of your writing style. You should use the words very precisely, and in any situation, it should not represent your personal opinions on the topic. You should write the entire research summary in utmost impersonal, precise, factually correct, and evidence-based writing.

9. Ask a friend/colleague to help

Once you are done with the final copy of your research summary, you must ask a friend or colleague to read it. You must test whether your friend or colleague could grasp everything without referring to the parent paper. This will help you in ensuring the clarity of the article.

Once you become familiar with the research paper summary concept and understand how to apply the tips discussed above in your current task, summarizing a research summary won’t be that challenging. While traversing the different stages of your academic career, you will face different scenarios where you may have to create several research summaries.

In such cases, you just need to look for answers to simple questions like “Why this study is necessary,” “what were the methods,” “who were the participants,” “what conclusions were drawn from the research,” and “how it is relevant to the wider world.” Once you find out the answers to these questions, you can easily create a good research summary following the standard structure and a precise writing style.

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Research Summary: What is it & how to write one

The Research Summary is used to report facts about a study clearly. You will almost certainly be required to prepare a research summary during your academic research or while on a research project for your organization.

If it is the first time you have to write one, the writing requirements may confuse you. The instructors generally assign someone to write a summary of the research work. Research summaries require the writer to have a thorough understanding of the issue.

This article will discuss the definition of a research summary and how to write one.

What is a research summary?

A research summary is a piece of writing that summarizes your research on a specific topic. Its primary goal is to offer the reader a detailed overview of the study with the key findings. A research summary generally contains the article’s structure in which it is written.

You must know the goal of your analysis before you launch a project. A research overview summarizes the detailed response and highlights particular issues raised in it. Writing it might be somewhat troublesome. To write a good overview, you want to start with a structure in mind. Read on for our guide.

Why is an analysis recap so important?

Your summary or analysis is going to tell readers everything about your research project. This is the critical piece that your stakeholders will read to identify your findings and valuable insights. Having a good and concise research summary that presents facts and comes with no research biases is the critical deliverable of any research project.

We’ve put together a cheat sheet to help you write a good research summary below.

Research Summary Guide

• Why was this research done?  – You want to give a clear description of why this research study was done. What hypothesis was being tested?
• Who was surveyed? – The what and why or your research decides who you’re going to interview/survey. Your research summary has a detailed note on who participated in the study and why they were selected. 
• What was the methodology? – Talk about the methodology. Did you do face-to-face interviews? Was it a short or long survey or a focus group setting? Your research methodology is key to the results you’re going to get. 
• What were the key findings? – This can be the most critical part of the process. What did we find out after testing the hypothesis? This section, like all others, should be just facts, facts facts. You’re not sharing how you feel about the findings. Keep it bias-free.
• Conclusion – What are the conclusions that were drawn from the findings. A good example of a conclusion. Surprisingly, most people interviewed did not watch the lunar eclipse in 2022, which is unexpected given that 100% of those interviewed knew about it before it happened.
• Takeaways and action points – This is where you bring in your suggestion. Given the data you now have from the research, what are the takeaways and action points? If you’re a researcher running this research project for your company, you’ll use this part to shed light on your recommended action plans for the business.

LEARN ABOUT:   Action Research

If you’re doing any research, you will write a summary, which will be the most viewed and more important part of the project. So keep a guideline in mind before you start. Focus on the content first and then worry about the length. Use the cheat sheet/checklist in this article to organize your summary, and that’s all you need to write a great research summary!

But once your summary is ready, where is it stored? Most teams have multiple documents in their google drives, and it’s a nightmare to find projects that were done in the past. Your research data should be democratized and easy to use.

We at QuestionPro launched a research repository for research teams, and our clients love it. All your data is in one place, and everything is searchable, including your research summaries! 

Authors: Prachi, Anas

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• Research Summary: What Is It & How To Write One

Introduction

A research summary is a requirement during academic research and sometimes you might need to prepare a research summary during a research project for an organization.

Most people find a research summary a daunting task as you are required to condense complex research material into an informative, easy-to-understand article most times with a minimum of 300-500 words.

In this post, we will guide you through all the steps required to make writing your research summary an easier task. 

What is a Research Summary?

A research summary is a piece of writing that summarizes the research of a specific topic into bite-size easy-to-read and comprehend articles. The primary goal is to give the reader a detailed outline of the key findings of a research.

It is an unavoidable requirement in colleges and universities. To write a good research summary, you must understand the goal of your research, as this would help make the process easier. 

A research summary preserves the structure and sections of the article it is derived from.

Research Summary or Abstract: What’s The Difference?

The Research Summary and Abstract are similar, especially as they are both brief, straight to the point, and provide an overview of the entire research paper. However, there are very clear differences.

To begin with, a Research summary is written at the end of a research activity, while the Abstract is written at the beginning of a research paper. 

A Research Summary captures the main points of a study, with an emphasis on the topic, method , and discoveries, an Abstract is a description of what your research paper would talk about and the reason for your research or the hypothesis you are trying to validate.

Let us take a deeper look at the difference between both terms.

What is an Abstract?

An abstract is a short version of a research paper. It is written to convey the findings of the research to the reader. It provides the reader with information that would help them understand the research, by giving them a clear idea about the subject matter of a research paper. It is usually submitted before the presentation of a research paper.

What is a Summary?

A summary is a short form of an essay, a research paper, or a chapter in a book. A research summary is a narration of a research study, condensing the focal points of research to a shorter form, usually aligned with the same structure of the research study, from which the summary is derived.

What Is The Difference Between an Abstract and a Summary?

An abstract communicates the main points of a research paper, it includes the questions, major findings, the importance of the findings, etc.

An abstract reflects the perceptions of the author about a topic, while a research summary reflects the ideology of the research study that is being summarized.

Getting Started with a Research Summary

Before commencing a research summary, there is a need to understand the style and organization of the content you plan to summarize. There are three fundamental areas of the research that should be the focal point:

• When deciding on the content include a section that speaks to the importance of the research, and the techniques and tools used to arrive at your conclusion.
• Keep the summary well organized, and use paragraphs to discuss the various sections of the research.
• Restrict your research to 300-400 words which is the standard practice for research summaries globally. However, if the research paper you want to summarize is a lengthy one, do not exceed 10% of the entire research material.

Once you have satisfied the requirements of the fundamentals for starting your research summary, you can now begin to write using the following format:

• Why was this research done?   – A clear description of the reason the research was embarked on and the hypothesis being tested.
• Who was surveyed? – Your research study should have details of the source of your information. If it was via a survey, you should document who the participants of the survey were and the reason that they were selected.
• What was the methodology? – Discuss the methodology, in terms of what kind of survey method did you adopt. Was it a face-to-face interview, a phone interview, or a focus group setting?
• What were the key findings? – This is perhaps the most vital part of the process. What discoveries did you make after the testing? This part should be based on raw facts free from any personal bias.
• Conclusion – What conclusions did you draw from the findings?
• Takeaways and action points – This is where your views and perception can be reflected. Here, you can now share your recommendations or action points.
• Identify the focal point of the article –  In other to get a grasp of the content covered in the research paper, you can skim the article first, in a bid to understand the most essential part of the research paper. 
• Analyze and understand the topic and article – Writing a summary of a research paper involves being familiar with the topic –  the current state of knowledge, key definitions, concepts, and models. This is often gleaned while reading the literature review. Please note that only a deep understanding ensures efficient and accurate summarization of the content.
• Make notes as you read – Highlight and summarize each paragraph as you read. Your notes are what you would further condense to create a draft that would form your research summary.

How to Structure Your Research Summary

• Title – This highlights the area of analysis, and can be formulated to briefly highlight key findings.
• Abstract – this is a very brief and comprehensive description of the study, required in every academic article, with a length of 100-500 words at most. 
• Introduction – this is a vital part of any research summary, it provides the context and the literature review that gently introduces readers to the subject matter. The introduction usually covers definitions, questions, and hypotheses of the research study. 
• Methodology –This section emphasizes the process and or data analysis methods used, in terms of experiments, surveys, sampling, or statistical analysis. 
• Results section – this section lists in detail the results derived from the research with evidence obtained from all the experiments conducted.
• Discussion – these parts discuss the results within the context of current knowledge among subject matter experts. Interpretation of results and theoretical models explaining the observed results, the strengths of the study, and the limitations experienced are going to be a part of the discussion. 
• Conclusion – In a conclusion, hypotheses are discussed and revalidated or denied, based on how convincing the evidence is.
• References – this section is for giving credit to those who work you studied to create your summary. You do this by providing appropriate citations as you write.

Research Summary Example 1

Below are some defining elements of a sample research summary.

Title – “The probability of an unexpected volcanic eruption in Greenwich”

Introduction – this section would list the catastrophic consequences that occurred in the country and the importance of analyzing this event. 

Hypothesis –  An eruption of the Greenwich supervolcano would be preceded by intense preliminary activity manifesting in advance, before the eruption.

Results – these could contain a report of statistical data from various volcanic eruptions happening globally while looking critically at the activity that occurred before these events. 

Discussion and conclusion – Given that Greenwich is now consistently monitored by scientists and that signs of an eruption are usually detected before the volcanic eruption, this confirms the hypothesis. Hence creating an emergency plan outlining other intervention measures and ultimately evacuation is essential. 

Research Summary Example 2

Below is another sample sketch.

Title – “The frequency of extreme weather events in the UK in 2000-2008 as compared to the ‘60s”

Introduction – Weather events bring intense material damage and cause pain to the victims affected.

Hypothesis – Extreme weather events are more frequent in recent times compared to the ‘50s

Results – The frequency of several categories of extreme events now and then are listed here, such as droughts, fires, massive rainfall/snowfalls, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, etc.

Discussion and conclusion – Several types of extreme events have become more commonplace in recent times, confirming the hypothesis. This rise in extreme weather events can be traced to rising CO2 levels and increasing temperatures and global warming explain the rising frequency of these disasters. Addressing the rising CO2 levels and paying attention to climate change is the only to combat this phenomenon.

A research summary is the short form of a research paper, analyzing the important aspect of the study. Everyone who reads a research summary has a full grasp of the main idea being discussed in the original research paper. Conducting any research means you will write a summary, which is an important part of your project and would be the most read part of your project.

Having a guideline before you start helps, this would form your checklist which would guide your actions as you write your research summary. It is important to note that a Research Summary is different from an Abstract paper written at the beginning of a research paper, describing the idea behind a research paper.

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• How to Write a Summary | Guide & Examples

How to Write a Summary | Guide & Examples

Published on 25 September 2022 by Shona McCombes . Revised on 12 May 2023.

Summarising , or writing a summary, means giving a concise overview of a text’s main points in your own words. A summary is always much shorter than the original text.

There are five key steps that can help you to write a summary:

• Read the text
• Break it down into sections
• Identify the key points in each section
• Write the summary
• Check the summary against the article

Writing a summary does not involve critiquing or analysing the source. You should simply provide an accurate account of the most important information and ideas (without copying any text from the original).

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Table of contents

When to write a summary, step 1: read the text, step 2: break the text down into sections, step 3: identify the key points in each section, step 4: write the summary, step 5: check the summary against the article, frequently asked questions.

There are many situations in which you might have to summarise an article or other source:

• As a stand-alone assignment to show you’ve understood the material
• To keep notes that will help you remember what you’ve read
• To give an overview of other researchers’ work in a literature review

When you’re writing an academic text like an essay , research paper , or dissertation , you’ll integrate sources in a variety of ways. You might use a brief quote to support your point, or paraphrase a few sentences or paragraphs.

But it’s often appropriate to summarize a whole article or chapter if it is especially relevant to your own research, or to provide an overview of a source before you analyse or critique it.

In any case, the goal of summarising is to give your reader a clear understanding of the original source. Follow the five steps outlined below to write a good summary.

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You should read the article more than once to make sure you’ve thoroughly understood it. It’s often effective to read in three stages:

• Scan the article quickly to get a sense of its topic and overall shape.
• Read the article carefully, highlighting important points and taking notes as you read.
• Skim the article again to confirm you’ve understood the key points, and reread any particularly important or difficult passages.

There are some tricks you can use to identify the key points as you read:

• Start by reading the abstract . This already contains the author’s own summary of their work, and it tells you what to expect from the article.
• Pay attention to headings and subheadings . These should give you a good sense of what each part is about.
• Read the introduction and the conclusion together and compare them: What did the author set out to do, and what was the outcome?

To make the text more manageable and understand its sub-points, break it down into smaller sections.

If the text is a scientific paper that follows a standard empirical structure, it is probably already organised into clearly marked sections, usually including an introduction, methods, results, and discussion.

Other types of articles may not be explicitly divided into sections. But most articles and essays will be structured around a series of sub-points or themes.

Now it’s time go through each section and pick out its most important points. What does your reader need to know to understand the overall argument or conclusion of the article?

Keep in mind that a summary does not involve paraphrasing every single paragraph of the article. Your goal is to extract the essential points, leaving out anything that can be considered background information or supplementary detail.

In a scientific article, there are some easy questions you can ask to identify the key points in each part.

If the article takes a different form, you might have to think more carefully about what points are most important for the reader to understand its argument.

In that case, pay particular attention to the thesis statement —the central claim that the author wants us to accept, which usually appears in the introduction—and the topic sentences that signal the main idea of each paragraph.

Now that you know the key points that the article aims to communicate, you need to put them in your own words.

To avoid plagiarism and show you’ve understood the article, it’s essential to properly paraphrase the author’s ideas. Do not copy and paste parts of the article, not even just a sentence or two.

The best way to do this is to put the article aside and write out your own understanding of the author’s key points.

Examples of article summaries

Let’s take a look at an example. Below, we summarise this article , which scientifically investigates the old saying ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’.

An article summary like the above would be appropriate for a stand-alone summary assignment. However, you’ll often want to give an even more concise summary of an article.

For example, in a literature review or research paper, you may want to briefly summarize this study as part of a wider discussion of various sources. In this case, we can boil our summary down even further to include only the most relevant information.

Citing the source you’re summarizing

When including a summary as part of a larger text, it’s essential to properly cite the source you’re summarizing. The exact format depends on your citation style , but it usually includes an in-text citation and a full reference at the end of your paper.

You can easily create your citations and references in APA or MLA using our free citation generators.

APA Citation Generator MLA Citation Generator

Finally, read through the article once more to ensure that:

• You’ve accurately represented the author’s work
• You haven’t missed any essential information
• The phrasing is not too similar to any sentences in the original.

If you’re summarising many articles as part of your own work, it may be a good idea to use a plagiarism checker to double-check that your text is completely original and properly cited. Just be sure to use one that’s safe and reliable.

A summary is a short overview of the main points of an article or other source, written entirely in your own words.

Save yourself some time with the free summariser.

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 summarising, and on the purpose of the summary.

With the summariser tool you can easily adjust the length of your summary.

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 summarise or introduce a relevant study

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

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

An abstract concisely explains all the key points of an academic text such as a thesis , dissertation or journal article. It should summarise 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 summarise a source in a paper , in a literature review , or as a standalone assignment.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

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Frequently asked questions

What is a 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!

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

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 .

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.

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Writing a Summary – Explanation & Examples

Published by Alvin Nicolas at October 17th, 2023 , Revised On October 17, 2023

In a world bombarded with vast amounts of information, condensing and presenting data in a digestible format becomes invaluable. Enter summaries. 

A summary is a brief and concise account of the main points of a larger body of work. It distils complex ideas, narratives, or data into a version that is quicker to read and easier to understand yet still retains the essence of the original content.

Importance of Summaries

The importance of summarising extends far beyond just making reading more manageable. In academic settings, summaries aid students in understanding and retaining complex materials, from textbook chapters to research articles. They also serve as tools to showcase one’s grasp of the subject in essays and reports. 

In professional arenas, summaries are pivotal in business reports, executive briefings, and even emails where key points need to be conveyed quickly to decision-makers. Meanwhile, summarising skills come into play in our personal lives when we relay news stories to friends, recap a movie plot, or even scroll through condensed news or app notifications on our smartphones.

Why Do We Write Summaries?

In our modern information age, the sheer volume of content available can be overwhelming. From detailed research papers to comprehensive news articles, the quest for knowledge is often met with lengthy and complex resources. This is where the power of a well-crafted summary comes into play. But what drives us to create or seek out summaries? Let’s discuss.

Makes Important Things Easy to Remember

At the heart of summarisation is the goal to understand. A well-written summary aids in digesting complex material. By distilling larger works into their core points, we reinforce the primary messages, making them easier to remember. This is especially crucial for students who need to retain knowledge for exams or professionals prepping for a meeting based on a lengthy report.

Simplification of Complex Topics

Not everyone is an expert in every field. Often, topics come laden with jargon, intricate details, and nuanced arguments. Summaries act as a bridge, translating this complexity into accessible and straightforward content. This is especially beneficial for individuals new to a topic or those who need just the highlights without the intricacies.

Aid in Researching and Understanding Diverse Sources

Researchers, writers, and academics often wade through many sources when working on a project. This involves finding sources of different types, such as primary or secondary sources , and then understanding their content. Sifting through each source in its entirety can be time-consuming. Summaries offer a streamlined way to understand each source’s main arguments or findings, making synthesising information from diverse materials more efficient.

Condensing Information for Presentation or Sharing

In professional settings, there is often a need to present findings, updates, or recommendations to stakeholders. An executive might not have the time to go through a 50-page report, but they would certainly appreciate a concise summary highlighting the key points. Similarly, in our personal lives, we often summarise movie plots, book stories, or news events when sharing with friends or family.

Characteristics of a Good Summary

Crafting an effective summary is an art. It’s more than just shortening a piece of content; it is about capturing the essence of the original work in a manner that is both accessible and true to its intent. Let’s explore the primary characteristics that distinguish a good summary from a mediocre one:

Conciseness

At the core of a summary is the concept of brevity. But being concise doesn’t mean leaving out vital information. A good summary will:

• Eliminate superfluous details or repetitive points.
• Focus on the primary arguments, events, or findings.
• Use succinct language without compromising the message.

Objectivity

Summarising is not about infusing personal opinions or interpretations. A quality summary will:

• Stick to the facts as presented in the original content.
• Avoid introducing personal biases or perspectives.
• Represent the original author’s intent faithfully.

A summary is meant to simplify and make content accessible. This is only possible if the summary itself is easy to understand. Ensuring clarity involves:

• Avoiding jargon or technical terms unless they are essential to the content. If they are used, they should be clearly defined.
• Structuring sentences in a straightforward manner.
• Making sure ideas are presented in a way that even someone unfamiliar with the topic can grasp the primary points.

A jumble of ideas, no matter how concise, will not make for a good summary. Coherence ensures that there’s a logical flow to the summarised content. A coherent summary will:

• Maintain a logical sequence, often following the structure of the original content.
• Use transition words or phrases to connect ideas and ensure smooth progression.
• Group related ideas together to provide structure and avoid confusion.

Steps of Writing a Summary

The process of creating a compelling summary is not merely about cutting down content. It involves understanding, discerning, and crafting. Here is a step-by-step guide to writing a summary that encapsulates the essence of the original work:

Reading Actively

Engage deeply with the content to ensure a thorough understanding.

• Read the entire document or work first to grasp its overall intent and structure.
• On the second read, underline or highlight the standout points or pivotal moments.
• Make brief notes in the margins or on a separate sheet, capturing the core ideas in your own words.

Identifying the Main Idea

Determine the backbone of the content, around which all other details revolve.

• Ask yourself: “What is the primary message or theme the author wants to convey?”
• This can often be found in the title, introduction, or conclusion of a piece.
• Frame the main idea in a clear and concise statement to guide your summary.

List Key Supporting Points

Understand the pillars that uphold the main idea, providing evidence or depth to the primary message.

• Refer back to the points you underlined or highlighted during your active reading.
• Note major arguments, evidence, or examples that the author uses to back up the main idea.
• Prioritise these points based on their significance to the main idea.

Draft the Summary

Convert your understanding into a condensed, coherent version of the original.

• Start with a statement of the main idea.
• Follow with the key supporting points, maintaining logical order.
• Avoid including trivial details or examples unless they’re crucial to the primary message.
• Use your own words, ensuring you are not plagiarising the original content.

Fine-tune your draft to ensure clarity, accuracy, and brevity.

• Read your draft aloud to check for flow and coherence.
• Ensure that your summary remains objective, avoiding any personal interpretations or biases.
• Check the length. See if any non-essential details can be removed without sacrificing understanding if it is too lengthy.
• Ensure clarity by ensuring the language is straightforward, and the main ideas are easily grasped.

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Dos and Don’ts of Summarising Key Points

Summarising, while seemingly straightforward, comes with its nuances. Properly condensing content demands a balance between brevity and fidelity to the original work. To aid in crafting exemplary summaries, here is a guide on the essential dos and don’ts:

Use your Own Words

This ensures that you have truly understood the content and are not merely parroting it. It also prevents issues of plagiarism.

Tip: After reading the original content, take a moment to reflect on it. Then, without looking at the source, write down the main points in your own words.

Attribute Sources Properly

Giving credit is both ethical and provides context to readers, helping them trace back to the original work if needed. How to cite sources correctly is a skill every writer should master.

Tip: Use signal phrases like “According to [Author/Source]…” or “As [Author/Source] points out…” to seamlessly incorporate attributions.

Ensure Accuracy of the Summarised Content

A summary should be a reliable reflection of the original content. Distorting or misrepresenting the original ideas compromises the integrity of the summary.

Tip: After drafting your summary, cross-check with the original content to ensure all key points are represented accurately and ensure you are referencing credible sources .

Avoid Copy-Pasting Chunks of Original Content

This not only raises plagiarism concerns but also shows a lack of genuine engagement with the material.

Tip: If a particular phrase or sentence from the original is pivotal and cannot be reworded without losing its essence, use block quotes , quotation marks, and attribute the source.

Do not Inject your Personal Opinion

A summary should be an objective reflection of the source material. Introducing personal biases or interpretations can mislead readers.

Tip: Stick to the facts and arguments presented in the original content. If you find yourself writing “I think” or “In my opinion,” reevaluate the sentence.

Do not Omit Crucial Information

While a summary is meant to be concise, it shouldn’t be at the expense of vital details that are essential to understanding the original content’s core message.

Tip: Prioritise information. Always include the main idea and its primary supports. If you are unsure whether a detail is crucial, consider its impact on the overall message.

Examples of Summaries

Here are a few examples that will help you get a clearer view of how to write a summary. 

Example 1: Summary of a News Article

Original Article: The article reports on the recent discovery of a rare species of frog in the Amazon rainforest. The frog, named the “Emerald Whisperer” due to its unique green hue and the soft chirping sounds it makes, was found by a team of researchers from the University of Texas. The discovery is significant as it offers insights into the biodiversity of the region, and the Emerald Whisperer might also play a pivotal role in understanding the ecosystem balance.

Summary: Researchers from the University of Texas have discovered a unique frog, termed the “Emerald Whisperer,” in the Amazon rainforest. This finding sheds light on the region’s biodiversity and underscores the importance of the frog in ecological studies.

Example 2: Summary of a Research Paper

Original Paper: In a study titled “The Impact of Urbanisation on Bee Populations,” researchers conducted a year-long observation on bee colonies in three urban areas and three rural areas. Using specific metrics like colony health, bee productivity, and population size, the study found that urban environments saw a 30% decline in bee populations compared to rural settings. The research attributes this decline to factors like pollution, reduced green spaces, and increased temperatures in urban areas.

Summary: A study analysing the effects of urbanisation on bee colonies found a significant 30% decrease in bee populations in urban settings compared to rural areas. The decline is linked to urban factors such as pollution, diminished greenery, and elevated temperatures.

Example 3: Summary of a Novel

Original Story: In the novel “Winds of Fate,” protagonist Clara is trapped in a timeless city where memories dictate reality. Throughout her journey, she encounters characters from her past, present, and imagined future. Battling her own perceptions and a menacing shadow figure, Clara seeks an elusive gateway to return to her real world. In the climax, she confronts the shadow, which turns out to be her own fear, and upon overcoming it, she finds her way back, realising that reality is subjective.

Summary: “Winds of Fate” follows Clara’s adventures in a surreal city shaped by memories. Confronting figures from various phases of her life and battling a symbolic shadow of her own fear, Clara eventually discovers that reality’s perception is malleable and subjective.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is a summary.

A summary condenses a larger piece of content, capturing its main points and essence.  It is usually one-fourth of the original content.

What is a summary?

A summary is a concise representation of a larger text or content, highlighting its main ideas and points. It distils complex information into a shorter form, allowing readers to quickly grasp the essence of the original material without delving into extensive details. Summaries prioritise clarity, brevity, and accuracy.

When should I write a summary?

Write a summary when you need to condense lengthy content for easier comprehension and recall. It’s useful in academic settings, professional reports, presentations, and research to highlight key points. Summaries aid in comparing multiple sources, preparing for discussions, and sharing essential details of extensive materials efficiently with others.

How can I summarise a source without plagiarising?

To summarise without plagiarising: Read the source thoroughly, understand its main ideas, and then write the summary in your own words. Avoid copying phrases verbatim. Attribute the source properly. Use paraphrasing techniques and cross-check your summary against the original to ensure distinctiveness while retaining accuracy. Always prioritise understanding over direct replication.

What is the difference between a summary and an abstract?

A summary condenses a text, capturing its main points from various content types like books, articles, or movies. An abstract, typically found in research papers and scientific articles, provides a brief overview of the study’s purpose, methodology, results, and conclusions. Both offer concise versions, but abstracts are more structured and specific.

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In research and information acquisition, locating credible sources is paramount. Whether you are a scholar engaged in academic discourse, a professional endeavouring to remain abreast of developments in your field, or an inquisitive individual plunging into a specific subject, the capacity to procure dependable sources is an essential skill.

In today’s information age, where vast amounts of knowledge are easily accessible, it is crucial to know how to use and represent that knowledge correctly and how to cite sources properly.

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How to Write a Summary of a Research Paper and Scientific Articles

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Against the backdrop of a rapidly growing number of research papers being published, it is becoming increasingly important for researchers to know how to summarize a research paper effectively to make their work stand out among the noise. Writing a research paper summary is an important skill that will be put to use time and again in one’s academic career.

What is a research summary and why is it important?

A research article summary is a concise and comprehensive overview of a research paper. A summary briefly restates the purpose, methods, findings, conclusions, and relevance of a study, faithfully recapitulating the major points of the work.

Summaries are useful because they inform readers of the key points of the original sources. Further, research paper summaries can be used to guide funding or policy decisions. Summaries are also important to promote one’s research to a wide audience; boiling down one’s work for a blog post is a good way to do this.

Most importantly, a well-written summary gives a good impression of the author’s understanding of the work: the quote “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it enough” rings true!

Structure and qualities of a good summary

A summary must be coherent and cogent and should make sense as a stand-alone piece of writing. It is typically 5% to 10% of the length of the original paper; however, the length depends on the length and complexity of the article and the purpose of the summary. Accordingly, a summary can be several paragraphs or pages, a single paragraph, or even just a sentence.

One-sentence summaries are becoming popular for promoting one’s research via social media. A one-sentence summary should be engaging, include the key points, and be within the recommended character/word limit (e.g., 280 characters for Twitter).

In a one-paragraph summary, each supporting point is addressed in a separate sentence (see Fig. 1).

In a multi-paragraph summary, each point is described in a separate paragraph. Such summaries generally have the following structure (the headings may vary):

• Introduction: This begins with an overview of the article and ends with the main idea and hypothesis statement.
• Body paragraphs: The number of paragraphs in the summary depends on the length of the original article. Each paragraph focuses on a separate main idea and the most important aspects of the study.
• Concluding paragraph: This distils the main idea and the overarching significance of the article.

How to summarize a research paper

The approach for writing a full-scale research article is quite different from that for creating a succinct, digestible version of that very article. A summary should be written objectively and in a way that covers the article in sufficient detail—accurately yet briefly—to allow a reader to quickly absorb its significance.

3.1 Do some groundwork

• Skim the article to get a rough idea of each section and the significance of the content.
• Read the paper in more depth. Annotate the paper, marking or underlining key points, important phrases, and major headings and subheadings.
• Jot down notes on the major points and explanations (these notes should be in your voice; avoid lifting exact sentences from the article, even when taking rough notes).
• Organize your notes into an outline that includes main points but excludes examples or details like numbers and statistics.
• Assemble a skeleton draft by bringing together key evidence and notes from each paragraph/section.

3.2 Put it together Start with an introductory paragraph that introduces the main idea. Put together similar ideas/concepts/findings in separate paragraphs. Use transition words and phrases for a smooth flow and to connect similar ideas. Make logical connections when dealing with cause and effect, comparison and contrast, and sequential order. Remember to use your own words. If you realize you are inadvertently using text from the original, go back to the notes you took in the previous step and build on them.

Sentences might be of the following tone and structure:

“In this study, we report (argue/demonstrate) that ____ (main idea).” “A survey on ____ revealed ____.” “_________________ (the topic) has major implications for ____.”

In the end, the article’s conclusion should appear in one sentence, e.g., “Our results emphasize that…” or “This study unravels …”

Once the summary is drafted, it should be checked against the original article to ensure that no essential information has been left out.

Dos and Don’t of Summary Writing

• Respect word limits provided.
• Make sure you are not deviating from the overall picture.
• Use an objective and impersonal tone.
• Be concise. Avoid using padding phrases like “in other words.”
• Revise your final draft thoroughly and proofread it carefully.
• Use the same sentences from the paper. Instead use your own voice and paraphrase carefully.
• Use too much technical jargon.
• Add anything new. Findings that do not appear in the main text should not make their way into the summary.
• Be afraid to use the first person and/or active voice.

Practice makes perfect

Mastering the skill of summarizing articles has other benefits too. Writing research paper summaries need not be limited to one’s own work. A researcher might be asked to write a summary of someone else’s paper as part of a critique. It is a good practice to write summaries of articles in the literature survey and research planning stages. These summaries can serve as condensed versions of a wealth of information on a particular topic to help one understand studies dealing with the same subject. Writing such summaries for yourself will help you hone the technique and soon, you will be summarizing your own work effortlessly!

Would you like guidance from an expert statistician on how to define your study variables and conduct your analysis? Check out Editage’s  Statistical Analysis & Review Services !

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Article Summaries, Reviews & Critiques

Writing an article summary.

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When writing a summary, the goal is to compose a concise and objective overview of the original article. The summary should focus only on the article's main ideas and important details that support those ideas.

Guidelines for summarizing an article:

• State the main ideas.
• Identify the most important details that support the main ideas.
• Summarize in your own words.
• Do not copy phrases or sentences unless they are being used as direct quotations.
• Express the underlying meaning of the article, but do not critique or analyze.
• The summary should be about one third the length of the original article. 

Your summary should include:

• Give an overview of the article, including the title and the name of the author.
• Provide a thesis statement that states the main idea of the article.
• Use the body paragraphs to explain the supporting ideas of your thesis statement.
• One-paragraph summary - one sentence per supporting detail, providing 1-2 examples for each.
• Multi-paragraph summary - one paragraph per supporting detail, providing 2-3 examples for each.
• Start each paragraph with a topic sentence.
• Use transitional words and phrases to connect ideas.
• Summarize your thesis statement and the underlying meaning of the article.

 Adapted from "Guidelines for Using In-Text Citations in a Summary (or Research Paper)" by Christine Bauer-Ramazani, 2020

Additional Resources

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How to Write a Summary - Guide & Examples  (from Scribbr.com)

Writing a Summary  (from The University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center)

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• Last Updated: Mar 15, 2024 9:32 AM
• URL: https://libguides.randolph.edu/summaries

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• What is a research summary: Definition, steps & tips

Defne Çobanoğlu

If you need to do academic research or take part in a research project, you most probably will need to make a research summary. It is a type of paper where you explain key findings in short. Doing this part correctly proves you clearly understand what the research is about, and also it is a good way to simplify complex research findings.

The best approach when starting your summary is to have a structured plan in mind. This will save you both energy and time. If you are new to this concept and want to know how to get started, this is the article for you. Here, we have gathered a step-by-step guide to creating your research survey, a research summary, and some useful tips. Let us get started!

• What is a research summary?

A research summary is basically the summary of a research paper that is done in a structured way. A good research summary starts with proper style and organization. When you start writing a good research summary with the findings of the research study, you should read the article again and move on with a clear plan. 

The definition of research summary

Your summary must be a well-organized way of presenting the key points to future readers. This part of the research paper is one of the most important as it is the part people read first when they try to figure out your paper's outline.

• How to write a research summary (step-by-step guide)

When you conclude your research and have concrete findings in your hand, the next step is to summarize the findings for future readers. It is one of the most vital sections of the papers and also the most viewed part by all. By having a guideline, the summary section can easily and successfully be completed. Now, let us see step by step how to write a summary for a research paper.

1 - Read the paper

In order to successfully summarize the whole research, you should understand it thoroughly. Read the paper carefully to understand its purpose, research design, methodology, results, and conclusions. You can also take a look at a research summary example to figure out what elements you should focus on while reading.

💡Tip #1 - Try a 3-stage reading method of Scan - Read - Skim. First, scan the paper to get an understanding of the concept. Then, read the paper attentively by focusing on elements you will include in your summary. Lastly, skim one last time to study the various elements.  

2 - Identify the key points

Once you read the entirety of the paper, try to pinpoint the key findings and research questions. It would help you to work with a set of questions to ask yourself when analyzing the paper. The questions you can try to answer could be these:

• What is the main research question?
• Is there a hypothesis that is proposed in the introduction part?
• What kind of methods are used in the study?
• What is the sample size for data collection?
• Do the results support the hypothesis?
• What are the most major findings?
• What are some limitations of the study?
• What is the final conclusion?

3 - Make notes as you read

It can help you tremendously to make notes as you read the paper. You can put simple sentences in each or most paragraphs to capture to the most important part. Or, you can highlight various findings, elements, and sentences. This will help you figure out what is important and what is not in the end.

4 - Prepare a draft

Once you gathered all the key points and highlighted sections, you can start preparing your draft. You should use a structured plan for your summary. Also, try rewriting important elements in your own words to avoid plagiarism. When you are preparing the draft, always be mindful of the word count limit.

💡Tip #2 - Keep it 10% or shorter One of the most crucial aspects of a research summary is the fact that it must be SHORT. Therefore, make sure the length of the summary is 10% or less of the original length of the parent paper.

5 - Finalize the summary

When you have the draft ready, proofread it to make sure everything is correct. And make sure the summary is objective, precise, and factually correct. You can also find additional literature to support your study and add that to the result section as well.

💡Tip #3 - Do not add anything new Never add new information or opinions to the summary that is not mentioned in the parent paper.

• Why do you need to summarize your research results?

The purpose of a research summary is to give a brief overview of the study to the readers. A reader who is trying to find appropriate research to go through can easily get through the central ideas. It is also a great way to elaborate on the significance of the findings, and it reminds the reader of the strengths of your main arguments.

Having a good summary is almost as important as writing a research paper.

• Wrapping it up

Having a good summary is almost as important as writing a research paper. A research paper involves statistical analysis, factual findings, and theories. And the summary of the paper briefly explains the main concepts and ideas. A person reading the summary of a paper should clearly understand the discussion and conclusion of the research study .

In this article, we have gathered a step-by-step guide to writing a research summary and useful tips to keep in mind. Next time, make sure your summary is to the point and faithful to the original paper. If you are planning to write your own research summary, you can get started with useful and easy-to-use survey templates of forms.app!

Defne is a content writer at forms.app. She is also a translator specializing in literary translation. Defne loves reading, writing, and translating professionally and as a hobby. Her expertise lies in survey research, research methodologies, content writing, and translation.

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Video Transcripts: Summarizing Sources: Definition and Examples of Summary

Summarizing sources: definition and examples of summary.

Last updated 1/5/2017

Visual: The screen shows the Walden University Writing Center logo along with a pencil and notebook. “Walden University Writing Center.” “Your writing, grammar, and APA experts” appears in center of screen. The background changes to the title of the video with books in the background.

Audio: Guitar music plays.

Visual: Slide changes to the title “Summarizing Sources” and the following:

• Central thesis, argument, or purpose
• Main ideas, findings, or conclusions

Definition : An articulation of a source’s basic argument and main points.

Audio: Summary, in its simplest form, is an articulation of a source’s basic argument and main points. What this means is that it’s broad in nature. A summary doesn’t focus on one idea or fact from a source. Instead, it gives an overview of the entire source. This overview should include the source’s central thesis, argument, or purpose, as well as the source’s main ideas, findings, or conclusions. Think of this as a high-level overview of the source. Finally, you may also include the context in which the article was written. For example, you might note if an article was written in response to a government policy or refuting another study.

Visual: The slide changes to the following: What makes a strong summary?

• Balancing accuracy with concision
• High-level overview of main points
• Ensuring your voice as the author

Audio: There are a few things you can do to write a strong summary. First, your summary should be accurate. You need to make sure you are accurately representing the source and the author’s ideas in your summary. Doing so can often be a balancing act; you don’t want to include too many details, but you do need to include enough information so that you can accurately convey what the source said to your reader. Think about your summary in this way: If you were giving a colleague the gist of the article, what main points would you include to ensure he or she understood the overall points of the source?

Next, your summary should be concise. Because a summary is a high-level overview and broad in scope, a summary will be longer than a paraphrase. A paraphrase is a concise rephrasing of a particular idea or piece of information in one or at most two sentences. As a result, even a concise summary will be longer than a paraphrase, at least a couple of sentences long. However, your summary shouldn’t be too long either; most of the time you should be able to summarize a source in one paragraph. However, the length of your summary will always depend on the length of the original source and the level of detail you need based on your assignment’s guidelines.

Finally, your summary should use paraphrases, not quotes. Because summaries are a high-level overview, put the source’s information into your own words, rather than quoting the original source. Doing so will help increase the flow of your summary and ensure your voice as the author comes through. Paraphrasing rather than quoting will also help you keep your summary concise. There could be scenarios where you might want to partially quote a key phrase, but even that should be done sparingly.

Visual: The slide changes to the following:

            In their research, DeBruin-Parecki and Slutzky’s (2016) studied current U.S. pre-K standards, which are meant to set up students for success in kindergarten and beyond. The authors collected quantitative and qualitative data from diverse survey respondents about pre-K learning standards. The key finding from this study was the positive viewpoint most pre-K teachers have of the national learning standards.

Audio: Let’s take a look at this sample summary. As you can see, this summary is a high-level overview of this source. It starts by introducing the source’s authors with a full citation and introducing the topic or focus of the source. It then transitions to discussing the data the authors collected, ending with the authors’ key finding.

This sample summary is accurate, concise, and includes paraphrased main ideas, the three things that make a strong summary. It accurately represents the source authors’ original ideas, while still being concise. The summary’s author also put all of these ideas into their own words.

Visual: The following are overlayed on the paragraph: “the authors” or “this study”

Audio: The final note I want to make here is about citations. It’s important to cite the source in the first sentence of the summary. In subsequent sentences, the citation isn’t necessarily required, although it is important to ensure the reader knows you’re continuing to discuss the same source. This might mean using phrases like “the authors” or “this study”, but you may also include citations in each of these sentences too.

If you’re not sure whether you should cite the source in each sentence in a summary, be sure to ask your instructor.

• Annotated bibliographies
• Compare/contrast essays
• Explicit requests
• Part of note taking
• Synthesizing or paraphrasing sources
• Literature reviews
• Graduate writing

Audio: Alright, so now that you know what a summary is and how to write a strong summary, when should you use a summary? Students most commonly summarize sources in annotated bibliographies and compare/contrast essays. However, you may also find that an assignment prompt or course instructor asks you to summarize as part of another assignment. You may also use summarizing as one of your note-taking and reading strategies; summarizing a source is a great way to ensure you understand and can re-articulate what a source is saying.

It is important to note that summarizing usually isn’t appropriate if you’re being asked to synthesize or paraphrase a source; this is particularly true in a literature review and generally in graduate writing. While summarizing particularly important sources initially or in the note taking stage may make sense in these cases, you don’t want to rely on summarizing extensively.

Visual: Slide changes to display the following: Questions? E-mail [email protected] .

• Previous Page: Summarizing Sources: The Process of Summarizing
• Next Page: Summarizing Sources: Incorporating Citations Into Summaries
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How to Write a Research Paper Summary

One of the most important skills you can imbibe as an academician is to know how to summarize a research paper. During your academic journey, you may need to write a summary of findings in research quite often and for varied reasons – be it to write an introduction for a peer-reviewed publication , to submit a critical review, or to simply create a useful database for future referencing.

It can be quite challenging to effectively write a research paper summary for often complex work, which is where a pre-determined workflow can help you optimize the process. Investing time in developing this skill can also help you improve your scientific acumen, increasing your efficiency and productivity at work. This article illustrates some useful advice on how to write a research summary effectively. But, what is research summary in the first place?  

A research paper summary is a crisp, comprehensive overview of a research paper, which encapsulates the purpose, findings, methods, conclusions, and relevance of a study. A well-written research paper summary is an indicator of how well you have understood the author’s work. 

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• 2. Invest enough time to understand the topic deeply 

Use Paperpal to summarize your research paper. Click here to get started!

• Mistakes to avoid while writing your research paper summary 

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Frequently asked questions (faq), how to write a research paper summary.

Writing a good research paper summary comes with practice and skill. Here is some useful advice on how to write a research paper summary effectively.  

1. Determine the focus of your summary

Before you begin to write a summary of research papers, determine the aim of your research paper summary. This will give you more clarity on how to summarize a research paper, including what to highlight and where to find the information you need, which accelerates the entire process. If you are aiming for the summary to be a supporting document or a proof of principle for your current research findings, then you can look for elements that are relevant to your work.

On the other hand, if your research summary is intended to be a critical review of the research article, you may need to use a completely different lens while reading the paper and conduct your own research regarding the accuracy of the data presented. Then again, if the research summary is intended to be a source of information for future referencing, you will likely have a different approach. This makes determining the focus of your summary a key step in the process of writing an effective research paper summary. 

2. Invest enough time to understand the topic deeply

In order to author an effective research paper summary, you need to dive into the topic of the research article. Begin by doing a quick scan for relevant information under each section of the paper. The abstract is a great starting point as it helps you to quickly identify the top highlights of the research article, speeding up the process of understanding the key findings in the paper. Be sure to do a careful read of the research paper, preparing notes that describe each section in your own words to put together a summary of research example or a first draft. This will save your time and energy in revisiting the paper to confirm relevant details and ease the entire process of writing a research paper summary.

When reading papers, be sure to acknowledge and ignore any pre-conceived notions that you might have regarding the research topic. This will not only help you understand the topic better but will also help you develop a more balanced perspective, ensuring that your research paper summary is devoid of any personal opinions or biases. 

3. Keep the summary crisp, brief and engaging

A research paper summary is usually intended to highlight and explain the key points of any study, saving the time required to read through the entire article. Thus, your primary goal while compiling the summary should be to keep it as brief, crisp and readable as possible. Usually, a short introduction followed by 1-2 paragraphs is adequate for an effective research article summary. Avoid going into too much technical detail while describing the main results and conclusions of the study. Rather focus on connecting the main findings of the study to the hypothesis , which can make the summary more engaging. For example, instead of simply reporting an original finding – “the graph showed a decrease in the mortality rates…”, you can say, “there was a decline in the number of deaths, as predicted by the authors while beginning the study…” or “there was a decline in the number of deaths, which came as a surprise to the authors as this was completely unexpected…”.

Unless you are writing a critical review of the research article, the language used in your research paper summaries should revolve around reporting the findings, not assessing them. On the other hand, if you intend to submit your summary as a critical review, make sure to provide sufficient external evidence to support your final analysis. Invest sufficient time in editing and proofreading your research paper summary thoroughly to ensure you’ve captured the findings accurately. You can also get an external opinion on the preliminary draft of the research paper summary from colleagues or peers who have not worked on the research topic. 

Mistakes to avoid while writing your research paper summary

Now that you’ve understood how to summarize a research paper, watch out for these red flags while writing your summary. 

• Not paying attention to the word limit and recommended format, especially while submitting a critical review 
• Evaluating the findings instead of maintaining an objective , unbiased view while reading the research paper 
• Skipping the essential editing step , which can help eliminate avoidable errors and ensure that the language does not misrepresent the findings 
• Plagiarism, it is critical to write in your own words or paraphrase appropriately when reporting the findings in your scientific article summary 

We hope the recommendations listed above will help answer the question of how to summarize a research paper and enable you to tackle the process effectively. 

Summarize your research paper with Paperpal

Paperpal, an AI academic writing assistant, is designed to support academics at every step of the academic writing process. Built on over two decades of experience helping researchers get published and trained on millions of published research articles, Paperpal offers human precision at machine speed. Paperpal Copilot, with advanced generative AI features, can help academics achieve 2x the writing in half the time, while transforming how they research and write.

How to summarize a research paper with Paperpal?

To generate your research paper summary, simply login to the platform and use the Paperpal Copilot Summary feature to create a flawless summary of your work. Here’s a step-by-step process to help you craft a summary in minutes:

• Paste relevant research articles to be summarized into Paperpal; the AI will scan each section and extract key information.
• In minutes, Paperpal will generate a comprehensive summary that showcases the main paper highlights while adhering to academic writing conventions.
• Check the content to polish and refine the language, ensure your own voice, and add citations or references as needed.

The abstract and research paper summary serve similar purposes but differ in scope, length, and placement. The abstract is a concise yet detailed overview of the research, placed at the beginning of a paper, with the aim of providing readers with a quick understanding of the paper’s content and to help them decide whether to read the full article. Usually limited to a few hundred words, it highlights the main objectives, methods, results, and conclusions of the study. On the other hand, a research paper summary provides a crisp account of the entire research paper. Its purpose is to provide a brief recap for readers who may want to quickly grasp the main points of the research without reading the entire paper in detail.

The structure of a research summary can vary depending on the specific requirements or guidelines provided by the target publication or institution. A typical research summary includes the following key sections: introduction (including the research question or objective), methodology (briefly describing the research design and methods), results (summarizing the key findings), discussion (highlighting the implications and significance of the findings), and conclusion (providing a summary of the main points and potential future directions).

The summary of a research paper is important because it provides a condensed overview of the study’s purpose, methods, results, and conclusions. It allows you to quickly grasp the main points and relevance of the research without having to read the entire paper. Research summaries can also be an invaluable way to communicate research findings to a broader audience, such as policymakers or the general public.

  When writing a research paper summary, it is crucial to avoid plagiarism by properly attributing the original authors’ work. To learn how to summarize a research paper while avoiding plagiarism, follow these critical guidelines: (1) Read the paper thoroughly to understand the main points and key findings. (2) Use your own words and sentence structures to restate the information, ensuring that the research paper summary reflects your understanding of the paper. (3) Clearly indicate when you are paraphrasing or quoting directly from the original paper by using appropriate citation styles. (4) Cite the original source for any specific ideas, concepts, or data that you include in your summary. (5) Review your summary to ensure it accurately represents the research paper while giving credit to the original authors.

Paperpal is a comprehensive AI writing toolkit that helps students and researchers achieve 2x the writing in half the time. It leverages 21+ years of STM experience and insights from millions of research articles to provide in-depth academic writing, language editing, and submission readiness support to help you write better, faster.  

Get accurate academic translations, rewriting support, grammar checks, vocabulary suggestions, and generative AI assistance that delivers human precision at machine speed. Try for free or upgrade to Paperpal Prime starting at US$19 a month to access premium features, including consistency, plagiarism, and 30+ submission readiness checks to help you succeed.  

Experience the future of academic writing – Sign up to Paperpal and start writing for free!  

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Research Summary Structure, Samples, Writing Steps, and Useful Suggestions

Updated 24 Jul 2024

What is a Research Summary and Why Is It Important?

A research summary is a type of paper designed to provide a brief overview of a given study - typically, an article from a peer-reviewed academic journal. It is a frequent type of task encountered in US colleges and universities, both in humanitarian and exact sciences, which is due to how important it is to teach students to properly interact with and interpret scientific literature and in particular, academic papers, which are the key way through which new ideas, theories, and evidence are presented to experts in many fields of knowledge. A research summary typically preserves the structure/sections of the article it focuses on. Get the grades you want with our professional research paper helper .

How to Write a Research Summary – Typical Steps

Follow these clear steps to help avoid typical mistakes and productivity bottlenecks, allowing for a more efficient through your writing process:

• Skim the article in order to get a rough idea of the content covered in each section and to understand the relative importance of content, for instance, how important different lines of evidence are (this helps you understand which sections you should focus on more when reading in detail). Make sure you understand the task and your professor's requirements before reading the article. In this step, you can also decide whether to write a summary by yourself or ask for a cheap research paper writing service instead.
• Analyze and understand the topic and article. Writing a summary of a research paper involves becoming very familiar with the topic – sometimes, it is impossible to understand the content without learning about the current state of knowledge, as well as key definitions, concepts, models. This is often performed while reading the literature review. As for the paper itself, understanding it means understanding analysis questions, hypotheses, listed evidence, how strongly this evidence supports the hypotheses, as well as analysis implications. Keep in mind that only a deep understanding allows one to efficiently and accurately summarize the content.
• Make notes as you read. You could highlight or summarize each paragraph with a brief sentence that would record the key idea delivered in it (obviously, some paragraphs deserve more attention than others). However, be careful not to engage in extensive writing while still reading. This is important because, while reading, you might realize that some sections you initially considered important might actually be less important compared to information that follows. As for underlining or highlighting – do these only with the most important evidence, otherwise, there is little use in “coloring” everything without distinction.
• Assemble a draft by bringing together key evidence and notes from each paragraph/ section. Make sure that all elements characteristic of a research summary are covered (as detailed below).
• Find additional literature for forming or supporting your critical view (this is if your critical view/position is required), for instance, judgments about limitations of the study or contradictory evidence.

Read Also:  Criminal Justice Research Topics To Impress Your Teacher

Research Summary Structure

The research summary format resembles that found in the original paper (just a concise version of it). Content from all sections should be covered and reflected upon, regardless of whether corresponding headings are present or not. Key structural elements of any research summary are as follows:

• Title – it announces the exact topic/area of analysis and can even be formulated to briefly announce key finding(s) or argument(s) delivered.
• Abstract – this is a very concise and comprehensive description of the study, present virtually in any academic article (the length varies greatly, typically within 100-500 words). Unlike an academic article, your research summary is expected to have a much shorter abstract.
• Introduction – this is an essential part of any research summary which provides necessary context (the literature review) that helps introduce readers to the subject by presenting the current state of the investigation, an important concept or definition, etc. This section might also describe the subject’s importance (or might not, for instance, when it is self-evident). Finally, an introduction typically lists investigation questions and hypotheses advanced by authors, which are normally mentioned in detail in any research summary (obviously, doing this is only possible after identifying these elements in the original paper).
• Methodology – regardless of its location, this section details experimental methods or data analysis methods used (e.g. types of experiments, surveys, sampling, or statistical analysis). In a research summary, many of these details would have to be omitted; hence, it is important to understand what is most important to mention.
• Results section – this section lists in detail evidence obtained from all experiments with some primary data analysis, conclusions, observations, and primary interpretations being made. It is typically the largest section of any analysis paper, so, it has to be concisely rewritten, which implies understanding which content is worth omitting and worth keeping.
• Discussion – this is where results are being discussed in the context of current knowledge among experts. This section contains interpretations of results, theoretical models explaining the observed results, study strengths and especially limitations, complementary future exploration to be undertaken, conclusions, etc. All these are important elements that need to be conveyed in a summary.
• Conclusion – in the original article, this section could be absent or merged with “Discussion”. Specific research summary instructions might require this to be a standalone section. In a conclusion, hypotheses are revisited and validated or denied, based on how convincing the evidence is (key lines of evidence could be highlighted).
• References – this section is for mentioning those cited works directly in your summary – obviously, one has to provide appropriate citations at least for the original article (this often suffices). Mentioning other works might be relevant when your critical opinion is also required (supported with new unrelated evidence).

Note that if you need some model research summary papers done before you start writing yourself (this will help familiarize you with essay structure and various sections), you could simply recruit our company by following the link provided below.

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Research Summary Writing Tips

Below is a checklist of useful research paper tips worth considering when writing research summaries:

• Make sure you are always aware of the bigger picture/ direction. You need to keep in mind a complete and coherent picture of the story delivered by the original article. It might be helpful to reread or scan it quickly to remind yourself of the declared goals, hypotheses, key evidence, and conclusions – this awareness offers a constant sense of direction, which ensures that no written sentence is out of context. It is useful doing this even after you have written a fourth, a third, or half of the paper (to make sure no deviation occurs).
• Consider writing a detailed research outline before writing the draft – it might be of great use when structuring your paper. A research summary template is also very likely to help you structure your paper.
• Sketch the main elements of the conclusion before writing it. Do this for a number of reasons: validate/invalidate hypotheses; enumerate key evidence supporting or invalidating them, list potential implications; mention the subject’s importance; mention study limitations and future directions for research. In order to include them all, it is useful having them written down and handy.
• Consider writing the introduction and discussion last. It makes sense to first list hypotheses, goals, questions, and key results. Latter, information contained in the introduction and discussion can be adapted as needed (for instance, to match a preset word count limit). Also, on the basis of already written paragraphs, you can easily generate your discussion with the help of a conclusion tool ; it works online and is absolutely free of charge. Apart from this, follow a natural order.
• Include visuals – you could summarize a lot of text using graphs or charts while simultaneously improving readability.
• Be very careful not to plagiarize. It is very tempting to “borrow” or quote entire phrases from an article, provided how well-written these are, but you need to summarize your paper without plagiarizing at all (forget entirely about copy-paste – it is only allowed to paraphrase and even this should be done carefully). The best way to stay safe is by formulating your own thoughts from scratch.
• Keep your word count in check. You don’t want your summary to be as long as the original paper (just reformulated). In addition, you might need to respect an imposed word count limit, which requires being careful about how much you write for each section.
• Proofread your work for grammar, spelling, wordiness, and formatting issues (feel free to use our convert case tool for titles, headings, subheadings, etc.).
• Watch your writing style – when summarizing content, it should be impersonal, precise, and purely evidence-based. A personal view/attitude should be provided only in the critical section (if required).
• Ask a colleague to read your summary and test whether he/she could understand everything without reading the article – this will help ensure that you haven’t skipped some important content, explanations, concepts, etc.

For additional information on formatting, structure, and for more writing tips, check out these research paper guidelines on our website. Remember that we cover most research papers writing services you can imagine and can offer help at various stages of your writing project, including proofreading, editing, rewriting for plagiarism elimination, and style adjustment.

Research Summary Example 1

Below are some defining elements of a sample research summary written from an imaginary article.

Title – “The probability of an unexpected volcanic eruption in Yellowstone” Introduction – this section would list those catastrophic consequences hitting our country in  case of a massive eruption and the importance of analyzing this matter. Hypothesis –  An eruption of the Yellowstone supervolcano would be preceded by intense precursory activity manifesting a few weeks up to a few years in advance. Results – these could contain a report of statistical data from multiple volcanic eruptions happening worldwide looking specifically at activity that preceded these events (in particular, how early each type of activity was detected). Discussion and conclusion – Given that Yellowstone is continuously monitored by scientists and that signs of an eruption are normally detected much in advance and at least a few days in advance, the hypothesis is confirmed. This could find application in creating emergency plans detailing an organized evacuation campaign and other response measures.

Research Summary Example 2

Below is another sample sketch, also from an imaginary article.

Title – “The frequency of extreme weather events in US in 2000-2008 as compared to the ‘50s” Introduction – Weather events bring immense material damage and cause human victims. Hypothesis – Extreme weather events are significantly more frequent nowadays than in the ‘50s Results – these could list the frequency of several categories of extreme events now and then: droughts and associated fires, massive rainfall/snowfall and associated floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, arctic cold waves, etc. Discussion and conclusion – Several types of extreme events indeed became significantly more frequent recently, confirming this hypothesis. This increasing frequency correlates reliably with rising CO2 levels in atmosphere and growing temperatures worldwide and in the absence of another recent major global change that could explain a higher frequency of disasters but also knowing how growing temperature disturbs weather patterns, it is natural to assume that global warming (CO2) causes this increase in frequency. This, in turn, suggests that this increased frequency of disasters is not a short-term phenomenon but is here to stay until we address CO2 levels.

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Let Professionals Help With Your Research Summary

Writing a research summary has its challenges, but becoming familiar with its structure (i.e. the structure of an article), understanding well the article that needs to be summarized, and adhering to recommended guidelines will help the process go smoothly.

Simply create your account in a few clicks, place an order by uploading your instructions, and upload or indicate the article requiring a summary and choose a preferred writer for this task (according to experience, rating, bidding price). Our transparent system puts you in control, allowing you to set priorities as you wish (to our knowledge, few competitors have something equivalent in place). Obviously, we can help with many other essay types such as critical thinking essay, argumentative essay, etc. In particular, the research paper definition article on our website highlights a few popular paper types we work with.

Another unique advantage is that we allow and encourage you to communicate directly with your writer (if you wish) guiding his or her work – feel free to request partial drafts, to clarify potential issues you worry about, or even to revise papers as often as needed (for free) until you achieve a satisfactory result. We’ve implemented a system where money is released to writers only after students are fully satisfied with what they get. If you feel like giving it a try, it’s easy and worry-free! Just follow the link below.

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Research Summary: What Is It?

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The process of writing every college or university paper requires patience, knowledge, and skills. A research summary is not an exception as well. Some students do not have any idea what is the purpose of the summary and how to prepare it. If you are at the very beginning of the writing research summary or are stuck in the middle of the process, then go on reading this article and find out the answers to all your questions.

A research summary is a kind of paper aimed to give a short analysis of a given study. In most cases, it comes from academic journals and is known to be a common task for American students. They often need to write a research paper despite the type of educational establishment and the subject. 

In this way, students learn to deal with various resources of scientific literature and interpret them. It is crucial while studying both exact sciences and humanitarian as academic papers help work out new theories, ideas and come up with discoveries. Typically, a research summary keeps sections and the overall structure of the discussed article. 

However, it must not be just paraphrasing the article ideas and coming in the same word count. There are certain rules and requirements that you must follow, in case you want to impress your teacher and show a high level of expertise.

Step-by-Step Guide on Writing Research Summary

Most students feel confused while writing a research summary, especially if it is their first experience. Remember that this type of paper, like any other one, needs some practice, patience, and of course, skills. If you want to be more productive and do not waste too much time, then consider this step-by-step guide.

It will be of great help to every student who faces productivity bottlenecks and an absence of inspiration. Follow all steps and decrease the number of potential mistakes, making the entire writing process as simple as it is possible

Look Through the Article

It is not recommended to start with a detailed reading of the article. You just need to skim it to catch the overall idea and how it is revealed in each section. As a result, you will understand how various crucial lines of evidence are and which of them require closer consideration.

Examine and Understand the Article Topic

A student needs to study the topic very well to write a good research summary. Often, it is necessary to learn definitions, models, concepts, as well as the up-to-date state of knowledge. That’s why you need to be ready to do all this while reading the literature review.

In terms of a paper itself, you must understand listed evidence, analysis questions, how the evidence supports mentioned hypotheses, and also analysis implications. It is impossible to come up with a top-quality research summary without a full understanding of the paper and its content.

Write Down Notes

While reading the article, you may take some notes. Probably each paragraph can be described in a single sentence. Mind that some paragraphs require more attention than others, and do not write too much text. Otherwise, you will have to read your notes once again and analyze them. 

Later, you will understand what information is more important and what can be omitted. You can also practice highlighting but be accurate and do not underline everything. Let it be only the most crucial evidence, as too much coloring in the text may make you confused.

Work at a Draft

The next step is to assemble a draft made of notes from every paragraph and fundamental evidence. Ensure that all crucial characteristics are covered and you have not lost anything.

Look for Extra Literature

You can easily make your research summary look fantastic if you find additional literature. It is significant in case you want to talk about the incompleteness of the study, some contradictory evidence, etc. You should give facts to support your position. Otherwise, your ideas will not have any ground, which is unacceptable for a research summary.

What is Research Summary Structure?

A structure is as important as the content itself. Before starting to write, you need to know what should be included in a research summary. Actually, this is significant since missing at least one fundamental element will thwart all your efforts. So, do your best to adhere to a summary format that must be identical to the original paper one. Include all sections, no matter whether the related headings are available or not. The research summary structure looks like this:

• Title. It presents the area or topic of analysis and may present fundamental findings or arguments briefly.
• Abstract. It is a laconic and comprehensive study description. The abstract is available in each academic article and has up to 500 words in length. Do not confuse it with an abstract of an academic article that is longer.
• Introduction. This part of the research summary provides essential context aimed to present the subject to the readers. It introduces an up-to-date state of the investigation, crucial definitions, etc. In case the importance of the subject is not clear, the introduction can describe it. Also, this section mentions some investigation questions that were initiated by the authors.
• Methodology . The next part presents the data analysis or experimental methods that were used to collect the information. Mind that many of such details should be omitted in the research summary, so think twice to understand what to mention and what is not very important.
• Result section.  It includes evidence received from all experiments as well as a primary interpretation of the results. This section is often the largest one, so you need to review all information and include only the most important content.
• Discussion. This part presents the discussion of results by various experts. Here, you can mention various interpretations of results, strengths, and limitations of the study, conclusion, future exploration, etc.
• Conclusion.  This section may be identical to “Discussion” in the original article, but some specific instructions may require it to be a separate one. Here you need to return to hypotheses and either deny or validate them.
• References. This is the last key part of a research summary structure that must include all works that were directly mentioned in your paper. Other works must be included in case your critical point of view is required.

Mind that looking through other research summary paper examples and checking their structures will save your time and simplify the entire writing process. 

Effective Tips for Writing Research Summary

Consider a list of writing tips to make your experience of crafting a research summary as pleasant as it is possible:

• Ensure you are familiar with a general direction . You need to be aware of the story that stands behind a particular article. If you do not remember some hypotheses, conclusions, stated goals, then you need to read and scan them again. You would better perform this when at least the fourth of the paper is ready.
• Start with a detailed research outline . In this way, you will structure your paper and avoid possible inaccuracies. Do not hurry and watch every word.
• Draft key conclusion elements . The conclusion must perform a lot of functions like talking about the subject’s significance, potential implications, invalidate or validate hypotheses, etc. It is recommended to write them down before writing the conclusion so that you will not forget anything.
• Prepare the introduction and discussion parts last . It is recommended to leave these two parts for the end as you can adapt them in order to fit the word count. Start with hypotheses, then goals and questions, followed by main results. But do not break a natural order in terms of other parts.
• Add some visual elements . The readers will perceive the text better if it includes at least a few charts or graphs. They will make your research summary more readable.
• Be careful with plagiarism issues . It is quite common to use the ideas and thoughts of other people, but you need to be very accurate with a quotation. Do not forget to mention cited works not to be accused of plagiarism. Moreover, it is recommended to formulate your own phrases from scratch.
• Mind the word count . Do you know how long a research summary is? It must not be very long as otherwise, you risk losing the necessary focus and confuse readers with too much information. Your summary must not be as long as the original paper, so mind the word count and do not include unimportant details.
• Proofread your paper . Read the research summary a few times to make sure it has no spelling or grammar mistakes. Use all available tools to check whether the paper is too wordy or has some formatting issues. 
• Watch used writing style . You should sound precise and formal when summarizing the content. Expressing a personal attitude may be mentioned only in the critical part if it is stated in requirements.
• Ask somebody to check your summary . It would be great if some of your colleagues have time to read your paper. In this way, you will make sure that all crucial information is included, and you did not omit any important explanations.

Research Summary Examples

The question “How do you write a summary for a research paper” is one of the most popular requests in searching engines. As has been mentioned above, you need to look at some examples of research summary to clarify all issues. They will help you check the structure, length, and extra detail. Here are two such examples that were written based on imaginary articles. Look through them, and mind the structure.

Title – “Possibility of the sudden eruption of volcano Kilauea”

Introduction – This part will include possible catastrophic consequences occurring in Hawaii in the case of the Kilauea eruption, as well as the significance of analyzing this situation.

Hypothesis – Kilauea eruption would be preceded by severe activities before and many years after the event.

Results – This section may include some reports and statistics from numerous volcanic eruptions that took place all over the world. It is necessary to find out what events took place before the eruptions and how they were detected.

Discussions and conclusion –  The volcano Kilauea is constantly watched by scientists and specialists as the possibility of eruption can be detected a few days before the event, so the hypothesis is confirmed. All this makes it necessary to work out emergency plans and prepare response measures.

Title – “ The frequency of flood in the USA in a period from 2003-2007 as compared to the “60s”

Introduction – Extreme weather conditions come up with terrible material damage and losses.

Hypothesis – Flood events occur more often nowadays than in the “60s”.

Results – Here, you can include statistics of the flood events, reports, and their consequences.

Discussion and conclusion – Floods became more frequent these days, so the hypothesis is confirmed. This frequency correlates with regular rain and tsunami that lead to the necessity to make plans for urgent people evacuation and guaranteeing their safety. 

Partner with Professionals

Crafting a research summary comes with its own difficulties, but knowing the correct structure, understanding the content of the article with all complicated definitions, etc., as well as becoming familiar with efficient tips, will help you for sure. As a result, the process of writing a summary will not seem to be a real torture for you. Still, if you do not have enough time, or lack inspiration and desire, then you can approach a professional writing service.

You will not waste much time placing your order and providing the author with extra details. A professional company has a transparent system of ordering and paying. There are no doubts, and you will get a top-quality research summary before a deadline comes. 

Last but not least is the opportunity to communicate directly with the writer and clarify issues that you are interested in. Your teacher will not learn about your cooperation with a professional company, but you will save time, effort and can be completely sure about the research summary quality. 

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How to Write a Lay Summary: 10 Tips for Researchers

Once you know what a lay summary is, the next question you’ll probably be asking yourself is ‘how to write a lay summary?’ But why is this important for researchers? For one, there has been a surge in research output. The past decade has seen a 4% annual increase in peer-reviewed science and engineering (S&E) journal articles and conference papers being published. 1 However, it’s not just the increasing number of published articles but the visibility your work receives that indicates a researcher’s productivity and success. While researchers often come up with ground-breaking and crucial findings, it can be challenging for non-academics and even specialists from other disciplines to understand its importance. Communicating research findings to a broader audience is a crucial aspect of any scholarly work. So in this article, we will explore the importance of writing a lay summary, explaining how to write a lay summary to ensure your research reaches and resonates with a wider audience.

Table of Contents

What is a lay summary in research?

Lay summaries are condensed descriptions of research findings that are written in a simple way so that wider audience can understand the work presented with ease. Writing a lay summary also aids in bridging the gap between often complex research work and non-specialist readers, providing them with a clear overview of the research’s purpose, key findings, and real-world implications. By making the published study more widely available, researchers can foster inclusivity, promote wider engagement, and spark new research, and influence public policy. Writing a lay summary in a simple, compelling manner goes a long way in not only ensuring visibility, it also makes it more comprehensible and usable for journalists, policymakers, and people around the world.

4 Reasons you need to write an effective lay summary

• Create greater visibility: An impactful lay summary is a great way of describing and communicating details of the research done to the general public and can help those who don’t have an academic background to better understand your work.
• Enhance transparency: A well-crafted lay summary can boost transparency, adding to the reliability and credibility of your research. A lay summary that describes and communicates your research findings in a clear, simple way leaves little room for misrepresentation.
• Improve engagement: A succinct lay summary makes research findings easier to understand and highlights its significance. This means that audiences can engage more actively with your work, leading to an increase in the number of citations.
• Widen research impact: Writing a lay summary that is engaging and compelling helps researchers effectively convey their research findings, emphasize their work’s applicability and potential, and drive real-world impact.

How to write a lay summary of scientific papers

A lay summary of a scientific paper doesn’t have to be challenging to write. Here are some simple steps to keep in mind when writing a lay summary.

1. Identify your audience

Before you start crafting your lay summary, consider who your target audience is and tailor your language accordingly. This will make your lay summary more engaging and relevant to your readers, whether they’re policymakers, patients, or the general public.

2. Keep it simple, yet informative

Simplicity is the key to an effective lay summary, so avoid jargon and technical terms that might confuse your readers. Think of it as telling a story rather than presenting scientific data and focus on conveying the core message of your research in straightforward manner.

3. Highlight the importance

Describe the real-world impact of your findings and how they contribute to solving relevant issues or advancing knowledge in your field. Clearly articulating the significance of your work can keep your readers interested and invested in your research.

4. Follow a logical structure

A well-structured lay summary guides the reader through your research logically, step by step. When writing a lay summary, cover the problem you aimed to address, your methodology and key findings, and the implications and potential applications of your research.

5. Provide relevant context

Avoid assuming prior knowledge from your audience, provide enough context and background information to help readers understand your research without overwhelming them with technical details.

6. Use engaging examples

Analogies or real-life scenarios can help your audience grasp complex concepts and appreciate the relevance of your research. So integrate relatable examples when writing a lay summary.

7. Emphasize the benefits

Highlight the benefits of your research, how it can improve lives or contribute to societal advancements, and the practical implications of your work to resonate with readers.

8. Add the final touches

Employ formatting styles like subheads and bullet points and add visual elements like illustrations, tables, or graphs, to easily present data. Write a catchy headline or introduction and use a conversational tone when writing the lay summary.

9. Seek peer feedback

Get colleagues or friends outside your field to review your lay summary. Their feedback will help you gauge whether your summary successfully conveys the essence of your research to a broader audience.

10. Proofread and edit

As the last step, proofread and edit your work to polish language, grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure. Clear, error-free writing lends credibility to your research, ensuring it’s taken seriously and leaves a lasting impression on your readers.

Lay Summaries vs. Abstracts

It is common for to get confused between research paper abstracts and lay summaries. While both are used to convey research findings, they have vastly different purposes and audiences.

Abstracts provide a synopsis of a research project that is written for an audience of scholars and experts interested in a particular field of study. An abstract usually includes complex concepts and technical terms when trying to explain the relevance of the research topic. Researchers use an abstract to outline and highlight their objectives, approach, and finding. Abstracts provide a summary of the research paper so that readers may quickly grasp its ideas and decide whether it is pertinent to their areas of interest. An abstract requires usually is more detailed and longer than a lay summary.

Lay summaries on the other hand offer non-technical explanations of a research project. It is typically written for a wider audience, including non-academics and experts from other fields. A lay summary’s main objective is to make the study findings accessible to those who are not subject-matter experts by using analogies to simplify concepts. They highlight the practical relevance of the research in a succinct, impactful way.

Though both lay summaries and abstracts are different, if written in a compelling way, they can be powerful tools to engage readers and help you garner greater visibility for your work.

References:

1.       India is world’s third largest producer of scientific articles, following China and US: Report. India Today, Jan 2, 2020. Available online at https://www.indiatoday.in/education-today/latest-studies/story/india-is-world-s-third-largest-producer-of-scientific-articles-following-china-and-us-report-1633351-2020-01-02

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An executive summary is a thorough overview of a research report or other type of document that synthesizes key points for its readers, saving them time and preparing them to understand the study's overall content. It is a separate, stand-alone document of sufficient detail and clarity to ensure that the reader can completely understand the contents of the main research study. An executive summary can be anywhere from 1-10 pages long depending on the length of the report, or it can be the summary of more than one document [e.g., papers submitted for a group project].

Bailey, Edward, P. The Plain English Approach to Business Writing . (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), p. 73-80 Todorovic, Zelimir William and Marietta Wolczacka Frye. “Writing Effective Executive Summaries: An Interdisciplinary Examination.” In United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Conference Proceedings . (Decatur, IL: United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 2009): pp. 662-691.

Importance of a Good Executive Summary

Although an executive summary is similar to an abstract in that they both summarize the contents of a research study, there are several key differences. With research abstracts, the author's recommendations are rarely included, or if they are, they are implicit rather than explicit. Recommendations are generally not stated in academic abstracts because scholars operate in a discursive environment, where debates, discussions, and dialogs are meant to precede the implementation of any new research findings. The conceptual nature of much academic writing also means that recommendations arising from the findings are distributed widely and not easily or usefully encapsulated. Executive summaries are used mainly when a research study has been developed for an organizational partner, funding entity, or other external group that participated in the research . In such cases, the research report and executive summary are often written for policy makers outside of academe, while abstracts are written for the academic community. Professors, therefore, assign the writing of executive summaries so students can practice synthesizing and writing about the contents of comprehensive research studies for external stakeholder groups.

When preparing to write, keep in mind that:

• An executive summary is not an abstract.
• An executive summary is not an introduction.
• An executive summary is not a preface.
• An executive summary is not a random collection of highlights.

Christensen, Jay. Executive Summaries Complete The Report. California State University Northridge; Clayton, John. "Writing an Executive Summary that Means Business." Harvard Management Communication Letter (July 2003): 2-4; Keller, Chuck. "Stay Healthy with a Winning Executive Summary." Technical Communication 41 (1994): 511-517; Murphy, Herta A., Herbert W. Hildebrandt, and Jane P. Thomas. Effective Business Communications . New York: McGraw-Hill, 1997; Vassallo, Philip. "Executive Summaries: Where Less Really is More." ETC.: A Review of General Semantics 60 (Spring 2003): 83-90 .

Structure and Writing Style

Writing an Executive Summary

Read the Entire Document This may go without saying, but it is critically important that you read the entire research study thoroughly from start to finish before you begin to write the executive summary. Take notes as you go along, highlighting important statements of fact, key findings, and recommended courses of action. This will better prepare you for how to organize and summarize the study. Remember this is not a brief abstract of 300 words or less but, essentially, a mini-paper of your paper, with a focus on recommendations.

Isolate the Major Points Within the Original Document Choose which parts of the document are the most important to those who will read it. These points must be included within the executive summary in order to provide a thorough and complete explanation of what the document is trying to convey.

Separate the Main Sections Closely examine each section of the original document and discern the main differences in each. After you have a firm understanding about what each section offers in respect to the other sections, write a few sentences for each section describing the main ideas. Although the format may vary, the main sections of an executive summary likely will include the following:

• An opening statement, with brief background information,
• The purpose of research study,
• Method of data gathering and analysis,
• Overview of findings, and,
• A description of each recommendation, accompanied by a justification. Note that the recommendations are sometimes quoted verbatim from the research study.

Combine the Information Use the information gathered to combine them into an executive summary that is no longer than 10% of the original document. Be concise! The purpose is to provide a brief explanation of the entire document with a focus on the recommendations that have emerged from your research. How you word this will likely differ depending on your audience and what they care about most. If necessary, selectively incorporate bullet points for emphasis and brevity. Re-read your Executive Summary After you've completed your executive summary, let it sit for a while before coming back to re-read it. Check to make sure that the summary will make sense as a separate document from the full research study. By taking some time before re-reading it, you allow yourself to see the summary with fresh, unbiased eyes.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Length of the Executive Summary As a general rule, the correct length of an executive summary is that it meets the criteria of no more pages than 10% of the number of pages in the original document, with an upper limit of no more than ten pages [i.e., ten pages for a 100 page document]. This requirement keeps the document short enough to be read by your audience, but long enough to allow it to be a complete, stand-alone synopsis. Cutting and Pasting With the exception of specific recommendations made in the study, do not simply cut and paste whole sections of the original document into the executive summary. You should paraphrase information from the longer document. Avoid taking up space with excessive subtitles and lists, unless they are absolutely necessary for the reader to have a complete understanding of the original document. Consider the Audience Although unlikely to be required by your professor, there is the possibility that more than one executive summary will have to be written for a given document [e.g., one for policy-makers, one for private industry, one for philanthropists]. This may only necessitate the rewriting of the introduction and conclusion, but it could require rewriting the entire summary in order to fit the needs of the reader. If necessary, be sure to consider the types of audiences who may benefit from your study and make adjustments accordingly. Clarity in Writing One of the biggest mistakes you can make is related to the clarity of your executive summary. Always note that your audience [or audiences] are likely seeing your research study for the first time. The best way to avoid a disorganized or cluttered executive summary is to write it after the study is completed. Always follow the same strategies for proofreading that you would for any research paper. Use Strong and Positive Language Don’t weaken your executive summary with passive, imprecise language. The executive summary is a stand-alone document intended to convince the reader to make a decision concerning whether to implement the recommendations you make. Once convinced, it is assumed that the full document will provide the details needed to implement the recommendations. Although you should resist the temptation to pad your summary with pleas or biased statements, do pay particular attention to ensuring that a sense of urgency is created in the implications, recommendations, and conclusions presented in the executive summary. Be sure to target readers who are likely to implement the recommendations.

Bailey, Edward, P. The Plain English Approach to Business Writing . (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), p. 73-80; Christensen, Jay. Executive Summaries Complete The Report. California State University Northridge; Executive Summaries. Writing@CSU. Colorado State University; Clayton, John. "Writing an Executive Summary That Means Business." Harvard Management Communication Letter , 2003; Executive Summary. University Writing Center. Texas A&M University;  Green, Duncan. Writing an Executive Summary.   Oxfam’s Research Guidelines series ; Guidelines for Writing an Executive Summary. Astia.org; Markowitz, Eric. How to Write an Executive Summary. Inc. Magazine, September, 15, 2010; Kawaski, Guy. The Art of the Executive Summary. "How to Change the World" blog; Keller, Chuck. "Stay Healthy with a Winning Executive Summary." Technical Communication 41 (1994): 511-517; The Report Abstract and Executive Summary. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing Executive Summaries. Effective Writing Center. University of Maryland; Kolin, Philip. Successful Writing at Work . 10th edition. (Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2013), p. 435-437; Moral, Mary. "Writing Recommendations and Executive Summaries." Keeping Good Companies 64 (June 2012): 274-278; Todorovic, Zelimir William and Marietta Wolczacka Frye. “Writing Effective Executive Summaries: An Interdisciplinary Examination.” In United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship. Conference Proceedings . (Decatur, IL: United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship, 2009): pp. 662-691.

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How students can write an effective summary for research papers.

10 Best Tips To Write A Summary For Research Papers

There is no one perfect way to write an effective summary for a research paper. However, some key elements should always be included. To write an effective summary, you first need to understand the purpose of the summary. A summary is simply a brief overview of the main points of a research paper. It should not include any new information or arguments, but simply, concisely state the main points.

The summary should be placed at the beginning of the research paper, after the title and abstract. It should be written in a clear and concise manner and should be no more than one paragraph long. When writing the summary, keep the following in mind:

• It should be written in a clear and concise manner.
• It should be no more than one paragraph long.
• It should not include any new information or arguments.
• The summary should briefly describe the main points of the paper.

10 Useful Tips For Students To Write An Effective Summary

To write an effective summary, students can take help from the useful tips given below:

1. Read The Entire Research Paper

Before you can write an effective summary, you must first read and understand the research paper. This may seem like a time-consuming task, but it is essential to write a good summary. Make sure that you understand all of the main points of the paper before you begin writing.

2. Take Notes As You Read

As you read, take notes on the main points of the paper. These notes will come in handy when you are writing your summary. Be sure to note any important information, such as the main conclusions of the author's writing. This useful tip will also help you to write an effective summary for a blog in less time.

3. Organize Your Thoughts

Once you have finished reading and taking notes on the paper, it is time to start writing your summary. Before you begin, take a few minutes to organize your thoughts. Write down the main points that you want to include in your summary. Then, arrange these points in a logical order.

4. Write The Summary

Now that you have organized your thoughts, it is time to start writing the summary. Begin by stating the author’s thesis statement or main conclusion. Then, briefly describe each of the main points from the paper. Be sure to write in a clear and concise manner. When you are finished, reread your summary to make sure that it accurately reflects the content of the paper.

5. Write The Introduction

After you have written the summary, it is time to write the introduction. The introduction should include an overview of the paper and a brief description of the summary. It should also state the main idea.

6. Introduce The Report's Purpose

The summary of a research paper should include a brief description of the paper's purpose. It should state the paper's thesis statement and briefly describe each of the main points of the paper.

7. Use Keywords To Introduce The Report

When introducing the summary of a research paper, use keywords that will be familiar to the reader. This will help them understand what the summary is about and why it is important.

8. State The Author's Conclusions

The summary of a research paper should include a brief statement of the author's conclusions. This will help your teacher understand what the paper is trying to achieve.

9. Keep It Concise

A summary should be concise and to the point. It should not include any new information or arguments. It should be no more than one paragraph long.

10. Edit And Proofread

After you have written the summary, edit and proofread it to make sure that it is accurate and clear. This will help ensure that your summary is effective and free of any grammar or spelling errors.

Tools To Write An Effective Summary For A Research Paper

1. summary by google docs.

Recently Google has announced a new "summary" feature in their online docs. This will automatically generate a summary of the content written in Google Docs. This summary generating feature uses the latest AI technologies to generate a quick and precise summary of the entire content within seconds. It focuses on the main ideas and best sentences, and then writes them in the summary section with one click. This will help students to generate the best summary of the papers without any hassle.

2. Summarizer

A text summarizer is a free online tool that can be used to create a summary of a text within seconds. Students can use a summarizer to provide an overview of the main points in the paper. Besides this, an online text summarizer can help students save time when writing a research paper. By creating a summary of the text, they can quickly and easily create a concise version of the paper that can be used as a reference point, with a single click.

3. Grammar Check

The purpose of a grammar checker tool is to help students edit and proofread their summary. This will ensure that the summary is error-free and clear. Apart from this, the grammar checker can help students to improve their writing skills as well, as it highlights all the writing errors within the content and provides the best suggestions to fix them.

Why Write An Effective Summary For A Research Paper?

The summary of a research paper is important because it gives your teacher a quick and easy way to understand the paper's main points. Additionally, an effective summary can help you save time when writing a research paper. By writing a summary, you can quickly and easily create a concise version of the paper that can be used as a reference point.

What Are The Main Elements Of An Effective Summary For Research Papers?

There are several elements that should be included in an effective summary for a research paper. These elements include:

• A brief statement of the paper's thesis statement.
• A description of each of the paper's main points.
• A final thought or impression that leaves the reader with a sense of closure.
• Edit and proofread the summary to ensure accuracy and clarity.
• Summary by Google Docs
• Grammar Check

Academic Integrity at MIT

A handbook for students, search form, summarizing.

A summary is a synthesis of the key ideas of a piece of writing, restated in your own words – i.e., paraphrased.  You may write a summary as a stand-alone assignment or as part of a longer paper.  Whenever you summarize, you must be careful not to copy the exact wording of the original source.

How do I summarize?

A good summary:

Identifies the writer of the original text.

Synthesizes the writer’s key ideas.

Presents the information neutrally.

Summaries can vary in length.  Follow the directions given by your instructor for how long the summary should be.

An example of summarizing:

Original text:

America has changed dramatically during recent years. Not only has the number of graduates in traditional engineering disciplines such as mechanical, civil, electrical, chemical, and aeronautical engineering declined, but in most of the premier American universities engineering curricula now concentrate on and encourage largely the study of engineering science.  As a result, there are declining offerings in engineering subjects dealing with infrastructure, the environment, and related issues, and greater concentration on high technology subjects, largely supporting increasingly complex scientific developments. While the latter is important, it should not be at the expense of more traditional engineering.

Rapidly developing economies such as China and India, as well as other industrial countries in Europe and Asia, continue to encourage and advance the teaching of engineering. Both China and India, respectively, graduate six and eight times as many traditional engineers as does the United States. Other industrial countries at minimum maintain their output, while America suffers an increasingly serious decline in the number of engineering graduates and a lack of well-educated engineers. (169 words)

(Source:  Excerpted from Frankel, E.G. (2008, May/June) Change in education: The cost of sacrificing fundamentals. MIT Faculty Newsletter , XX, 5, 13.)

One-paragraph Summary:

In a 2008 Faculty Newsletter article, “Change in Education: The cost of sacrificing fundamentals,” MIT Professor Emeritus Ernst G. Frankel expresses his concerns regarding the current state of American engineering education.  He notes that the number of students focusing on traditional areas of engineering has decreased while the number interested in the high-technology end of the field has increased.   Frankel points out that other industrial nations produce far more traditionally-trained engineers than we do, and believes we have fallen seriously behind. (81 words)

Why is this a good summary?

The summary identifies the writer, the date of publication, and the source, and restates the key ideas using original wording.  The summary reports on the author’s point of view, but reports this neutrally.

One-line summary:

MIT Professor Emeritus Ernst G. Frankel (2008) has called for a return to a course of study that emphasizes the traditional skills of engineering, noting that the number of American engineering graduates with these skills has fallen sharply when compared to the number coming from other countries. (47 words)

This one-line summary identifies the writer and synthesizes the key ideas.  A short summary like this might appear in the literature review of research paper in which the student gathers together the findings or opinions of scholars on a given subject.

What is the difference between paraphrasing and summarizing?

Summarizing and paraphrasing are somewhat different. A paraphrase is about the same length as the original source, while a summary is much shorter. Nevertheless, when you summarize, you must be careful not to copy the exact wording of the original source. Follow the same rules as you would for paraphrase.

Project 2025: What a second Trump term could mean for media and technology policies

Subscribe to the center for technology innovation newsletter, roxana muenster roxana muenster compass fellow - the brookings institution, phd student - department of communication, cornell university, graduate affiliate - center for information, technology, and public life, university of north carolina.

July 22, 2024

• Project 2025 echoes Donald Trump’s critical view of the media. As a result, it proposes to strip public broadcasting of its funding and legal status, thus endangering access to reliable news for American citizens.
• The authors allege that Big Tech colluded with the government to attack American values and advance “wokeism.” In response, they envision sweeping antitrust enforcement not on economic grounds, but for socio-political reasons.
• On artificial intelligence policy, Project 2025 remains vague and fails to propose solutions for key policy areas such as privacy, safety, and the information ecosystem. Lagging on AI oversight and dismantling existing protections is dangerous for individuals and democracies alike.
• Trump denies involvement with Project 2025 despite close ties to its authors. His policy proposals, Agenda47, closely mirror those outlined in Project 2025.  
• 22 min read

In a 900-page volume titled Project 2025, a conservative movement of over 400 scholars led by the Heritage Foundation has outlined a comprehensive policy vision for what a conservative administration c ould implement upon taking office in January 2025. The writers and contributors make recommendations regarding foreign and domestic policy, education, and the economy to give the administration a running start into a short four-year term. C ritics have called it a blueprint for autocratic takeover . This blog will look at a key aspect of Project 2025 ’s blueprint: Its plans for technology, media, and communications policies and the potential implications on the future of existing public policies .    

Since Ronald Reagan’s first presidential candidacy in 1981, experts from the Heritage Foundation have collated comprehensive policy agendas for prospective conservative administrations in a series titled “Mandate for Leadership.” Their suggestions have been successful: According to the authors, Reagan enacted 60% of the original volume’s recommendations in his first year in office, 1 and in 2018 then-President and current candidate Donald Trump boasted he had accomplished 64% of the 2016 Mandate’s policy plans. 

This time around, Project 2025 aims to provide a potential incoming Republican administration with a detailed policy agenda and “an army of aligned, vetted, trained, and prepared” 2   personnel so that the president can accomplish as much as possible in the short presidential term. 3  This proposed transition plan contains sweeping reforms to dismantle the bureaucracy of the so-called “Administrative State” 4  and the civil service, 5  bring independent agencies under White House control , 6 and address what they term the Biden administration’s “economic, military, cultural, and foreign policy turmoil” 7  by fighting the political elite’s 8   “totalitarian cult” of the “Great Awokening.” 9      

A spokesperson for Trump has said he is not affiliated with the project and does not necessarily endorse its recommendations. However, much of the team behind Project 2025 is closely connected to the president or served in his previous administration, among them John McEntee, director of the White House Presidential Personnel Office under Trump and a senior advisor to Project 2025 ; Jonathan Berry, Chief Counsel to the Trump presidential transition team; 10  Ken Cuccinelli, former Acting Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security under Trump; 11  and Peter Navarro, a currently jailed Trump advisor. Brendan Carr, a sitting Federal Communications Commissioner (FCC) who was appointed by Trump, is also the author of Project 2025’s section on the FCC. In his first term, Trump boasted about enacting many of the 2016 Mandate’s suggestions. 12  And the MAGA SuperPAC itself is funding messaging about Trump and Project 2025. These and other reasons are why the assertions in Project 2025 should be taken seriously.   

Compiling a policy agenda ahead of taking office is not unique to one party. Democrat-aligned organizations have done the same thing in past elections. Nor is the hiring of talented, loyal staff who align with the president’s vision—each administration only has four years , after all, and the 77 days between the election and inauguration leave little room to plan. Project 2025, however, is different, its critics say , because its recommendations are so comprehensive, radical, and risky, and therefore could endanger democratic institutions, dismantle civil liberties , and concentrate presidential power. Its implications on media and technology are similarly daunting, and worth further exploring.  

In 2019, then-President Trump called the press “ the enemy of the people. ” Project 2025 seems to share that view. According to the authors, the next conservative president must reform media wherever possible. Commercial news outlets do not fall under presidential control, but a dire fate might befall the domestic public broadcast service if Trump is elected. The authors of Project 2025 allege public broadcasting can no longer be classified as educational (in fact, they see it as “noneducational” 13  and claim it is a biased liberal forum engaged in suppressing conservative views). 14  To end what they consider unjustly privileged outlets, 15 they say outlets that include the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)and the National Public Radio (NPR) should be defunded and stripped of their status as noncommercial, educational stations, and thereby required to pay hefty licensing fees. 16  The authors also suggest the next administration should reconsider their relationship with news media more broadly, such as by reexamining the relationship between the White House and the Correspondents Association, and investigating whether journalists should even be granted space on White House grounds. 17

Though they are correct in their assertion that the White House has no legal requirement to internally house and host media, 18 the suggestion to restrict journalists’ access to executive decision-making and relevant public discussions should send alarming signals about the willingness of Project 2025’s authors to let government be held accountable. In fact, it was a rumor that then-President Wilson was considering halting the tradition of press conferences which led to the Correspondents’ Association creation in 1914, whose mission was to ensure fair and continuous reporting on the president’s politics and activities. Access to the president, their press secretary, and the White House is beneficial for both the administration and the press—one gets to communicate their policies to the public; for the other, news gathering and questioning of said policies is more readily facilitated. Both, in turn, make for a more informed public, which is vital to the democratic system. A “reexamination” of the relationship with the Correspondents’ Association—an organization that comprises journalists from a variety of outlets including Fox News, the New York Times, and the BBC—as suggested by “ Mandate for Leadership” could encourage an administration to grant access only to journalists who are favorable to its agenda, not those who will question or push back.  

Project 2025’s attacks on public broadcasting similarly signal a hostile attitude toward news media. Considering the former president’s rhetoric about them, it is not surprising that his advisors and staffers share his negative views of the “mainstream news.” 19   In April, Mr. Trump himself called for NPR funding to be rescinded via his social media platform Truth Social, alleging, without providing evidence, the network is “a liberal disinformation machine.” Still, Project 2025’s policy recommendations should be cause for concern: Congress enacted the 1967 Public Broadcasting Act because they believed an educated and informed citizenry was in the public, local, and national interest and that, freed from commercial constraints, public service would be able to support these goals through creative, high quality, and diverse programming. Its status as an organization separate from the government is instrumental in ensuring its independence, as is its consideration as a public, not commercial, entity.  

Though the question of what is in the public interest is one that has long been discussed in regulatory, legal, and philosophical terms, it should not be political, or so we think. Disagreement with independent, free reporting should not be the cause for the punishment of media organizations. Defunding public broadcasting would be disastrous for many rural communities, which depend on radio and television stations funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and in which there is relatively high, albeit declining, bipartisan trust . Public broadcasting also allows newer, long-marginalized journalistic voices to be heard, provides educational entertainment for children, and includes programming which blurs the line between concepts of ‘hard news’ and what was long relegated to less important ‘ soft news. ’ And research shows a clear benefit of public media overall: When well-funded and independent, they are associated with healthy democracies. A diet of public news media leads to better-informed publics on hard news matters than a reliance on commercial news, and countries with a mix of public and private systems have a higher voter turnout than private-only media environments. For the 2024 fiscal year, $525 million were allocated for public broadcasting. This amounts to roughly $1.60 per U.S. citizen—a small price to pay for a commitment to an informed public at a time when, on average, the U.S. loses 2.5 newsrooms per week.   

Nonetheless, editors at NPR should not ignore declining audience numbers and debates around bias that have received renewed attention after an editor penned an essay deriding what he diagnosed as an encroachment of progressive advocacy into journalism. But lack of trust in mass media is a problem beyond public media, especially among conservatives , and accusations of bias are levelled also at private media companies . Audiences generally agree that to establish trust, news outlets should be transparent and conduct themselves in line with high ethical standards to produce fair and unbiased reporting. Public media should also prioritize coverage of issues that are relevant to their audience and that they, in their function as a public broadcaster, are uniquely positioned and mandated to report on, such as reporting on rural regions which are often underserved by commercial interests. Politicians can help solve the problem by refraining from accusations of propaganda and bias over unfavorable coverage, which is a driver for mis- and disinformation. Governments can also support efforts to strengthen the information ecosystem and media literacy.   

On Big Tech, Project 2025 is confrontational. From its authors’ viewpoint, tech companies have harmed the U.S. in three ways: national security, health, and freedom of speech.  

On national security, short-video platform TikTok takes center stage in the all-out assault. The authors, much like the Biden administration , assert that the app must be banned. 20  A similar fate would befall the messaging app WeChat. 21 Both apps, the authors say, present a serious national security threat due to the opportunities for data collection and influence it offers the Chinese government. 22  American social media, they say, should be prohibited from censoring Chinese users at the behest of the Chinese government and fined 23  if they are found to support Chinese surveillance, censorship, or the “Great Firewall”. 24 Fears surrounding the threat of Chinese influence extend beyond Project 2025’s social media policy: The U.S. should end dependency on Chinese chips and technology manufacturing 25  by reviving American industry, 26 ban the equipment used to spy on Americans by Chinese manufacturers, 27  and replace parts that are already in place. 28 The authors also consider restricting Chinese individuals or companies from investing in “cutting edge” technology firms 29  and funding research at American universities 30 to prevent national security threats, theft of intellectual property, and aid China in “unwittingly or wittingly” supporting Chinese tech ambitions. 31    

Concerns about privacy, data collection, and sales of data are valid. In fact, it would do either administration well to enact comprehensive data privacy protections across digital platforms as opposed to focusing only on Chinese companies’ practices, as well as to address foreign interference by any entity on any social media platform. A TikTok ban alone would be insufficient in addressing any of these concerns. But privacy overall receives little attention beyond complaints that privacy legislation enforced by the European Union is tantamount to an allied “betrayal,” 32 assertions that the Privacy Act should be carefully enforced to protect U.S. citizens and permanent residents only, 33  and calls to withdraw “politicized” HIPAA guidance on abortion privacy as HIPAA should protect the fetus. 34    

For the authors of the current volume of “ Mandate for Leadership ,” social media platforms have fared little better on child protection online, and the next administration should address what they term “industrial-scale child abuse.” 35  The authors allege that platforms, which they liken to drug dealers, 36  have made Americans less happy 37  and children mentally ill. 38 That Project 2025’s technology policy focuses on children’s media use should come as no surprise. A computational analysis of speeches held by the Chairs of the FCC spanning over the past two decades revealed that Republican FCC Chairs are more likely to prioritize topics related to media and children than their Democrat counterparts. But concern over children’s use of technology is bipartisan: Vivek Murthy, Surgeon General under both Biden and Obama, has named the health effects of social media as one of his administration’s priorities and in June called for warning labels for social media platforms, citing concerns about youth mental health. While the effect of social media on adolescent mental health is contested , protecting children from online data exploitation, exposure to harmful content, or being targeted through explicit AI-generated images are important policy goals. Project 2025’s rhetoric, however, provides few clear policy suggestions to do so and instead echoes language surrounding libraries and book bans, another battlefield in the culture wars.   

Lastly, social media platforms receive criticism for their role in undermining democratic processes and free speech. Project 2025 alleges several firms colluded with the Biden administration on censorship and illegally curtailed free expression under the guise of combatting mis- and disinformation. 39   Though the Supreme Court recently rejected this argument, the writers claim social media platforms represent a threat to American values, free speech, and the family. 40   Project 2025 argues that Big Tech, in cooperation with the Department of Justice, has shut down “politically disfavored speech” under the guise of combatting mis- and disinformation; 41    lent their capabilities to authoritarian regimes to spread propaganda, 42  and present a risk to the livelihood of American business and individuals through their discriminatory moderation and content ranking practices. 43    

To rein in Big Tech, Project 2025 envisions an overhaul of the FCC to halt Big Tech’s abuse of its dominance in the market through interferences in democratic processes and suppression of diverse opinions. 44   It is useful to point out, here, that the FCC has limited jurisdictional authority and thus may not be very effective in curtailing Big Tech’s market power. Project 2025 suggests using antidiscrimination provisions to protect “undesirable” political views and radically reforming the application of Section 230. 45 While Project 2025’s authors acknowledge companies should not be required to host illegal or profane content, they say Big Tech—including social media and service providers—should also not be able to rely on the protection of Section 230 if they censor protected political speech. 46 This regulation, the authors say, should focus on dominant platforms and exclude specialized platforms, newspapers’ comment sections, or subcommunities of larger platforms which moderate themselves. 47 Project 2025 also suggests that users should be able to curate their own experience, such as through the selection of their preferred content filters or fact checking agents. 48   This invocation of antidiscrimination runs counter to their text on the obliteration of diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, especially given the myopic viewpoints of the document.   

Much of the public shares fears about the impact of social media on democratic processes and the information ecosystem. But the suggestions outlined in Project 2025 would do little to alleviate these fears. Users are already free to rely on their own fact checkers and disregard fact checks they do not consider worthy—this has not helped “ post-truth ” America. Some platforms also offer users the choice to mute or filter out certain phrases. And to some extent, algorithms might already end up curating timelines of content that reinforces the users’ existing beliefs. Further institutionalizing what would, in effect, be partisan existences on digital platforms would only reinforce polarization and ultimately hamper democracy.   

Section 230 , which governs whether internet platforms should be held responsible for the content they post, remains a topic of debate across the political aisle. Courts and Congress must balance the risks of mandating platform over-moderating, thereby removing content for fear of litigation, and under-moderating, which could allow illegal or harmful content to flourish. Focusing legislation on large, dominant platforms is a common policy approach : Placing the same requirements on smaller, alternative platforms could stifle budding competition. Still, the law, as it is set out in Project 2025, could protect a number of small social media platforms associated with the authors of the paper and the administration that they envision, such as Trump’s own Truth Social , the user base of which pales in comparison to Meta’s mega-platforms, and r/The_Donald , one of the most active self-moderated subcommunities on Reddit prior to being banned for disregarding platform policy.

The antidiscrimination protections that Project 2025 speaks of refer to the must-carry laws enacted by Texas and Florida that posit platforms discriminated against viewpoints by removing COVID-19 misinformation. Both cases were considered by the Supreme Court but remanded back to lower courts . Leaving aside the danger misinformation presents to public health if allowed to spread unencumbered, must-carry laws could force platforms to host all manner of harmful content. Must carry-laws place political speech under protections which are intended to protect identities and to ensure algorithms do not discriminate against racialized or marginalized communities. This could create a paradox in which discriminatory speech is protected on platforms under antidiscrimination laws . To see how this kind of lax approach to content moderation turns out for users, companies, and advertisers, one need only to turn to X: Since its acquisition by Elon Musk, the platform has taken a hands-off approach to content moderation. As a result, users and advertisers alike have turned their back on a platform on which hate speech, spam, and explicit content prevail.   

Additional policy priorities for the FCC, according to Project 2025, include increasing agency accountability while decreasing wasteful spending, and promoting national security and economic prosperity. 49  While the authors lament that regulation on media ownership is outdated and stifles competition, 50  they also say adversary ownership of above 10% in any American entity should be transparently disclosed to ensure national security. 51  To support economic prosperity, the administration should reduce the digital divide and expand connectivity for every American by supporting the expansion of 5G 52  and satellites such as StarLink. 53  And the authors want Big Tech to pay up: The Universal Service Fund, currently funded through telephone bills, should be supported by the companies which benefit from them. 54  

Project 2025 suggests a similar overhaul for the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) approach to Big Tech, which has been the agency leading the charge on antitrust enforcement. For the authors of “ Mandate for Leadership ,” Big Tech represents a significant departure from previous industries, one which requires hitherto accepted economic theory and antitrust law to be rethought and applied anew. 55  They see in Big Tech’s power the “possibility of real injury to the structure of important American institutions such as democratic accountability and speech,” and suggest this gives reason to apply antitrust laws more rigorously than previously. 56  They see evidence for collusion between the Biden White House and Big Tech on the censorship of scientific fact, “uncomfortable political truths,” and criticism. 57  Though disagreement among the authors of the volume is acknowledged on this point, Project 2025 argues that business concentration should no longer be considered in strictly economic terms, but also in the socio-political sense. 58 Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices; 59 “cancel culture”; 60 and the use of market power to advance a “leftist” agenda, 61 they argue, all point to one conclusion: Big Tech poses a threat to American happiness and democracy, and antitrust law should consider this. 62  There is some overlap with public sentiments and Democrat positions, here: People from both parties believe that social media companies censor certain viewpoints, and the Democratic Party, like the Republicans, recognize that Big Tech’s gatekeeping role in information sharing and public opinion building is fraught, though they reject assertions of collusion or censorship against Republican viewpoints. Democrats also agree that Big Tech’s monopoly power must be curbed.  Project 2025’s plan, however, would privilege the ideological, social, and political concerns of Trump’s Republican Party and discriminate against other viewpoints.   

Project 2025 correctly identifies that digital platforms function differently from earlier industries based on which antitrust law was conceptualized . Today, leading companies’ reach extends far into the private life of individuals and many democratic processes. The power this affords them should be monitored carefully and curtailed when they are found to abuse their economic prowess. In fact, there is bipartisan agreement on the role they have played in democratically erosive processes such as disinformation. “ Mandate for Leadership ,” however, proposes a dramatic overreach of the FTC’s responsibilities without providing substantive evidence of the collusion and censorship they are alleging. Companies are well within their rights to consider values and social considerations in their governance. It seems some in camp Trump would agree. In a post encouraging his followers to buy shares of a SPAC which merged with the “ values-aligned ” alternative online marketplace PublicSq in 2023, Donald Trump, Jr. voiced support for the parallel economy, alternatives to mainstream corporations based around American values .

On the topic of artificial intelligence (AI), Project 2025 focuses on the adversarial relationship with China: The U.S., according to them, must subvert China’s goal to become the global leader on AI. 63 To do so, the government should invest in and protect American innovation 64  while barring American companies from helping China achieve technological dominance. 65  The authors also envision the use of AI to support a variety of processes, such as the detection and disruption of foreign interference on social media 66  and the detection of Medicare and trade abuses. 67    

Project 2025’s AI policy is neither clear nor comprehensive. OpenAI, the key player in the market currently under FTC investigation, finds no mention in the 920-page volume, neither do its competitors. Privacy and copyright concerns related to the vast amounts of training data required to build AI seem to be of little concern, and so are the risk of job loss related to AI, the potential harm of AI-generated misleading content such as deepfakes , or its impact on energy consumption and climate change. Biden’s Executive Order on AI mandates principles such as standards for AI safety, protection of user privacy and civil rights, and promoting healthy competition and innovation. Trump has said he will reverse this Executive Order, claiming it is an example of government overreach . The AI industry is developing at a rapid pace: Comprehensive policy must be in place to protect individuals and societies, curtail abuses of power, and guide research in beneficial, safe directions.   

Trump continues to deny involvement in Project 2025 despite harboring close connections to its authors, praising it in the past, and even acknowledging in a speech in 2022 that the Heritage Foundation would write a detailed plan for the movement’s next administration. And the plans laid out in Agenda47, Trump’s own official policy agenda, closely echo those of Project 2025. In short videos on his campaign website former president Trump, though in much less detail than the 900-page volume, outlines his vision for a second term, which, on technology policy issues, includes investigations of Big Tech and the FBI for what he describes as an anti-American regime of censorship; intentions to block federal efforts to curb domestic mis- and disinformation, and the firing and investigating of employees engaged in this task in the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, or any other agency. He also plans to revise Section 230; limit social media’s ability to both moderate content and ban individuals from their platforms; and bring both the FCC and the FTC under presidential authority .

On technology and media policy, Project 2025 and Agenda47 have common themes: Plans to expand presidential power and limit departmental agency, accusations that technology companies and the government colluded in what they deem censorship, and restricting Chinese ownership and investments . Like the language used by the Heritage Foundation, Agenda47 ties Trump’s technology and communication policy to conservative values and ideals, saying : “The fight for Free Speech [capitalization in original] is a matter of victory or death for America—and for the survival of Western Civilization [capitalization in original] itself.” And both plans fail to provide detailed visions for how to regulate AI. The policy agendas mirror each other closely, and both suggest a vision for technology and communication policy that is both repressive and lax.   

The policy agenda outlined in Project 2025 is seemingly motivated by a sense of discrimination against conservative ideology. 68  The federal government, it says, has been “weaponized against conservative values,” 69  putting “liberty and freedom under siege.” 70 In response, the authors aim to weaken those institutions which they consider part of the attack. Their domestic enemies in technology and communication policy range from the mainstream media generally and public broadcasting specifically to Big Tech and includes the agencies which support and regulate them. If enacted, these policies could harm democracy by restricting press access to the administration and defunding those that report on them, create a mainstream internet landscape which mirrors unmoderated breeding grounds for extremism such as 4chan, and miss the opportunity to enact comprehensive and safe data protections and guardrails for AI.

Google and Meta are general, unrestricted donors to the Brookings Institution. The findings, interpretations, and conclusions posted in this piece are solely those of the authors and are not influenced by any donation. 

• [2] Ibid., p. xiv
• [3] Ibid., p. xiv, p. 69
• [4] Ibid., p. 9
• [5] Ibid., p. 54
• [6] Ibid., p. 872
• [7] Ibid., p. 886
• [8] Ibid., p. 3 
• [9] Ibid., p. 1 
• [10] Ibid., p. xv
• [11] Ibid., p. xvii
• [12] Ibid., p. xx
• [13] Ibid., p. 248
• [14] Ibid., p. 246
• [15] Ibid., p. 246
• [16] Ibid., p. 246-247
• [17] Ibid., p. 29-30
• [18] Ibid., p. 29
• [19] Ibid., p. 240
• [20] Ibid., p. 13, p. 851
• [21] Ibid., p. 789
• [22] Ibid., p. 851
• [23] Ibid., p. 790
• [24] Ibid., p. 12
• [25] Ibid., p. 790
• [26] Ibid., p. 13
• [27] Ibid., p. 784
• [28] Ibid., p. 852
• [29] Ibid., p. 786
• [30] Ibid., p. 784
• [31] Ibid., p. 786
• [32] Ibid., p. 226
• [33] Ibid., p. 50, p. 165
• [34] Ibid., p. 497
• [35] Ibid., p. 5-6
• [36] Ibid., p. 5
• [37] Ibid., p. 877
• [38] Ibid., p. 5-6
• [39] Ibid., p. 545-546
• [40] Ibid., p. 879, p. 4-5
• [41] Ibid., p. 548
• [42] Ibid., p. 196
• [43] Ibid., p. 848, 
• [44] Ibid., p. 847, p. 849
• [45] Ibid., p. 849
• [46] Ibid., p. 826
• [47] Ibid., p. 849
• [48] Ibid., p. 849
• [49] Ibid., p. 847, p. 852-855
• [50] Ibid., p. 857
• [51] Ibid., p. 852
• [52] Ibid., p. 853
• [53] Ibid., p. 855
• [54] Ibid., p. 850
• [55] Ibid., p. 877-878
• [56] Ibid., p. 877-879
• [57] Ibid., p. 872
• [58] Ibid., p. 872
• [59] Ibid., p. 874
• [60] Ibid., p. 874
• [61] Ibid., p. 873
• [62] Ibid., p. 879
• [63] Ibid., p. 216, p. 852
• [64] Ibid., p. 106, 392
• [65] Ibid., p. 852-853
• [66] Ibid., p. 790
• [67] Ibid., p. 463, p. 667
• [68] Ibid., p. 60
• [69] Ibid., p. xiv
• [70] Ibid., p. xiv

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After Chipotle's Stock Split, Can It Reach $3,000 Again?

• Chipotle just split its stock 50-for-1.
• It has been growing at a healthy clip.
• $3,000 a share is likely a very long way off.
• Motley Fool Issues Rare “All In” Buy Alert

Chipotle Mexican Grill

What would it take for Chipotle's stock to tip over $3,000 a share once more?

Chipotle ( CMG -1.95% ) is one of the most popular fast-casual options on the market and one of the fastest growing. It's garnered a lot of attention from investors, and after another strong quarter, the company's stock tipped above $3,000 in early 2024.

That's a pretty expensive stock. For many smaller, retail investors, it was prohibitively expensive, leading the company to implement a 50-for-1 stock split . Chipotle joined a growing list of companies to make the same decision.

On June 20, traders woke up to notice that shares were trading below $70. Maybe some briefly panicked before they realized that no, the company's stock didn't suddenly crater and lose 98% of its value. Instead, the split had taken effect and they now owned 50 times as many shares trading at 1/50th of the price.

Shares have slid further since the split, now trading around $50. So, what would it take to reach $3,000 again? And how long would it take?

Chipotle grew by a factor of 50 before, but repeating that feat is a different ballgame

Reaching $3,000 again would mean a more than 50x jump from today's price. It's true that Chipotle pulled that off before. Back in 2009, Chipotle shares were trading around $1. But remember that it is much easier to grow rapidly when you are starting out; growth often tends to level off the larger you get. Think of it this way -- Chipotle currently has a market capitalization of $73 billion. A 50x jump from here would mean a market cap of $3.6 trillion.

Although that number seems crazy, it's certainly not impossible given enough time, but how long? That's the crux of the issue. What is a reasonable time frame? To determine that, let's consider what a reasonable growth rate might be. From 2009 through today, Chipotle grew at a roughly 30% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). For context, the S&P 500 index's CAGR over the same period was roughly 13% -- and that's unusually high; the historic return since the index's inception is closer to the 8%-10% range depending on how far back you want to start the clock.

As I said earlier, growth tends to slow as a company gets big enough. There are certainly exceptions, but it would seem to hold here -- we can't expect Chipotle to grow indefinitely as quickly as it has. Let's imagine that Chipotle continues to outperform the market and assume a generous 15% CAGR going forward. At that rate, it would take the company roughly 28 years for its stock to reach $3,000 again.

Look at the larger market for a clue

Ok, so how would this happen? Well, we can roughly say that Chipotle has to grow its revenue at the same rate. The company brought in just shy of $10 billion last year, so 28 years of 15% growth would mean Chipotle was pulling in $500 billion by 2042.

The global fast-food industry was worth $980 billion in 2023. It's been growing by roughly 2.1% over the last five years. If that rate holds over time, the total market will be worth about $1.8 trillion by 2042. Chipotle would control roughly 28% of the entire global market. The four biggest players today control between 30% and 40% combined. Does it seem likely Chipotle alone would be able to control nearly as much as the top four? I don't think so. It may take a lot longer than 28 years for Chipotle's share price to reach $3,000 again.

To be sure, there are several assumptions I've made that may not hold true, but I hope this illustrates the difficulty of continuing to grow at 15%, much less 30%, far into the future. But the company doesn't need to for it to still be a good pick today. Chipotle is delivering substantial growth, and I see this continuing for some time. For 28 years? Not likely. For the next five to 10? I think so.

Johnny Rice has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Chipotle Mexican Grill. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy .

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What is ‘gay and trans panic’? Michigan is latest to ban criminal defense.

The criminal defense seeks to use the victim’s sexual identity to justify violence. The American Bar Association has deemed it a “miscarriage of justice.”

Michigan is the latest state to ban the “gay and trans panic” criminal defense, making it unlawful to use “the discovery of a person’s actual or perceived gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation as justification for the commission of a crime.”

States have increasingly outlawed the defense in recent years, starting with California in 2006. But it is still lawful in most states. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) signed the bill Tuesday.

Advocates for outlawing the defense point to high-profile cases such as the 2015 murder of David Spencer in Texas, who was stabbed by a friend who said he tried to kiss him. James Miller was sentenced in 2018 to six months in prison after his murder charge was downgraded to criminally negligent homicide following a “gay panic” defense argument from his attorney.

The American Bar Association has called for legislative action to “curtail the availability and effectiveness” of the defense, saying that “successful gay and trans panic defenses constitute a miscarriage of justice.”

What is the gay or trans panic defense?

The legal defense is used when a defendant charged with a violent crime attempts to use the victim’s sexual identity as a mitigating factor in his culpability, with the goal of acquittal or reduced charges.

A man accused of killing another man or trans woman, for example, might argue in court that the victim had either indicated interest in him, tried to sexually assault him or engaged in sexual behavior with him without disclosing their sexual identity.

W. Carsten Andresen, an assistant professor of criminal justice at St. Edward’s University in Austin, has compiled a database of gay and trans panic defense cases from media articles, legal transcripts and academic writing. He found more than 700 instances of the defense being used in murder cases between 1970 and 2024 in the United States, including 18 in Michigan, he said in a phone interview. It was an effective tactic in reducing charges about a third of the time, his analysis of early data found.

Andresen said there were four main ways the argument is used.

The first is provocation, in which a defense attorney argues that a victim “hitting on” a defendant is “so upsetting, and it would be so upsetting to any man, that the violence is understandable,” Andresen said. He added this was used more often as a tactic to reduce charges, for example from first- or second-degree murder to manslaughter.

The second is to bolster a self-defense argument in which the perpetrator of violence alleges the victim sexually assaulted him or attempted to assault him.

The third is insanity, in which the defendant argues that he had such a strong reaction to the actions of an LGBTQ+ person that he broke with reality and used violence, which has typically not been successful in courtrooms, Andresen said.

The fourth is diminished capacity, a lesser version of insanity that argues the victim’s sexual identity affected the perpetrator’s mental state.

What does the Michigan ruling mean?

The Michigan law bans using a person’s real or perceived sexual identity in a provocation defense, a “heat of passion” defense or a reduced mental capacity defense.

Andresen said it empowers judges and prosecutors to stop or object to defense attorneys using a victim’s sexual identity when making arguments to a jury. “There are still ways that the defense attorney will try to get around it,” he said. “But it allows you to be vocal in calling this out and identifying it for what it is.”

“It’s been likened to rape shield laws with women, where if a woman is sexually assaulted, you’re not allowed to bring up her sexual history,” he added. “You hopefully are providing a little bit more context for what a defense attorney is trying to do when they try to insinuate that somebody … is somehow to blame or that the offender is less culpable for the harm that they caused.”

Where else is the panic defense banned?

Twenty states and the District of Columbia have some form of legislation prohibiting an LGBTQ+ panic defense: California, Illinois, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Nevada, New York, D.C., Colorado, New Jersey, Washington, Maryland, Oregon, Vermont, Virginia, New Mexico, New Hampshire, Delaware, Minnesota and Michigan, according to the National LGBTQ+ Bar Association.

There is legislation pending in Pennsylvania, and it has been introduced but failed in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Montana, Wisconsin, Georgia, Massachusetts, Nebraska, North Carolina and Texas, the group said.

A federal bill was introduced by Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) in 2021 and reintroduced in 2023 but has not passed.

Research on bird flu in cows shows how efficiently it has spread among mammals

The Summary

• A new study describes how bird flu has spread between dairy cows and from cows to other mammals.
• Experts worry the virus is developing new capabilities that could help it evolve to spread from person to person — something that has not yet been observed.
• According to the new research, cats and a raccoon acquired the virus and died, most likely after drinking raw milk.

New research into the ongoing bird flu outbreaks on dairy farms describes in unprecedented detail how efficiently the virus has spread among cows, and from cows to other mammals, including cats and a raccoon. 

It’s an indication that the virus is developing new capabilities that have bird flu experts worried. 

Bird flu has affected more than 100 million wild aquatic birds, commercial flocks and backyard poultry in the U.S. over the last several years. Its spread has had scientists on alert about the possibility that the virus could one day evolve to spread from person to person, igniting the next pandemic. 

No human-to-human transmission has occurred yet, as far as researchers know. But the case total among people continues to grow: Colorado state health officials confirmed three new cases of bird flu in people Thursday, bringing the national total to 14.

The human cases have all been in farmworkers infected after exposure to sick animals, and all but one have been diagnosed in the last four months. Though little is known yet about the three newest infections, the rest have been mild.

The new study demonstrates that the virus is spreading from one mammal species to another — a relatively new phenomenon that could make it harder for authorities to control. 

The longer the virus remains uncontrolled, the more potential it has to evolve and adapt to become more of a threat to people, according to the authors of the new study, which was published in the journal Nature on Tuesday .

“The virus is not very efficient in infecting humans and transmitting between humans, but if the virus continues to circulate in dairy cows and from dairy cows into other mammalian species, that could change,” said Diego Diel, an author of the study and the director of the Virology Laboratory at the Animal Health Diagnostic Center at Cornell University. “It’s concerning.” 

The new study evaluated the first outbreaks of avian influenza among cows at nine farms in Texas, New Mexico, Kansas and Ohio, sampling the animals and then comparing the genetic similarity of virus between them. 

The researchers found that the virus, a particular strain of bird flu known as H5N1, spread rapidly among farms. When infected cows were moved from Texas to a different farm in Ohio, the virus was soon discovered in the Ohio cows. And genetic sequencing suggests that cats and a raccoon acquired the virus and died, most likely after drinking raw milk. 

Sick cows began to eat less feed, ruminated less, experienced decreased milk production and produced discolored milk, the study says. On some affected farms, cows died at twice the normal rate.

Andrew Bowman, a professor of veterinary preventive medicine at Ohio State University who was not involved in the new study, said the research reflects the experience veterinarians have had on many U.S. farms. 

“It matches with the clinical picture,” Bowman said. “That’s 100% what we’ve seen on dairy farms. This is just the first real published documentation.” 

The study bolsters evidence that handling or drinking unpasteurized milk is dangerous.  

Diel said infected cows shed incredible amounts of virus through their mammary glands when infected — at higher concentrations than the virus can be easily cultured in a laboratory setting. 

“It’s extremely risky to drink raw milk,” Diel said.

Various studies have detected live H5N1 virus in raw milk, and others have shown that pasteurization inactivates the virus , making commercially produced milk safe for consumption. 

Farmers are not supposed to send any milk with a possibility of contamination for production. 

“Milk from sick cows shouldn’t be going into the milk supply,” Bowman said.

As scientists continue to study the avian flu outbreak, Bowman said he will be interested to learn whether cows can shed the virus before they start to appear sick, as well as whether the virus continues to spread onward from the mammals that contract infections from cows. 

This is the third episode in which the virus has spread fairly quickly among a group of mammals, said Anice Lowen, a virologist and professor at Emory University School of Medicine who was also not involved in the new study. Previously, virus spread on mink farms and among sea lions and fur seals last summer.  

Cases in some mammals have been severe, and the virus has caused mass deaths among sea lions and seals , among other species. 

Lowen said health officials should also consider the risk that people could get infected with H5N1 and the seasonal flu at the same time this winter. When someone is infected by multiple influenza viruses, those viruses can go through a process called reassortment, in which they trade genetic information. 

This process can give viruses a shortcut to evolve, potentially altering the way they spread.

“The virus we have right now in cows presents a relatively low risk to humans. CDC has said that and they’re right,” Lowen said. “But where the risk lies in my mind is viral evolution. They change when they adapt to new hosts. They change when they go through reassortment and exchange genes.” 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention declined to comment on the new research. 

Evan Bush is a science reporter for NBC News.