Opening Sentences

Article/book title
Writer’s name
Main idea/claim

List ideas in paragraph form, in the same order they appeared in the original article.

Never include your opinion

Just report what was originally read.

Example

Introduction

Analyze and extract get the thesis from the article:

“I have three guiding principles that anchor my life”

Therefore, we’re looking for those three guiding principles in detail.

1) Unquenchable thirst for knowledge – I consider myself a perpetual student. Because of this, I rarely get bored.

Reason – knowledge is connected to the truth.

2) Strive for excellence. Being a perfectionist and constantly trying to improve himself. He’s a perfectionist. It has made him a better physician and scientist.

He has accepted that he will never know or understand as much as he wants.

3) Serve humankind.

Details

1) – research, care of patients, public healthy policy of AID/HIV
I am committed to confronting the enormity of this global public health catastrophe and its potential for greater devastation.

Writing it

Main idea – three guiding principles that anchor my life

1) Never ending search for knowledge
2) Because knowledge is connected to truth
…etc.

In the article “A Goal of Service to Humankind”, Dr Anthony Fauci discusses the most important principles that guide his life.

The first guiding principle is a never ending search for knowledge.
(what does that mean?)
He considers himself to be a perpetual learner. As a result, he’s never bored.

The second principle is aiming for excellence. He is a perfectionist and is constantly trying to do his best, which has made him a better physician.

The last principle is his goal to serve other humans. He has spent all his professional life in service to others. In the 1980s, when AIDS became a global health health crisis, he committed himself to solving this problem, and he is still committed to ensuring that this disease does not produce even greater devastation.

Supplement

How to Write a Summary in English

Summary Checklist:
The first sentence tells the article title in quotation marks.

The first sentence uses a verb in simple present (discusses, explains, or describes)

The first sentence includes the writer/author and the main idea/claim/topic.

Example first sentence:

In the article “A Goal of Service to Humankind,” Doctor Anthony Fauci discusses the three principles that guide his life as a physician.

The summary clearly shows the main points of the article with transitions like “first of all” and “next.”

The summary tells the main points in the same order that they appeared in the article

The summary uses the student’s own words and does not copy from the article.

The ideas of the article are clear in the summary. (1-2 sentences of supporting details can be added if the idea is not clear.)

The summary does not include unnecessary details.

The summary is objective; it does not include the student’s opinion.

Optional: the summary concludes with a sentence to summarize the main points.

The grammar, vocabulary, and sentence structure are good.

Steps to Write a Summary:

Read and understand the article. You need to read more than once.

Read critically: use 2 highlighters to identify main ideas and supporting details. Draw lines to separate the article into sections. If the article is hard or long, you can also do these two optional things: make margin notes and cross out ideas that are not important.

Make a list of the important ideas in your own words. This outline is a great way to make your summary easy and to avoid copying from the article.

Use your outline to write your summary.

Remember the characteristics of a good summary:
Clearly organized with transitions
Short but not too short
Ideas are clear. A little detail can be added, but not too much.
Do not add your opinion!