HOW TO RETELL A SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE
Summaries are often found in academic work. A summary is the shortest account of the main content and conclusions of the original text. In fact it is enumeration of the main thematic point of the original paper which is made up of the words and phrases borrowed from the text and your own wording of them into a very small number of sentences.
When writing a summary, you may adhere to the following plan:
1) the heading and the author;
2) the theme of the paper;
3) the key problems (thematic points) discussed;
4) the conclusion at which the author arrives.
The manner of presenting the material is very concise and it tends to be critical. The summary writer appreciates the material from his point of view and uses as a rule a wide range of clichés, which can be divided into several groups.
1) Clichés, introducing the heading and the author.
Look through the text. What is its main topic? What field is it in? What is its main idea?
The article (text, work, book) is headlined …
The headline of the article (I have read) is …
The article is entitled …
The author of the article (text) is …
The article is written by …
It’s an abstract from the (research) work of a famous (well-known, major) scientist (historian, linguist, economist, theorist, analyst, practitioner, etc).
2) Clichés, introducing the leading theme of the original paper.
The text deals with...
The article I’ve just read deals with the problems of...
The article might be regarded a part of a bigger research which deals in...
The article is devoted to the issue of...
The article is devoted to the problem of…
The book (article, work) covers problems (issues)...
The main topic of this article is...
The chapter is about…
This chapter is devoted to...
The article touches upon…
This original paper (article / work) is addressed to some of the central issues in (theoretic research, modern economic theory of..., etc.)
The aim of the article is to investigate (explore / show / help understand) some of the issues of...
This chapter (article) provides an outline of the theoretical basis of...
3) Clichés, drawing the reader's attention to the major points of the contents.
Work on the parts of the text one by one (the parts the text falls into may show as paragraphs). What is the main idea of each part? Try to find the topic statements or sentences in each part and put them down. They might be 1-2 sentences at the beginning of each paragraph but not necesserily.
The main questions touched upon by this chapter / article / work are numerous. They are...
The author emphasizes the idea of...
The author points out that...
Attention is drawn to the fact...
In the opinion of the author it is …
Several paragraphs of the article investigate... (the distinction, the features, characteristics of...)
Some of the central issues dealt with in this part are...
In this book (article, work, study) the author raises several important issues (studies the following problems)…
The author covers (discusses, analyzes, touches on, considers, speaks about, stresses, describes, depicts, presents, researches, develops, elaborates, clarifies, formulates, characterizes)…
First, (first of all, firstly, in the first place)…
One of the most important subjects (most topical issues, main problems), in my opinion (in my view, in the author’s opinion), is the issue…
The author proves (provides data, bases his views on, shares the point of view) that…
4) Clichés, introducing secondary information.
Further the author reports…
The author states…
The article goes on to say…
According to the text…
According to the author…
In (the) other part(s) of the article (chapter) the author explores... (the role of the theoretic notion of...)
The author shows (combines ideas of, assumes that, further develops the idea that)…
The author examines the data received from... (the matter, major theoretic perspectives of...)
The author explores the methodological issues of... (pays tribute to...)
Then, (besides, furthermore, subsequently, in the second place, secondly)…
Moreover, the author mentions (refers to, notes, indicates, focuses on, concentrates on, pays/ devotes particular attention to)…
The author refuses (disputes, argues against, questions, sheds doubt on, objects against, disagrees with, criticizes, denies)…
5) Clichés, forming a conclusion to which the reader's attention is drawn.
The author comes to the conclusion that...
The author concludes by saying...
The basic approach of the author is that, etc.
Thus, it can be said that…
Consequently,
The author makes the generalization that…
The author presents the following results.
6) Clichés, expressing personal evaluation of the information presented by the author.
Now add some details to the skeleton. They can be from the text – some interesting facts that illustrate the theory or what not. Think of some opinions of your own: what do you think of this or that idea of the author? Does this matter seem interesting to you? Does it go with your own research? Do you agree with the hypotheses presented? Let your statements be noticeable, expressive and persuading, and logical.
The value of the author’s work is in its…
The virtue of the author’s work is…
The positive aspects of the work are…
The significance of the work is…
The benefits of the work are…
The weak points of the work are…
The work has great practical significance.
The work is of interest to…
The work is interesting due to its…
The work is meant for (whom)…
I would like to point out that...
I would like to attract your attention to the following...
In my opinion this supposition (idea) is...
We should bear in mind that...
I would rather prefer to consider... /take it like this:..
As for me I don’t think that...
I’m afraid but...
I do not quite agree that...
I cannot but praise... (the work of this author..., etc.)
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