Summaries Drafting Workshop

A good science summary will be concise and relatable to a broad more generalized audience.  It will provide a sweeping overview of the source material (the study or research), effectively identifying its main points while also extracting and relaying relevant methodological approaches within the study.  A good science summary will interpret its scientific findings for a broad (lay) audience.

1. Read through the summary carefully. When you’re finished, write a brief two-three-sentence summary of the summary (I know, so meta). What questions do you still have about the research and/or its significance?
2. Now find the original article (either have your partner email it to you or find it through the library resources). Read over the abstract and skim the study.  Now that you’re more familiar with the original research, how effective is the summary? What has your writer included and what has your writer excluded? Is there anything important missing?
3. Now read one last time, correcting any errors in grammar, spelling, and syntax. Make note of any terms or phrases that still need defining.