Strategies

How do you go about writing a 'SCALES' summary?

Summarising is closely associated with reading; you cannot write a good summary if you do not understand what you have read.

Most resources on summarising focus on the following steps:

• Read and understand the text (its purpose and overall theme).

• Select relevant information (main/important ideas).

• Make notes as you read.

• Write notes in point form.
  

• Write the summary directly from your notes [and only look at the source text after you have finished writing up the notes].

In the next three sub-sections, the focus will be on these three stages in the summarising process:

• Reading and understanding
• Making notes
• Writing from notes