The general rule of thumb to remember when writing a summary is that it needs to be a brief restatement of the main points or facts within a work. Include all of the important points, but keep in mind that a summary is designed to give the reader the general overview of a longer work. Summarizing can not only be used to highlight the main points of a longer work for someone else, but can also be used as a tool for helping you to analyze your own work. Summarizing is one of the best ways to identify a works strengths and weaknesses.

Here are some steps to take when writing summaries:

1. Read the work through thoroughly. This will allow you to see all of the main points as well as get a general overview of the entire work.

2. Reread the passage, but this time make a list of all the major ideas, or main points within the work.

3. Expand on the main points, including only information that is helpful in defining those main points.

4. Formulate a topic sentence for each of the main points. These should each summarize the whole point in one sentence. To do this you can look to the author's thesis sentence or topic sentences to help you. Do not however, restate what the author has already written, but formulate your own original sentence, based on what the author has written.

5. Write a full paragraph, or more if needed, combining your topic sentences with the brief things that you wrote to expand on the main points in step # 3. Make sure that each sentence expands on the information given in your topic sentence and is not just a repetition of it.

6. Rewrite and rearrange the paragraph to make sure that it is smooth and concise, adding transitional words and phrases where necessary. Eliminate all repetition and relatively minor points and avoid using short, choppy sentences. The final version should be a unified and coherent compilation of all of the steps above.