When writing an academic text, you build your argument using information from various types of sources. It’s important to read, process, and then summarise this information in your own words.

Summarising effectively takes practice. Once you have developed this skill, it demonstrates both your understanding of the subject and your ability to write academically.

Highlight the Core Message

A summary—or a paraphrase—is used to highlight the core message of a text. A summary should be an independent piece of writing. Simply replacing a few words or phrases is not enough. To write a good summary, you need to read the original text until you fully understand it. If you are unsure about the content, it is difficult to rephrase it accurately, and you risk staying too close to the source. Sometimes, reading additional sources can help you gain the necessary understanding.

Focus on the whole

Be careful not to paraphrase sentence by sentence when you should instead take a step back and summarise the overall message. Academic writing should be precise and concise, which is easier to achieve when you focus on the big picture rather than individual sentences or paragraphs. It is easy to get caught up in details or include information that is not relevant to your own text. Always keep your aim in mind and select only the parts that support it.

Summarising from multiple sources

Academic writing often involves combining summaries from several sources. One of the challenges is identifying similarities and differences between them and weaving these insights together with your own commentary. This process is called synthesising sources.

It is usually more effective to organise your text by theme rather than by source. For example, each paragraph can focus on a specific theme, incorporating relevant points from different sources and drawing conclusions. This approach makes your text more coherent and allows you to shape it with your own voice and perspective.

Quoting

In some cases, you may need to quote directly—for example, when citing a precise definition or when rephrasing would change the meaning. However, summarising in your own words is generally preferred. Use quotations sparingly. A text with too many quotes may suggest that you haven’t fully processed or understood the material.

Language contagion and plagiarism

“Language contagion” occurs when your writing mimics the style or structure of the source too closely. This often happens when you paraphrase sentence by sentence. It can make your text uneven and cause you to lose your own voice.

Plagiarism means using someone else’s work or exact wording without proper citation. This is not allowed.

You can read more about what constitutes plagiarism and JU’s guidelines in the guide Källkoll: Studentens guide till att undvika plagiering.

You can read more about what counts as plagiarism and JU's guidelines in the guide Sourcewise: A Student's Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism.

Reporting verbs

Reporting verbs are used when you integrate the author’s name into your sentence. They are useful when you want to highlight a particular author or remind the reader that you are still referring to the same source. That said, avoid overusing them—if it is clear that the same source is being referenced, repeating the author’s name is unnecessary.

Neutral reporting verbs:

  • analyses, describes, discusses, explains, compares, states, presents, summarises, writes, shows

Evaluative reporting verbs:

  • argues, claims, confirms, concludes, suggests, asserts, questions, emphasises, points out, believes, underlines

Example:

  • Greene (2025) describes how (…) Furthermore, Greene argues…

More examples of how to use reporting verbs can be found on the page Reporting verbs from Newcastle University.

Some tips for summarising in your own words

First, think about the aim of your text. How do you want to use the source? Start from the function you want the source to have when working on your summary.

  • Read the source several times to make sure you understand the content and are familiar with the topic presented.
  • Make notes of the important points in the source as you read. Avoid writing full sentences, instead try to find key words.
  • Put the source down and use your notes to write your text. Use only words and expressions that you know and master.
  • Compare your text with the source to see if you missed anything essential, misunderstood or worded too similar to the original text.
  • Think about whether your summary is too detailed. Maybe you can remove parts that are not necessary for your particular text.
  • Weave your summaries or quotes into your own text. Perhaps you need to write an introductory sentence to help the reader understand the context, or after the reference, make your own comment that links the reference to what you want to say with your text.
  • Make sure that you have properly cited your sources and that it is clear where your summary begins and ends.