How to Write a Summary

How to Write a SummaryWith thanks to: Swales, John M. and Christine B. Feat. Academic Writing for Graduate Students,Essential Tasks and Skills. Ann Arbor: U Michigan P, 1994. 105-130.Preparing to Write: To write a good summary it is important to thoroughly understand thematerial you are working with. Here are some preliminary steps in writing a summary.1. Skim the text, noting in your mind the subheadings. If there are no subheadings, try todivide the text into sections. Consider why you have been assigned the text.

Try todetermine what type of text you are dealing with. This can help you identify importantinformation.2. Read the text, highlighting important information and taking notes.3. In your own words, write down the main points of each section.4. Write down the key support points for the main topic, but do not include minor detail.5.

Go through the process again, making changes as appropriate.For example:Global Implications of Patent Law VariationA patent is an exclusive right to usean invention for a certain period of time,which is given to an inventor as compensation for disclosure of an invention.Although it would be beneficial for theworld economy to have uniform patent laws,each country has its own laws designed toprotect domestic inventions and safeguardtechnology. Despite widespread variation,patent laws generally fall under one of twoprinciples: the first-to-file and first-toinvent.

The first-to-file principle awards apatent to the person or institution thatapplies for a patent first, while the first-toinvent principle grants the patent to theperson or institution that was first to invent –and can prove it. Most countries haveadopted the first-to-file system.

However,the United States maintains a first-to-inventsystem, despite obvious shortcomings. Aresult of countries employing differentpatent law principles is inconsistency ofpatent ownership.This first sentence is a general definition. Itmay be safe to assume that your audience isalready familiar with patents; thus you donot have to include it in your summary.This is the main idea.The classification of the two principles isimportant.Ignore specific details about the differentprinciples.

The terms are self-explanatory.It is important to point out that most of theworld follows one system and the UnitedStates another.Include a description of the problemsurrounding variation in patent laws.Patent ownership is not recognizedglobally. On the contrary, ownership maychange depending on the country. It is notuncommon for an invention to have twopatent owners – one in the United States andone in the rest of the world. This unclearownership often has economicconsequences. If a company is interested inusing a patented invention, it may be unableto receive permission from both patentowners, which in turn may preventmanufacture of a particular product.

Even ifpermission is received from both owners,pay royalties to both may be quite costly. Inthis case, if the invention is useful enough, acompany may proceed and pass on theadded cost to consumers.International economic tension hasalso been increasing as a result of differingpolicies. Many foreign individuals andcompanies believe that they are at a seriousdisadvantage in the United States withregard to patent ownership because of thelogistical difficulties in establishing first-toinvent status. Further, failure of the UnitedStates to recognize patent ownership in othercountries is in violation of the ParisConventions on Industrial Properties, whichrequires all member nations to treat allpatents equally.

The conflict surroundingpatents has prompted the World IntellectualProperties Organization (WIPO) to lobby foruniversality in patent laws. WIPO maintainsthat the first necessary step involvescompelling the United States to reexamineits patent principle, taking into account thereality of a global economy. This push mayindeed result in more global economiccooperation.Provide some support/explanation for theproblem, but not all the detailsDescribe this other problem associated withdiffering patent principles.Provide some explanation, but not all thedetails.Describe the action taken to solve theproblem.Writing the Summary:When writing the summary there are three main requirements:1.

The summary should cover the original as a whole.2. The material should be presented in a neutral fashion.3. The summary should be a condensed version of the material, presented in your ownwords.* * Also do not include anything that does not appear in the original. (Do not include your owncomments or evaluation.)andBe sure to identify your source.For example:In his paper “Global Implications of Patent Law Variation,” Koji Suzuki (1991) statesthat lack of consistency in the world’s patent laws is a serious problem. In most of the world,patent ownership is given to the inventor that is first to file for a patent. However, the UnitedStates maintains a first-to-invent policy. In view of this, patent ownership can change dependingon the country. Multiple patent ownership can result in economic problems; however, moststriking is the international tension it causes.

The fact that the United States does not recognizepatent ownership in other countries, in violation of the Paris Convention on Industrial Properties,has prompted the World Intellectual Properties Organization (WIPO) to push the United States toreview its existing patent law principles..