It uses one's own words to give only the elements that are most important—the main idea and its essential supporting points.

It presents the original message of the text, retains the intent, meaning, and idea of the original work, yet in a shortened way.

Repetition of views or supporting details should not be part of a summary, for it should be considerably shorter than the source.

All the important points in the original text should be noted and shortened using one’s own words.

To summarize, one should use his or her own words, and a summary should not contain strings of phrases drawn from the original text.

A summary should be understandable and should make sense to the reader who has little or no knowledge about the original text.

A summary must be dependent to original words used in the text.

A summary must have the same length as the original text.

A summary should not contain strings of phrases drawn from the original text.

A summary is considerably shorter than the original text.