RR - "The Art of Summarizing"

"As a general rule, a good summary requires balancing what the original author is saying with the writers own focus."

When summarizing, it is of great importance to do so without a bias. A good summary should not provide so much as a hint to the reader of your opinion on the summarized information. The best, and perhaps only, way to do this is to willingly push aside your own beliefs and focus only on those relayed to you in the material. By doing so, you will be more successful in gathering and using information correctly in your own summaries. 

While above I mentioned that writing a good summary requires pushing aside your own views, one must maintain a conscious understanding of their own views while incorporating their summary to fit with the purpose of their work. Your summary should be astute and focused while maintaining a sense of equality, matching what 'they say' with what 'you say.' It is important to avoid list summaries. 

Of course, as with most things, therein lies an exception to the general rule: satirical summarizing. In these cases, it is acceptable to ignore the balance and instead purposefully apply your own take on the summarized material, typically in order to take away its credibility. 

"To do justice to the authors you cite, we recommend that when summarizing - or even when introducing a quotation - you use vivid and precise signal verbs as often as possible."