Last Updated on March 25, 2024 by Jawad Ali
Have you spent your previous years thinking that summary and analysis are the same? Then you may be surprised to know that there exist huge differences between both the terms. Yes, the summary is a different element of a dissertation, which has its own style and writing guidelines. On the other hand, an analysis is something different. In today’s article, I am going to discuss the differences that exist between summary and analysis. However, before jumping straight into the discussion of differences, let’s define each element one by one.
What Does It Mean To Provide A Summary?
A summary is a shortened or compacted version of the main text of writing. It does not matter whether it is an article, essay, thesis, or dissertation. This definition of the summary applies to each writing type. The summary provides the reader with an overall understanding of the original work through a shortened version. That compacted version of the original text includes the main ideas discussed in writing. In short, it describes the questions Who, What, When, and Where about the topic of the study.
What Is The Definition Of Analysis?
An analysis is a careful and thorough examination of research work, topic, or quote. The writer thoroughly identifies, separates, and examines the components of a given subject. This element of any writing explains the in-depth meaning of the subject and forms the elementary basis of the topic. In short, the analysis of something means breaking it into several parts and then examining the parts of it separately. For example, you want to analyse an essay. You may divide the essay into several sections, like examples and word choice in your analysis. Hence, this is the way you need to follow to analyse something in detail.
Differences Between Summary And Analysis
From the discussion above, you know the meaning of summary and analysis. You know about their basic purpose in any writing. As I mentioned earlier, these both crucial elements of writing are not the same. It is now time to discuss the differences that exist between them. Although there are many differences between summary and analysis, here I will only describe only the major ones. Hence, a brief description of the major differences is as follows:
Differences In The Exposition Of The Subject
The first and the most important difference between both elements of writing lies in the exposition of the subject. The summary only provides a look at the main concepts used in writing. You can say it is a brief description of the main points that affect the problem. On the other hand, the analysis is something totally different from this. It is a thorough exposition of the subject, which includes breaking the concepts and ideas into smaller chunks and studying them one by one. However, for most of the students, it is hard to understand; therefore, they seek help from a reliable dissertation proposal writing service.
Differences In Doing Both Things
Another huge difference lies in the process of summarising and analysing a topic. Both differ in how they are done. To summarise a topic, all the writer needs to do is highlight the main points of the study and pen them down in one place. This highlighting of the main points and discussing them is basically the summary. In the meantime, analysing the subject or topic is done differently. The writer needs to break the whole discussion into several sections. After that, he needs to study each section separately and conclude the article.
The Difference In The Tone
The tone matters a lot in writing something. Therefore, a huge difference also lies in the tone of the summary and analysis. The tone of a summary is objective and neutral. You cannot add anything new in the summary section as you only need to discuss the main points. In contrast, the tone of analysis is opinion-based or subjective. It allows the writer to give his own opinion about the topic while analysing it. It allows the writer to make claims and give examples and descriptions to support the topic.
The Difference In The Presentation
The difference in the presentation of summary and analysis is another difference you must consider when doing these things. There is no space for your opinions in summary. You just need to reproduce or rephrase the main ideas of the main text in a shorter form. In the meantime, the presentation of the analysis takes place differently. You can give your opinions and descriptions on the topic. However, you must remember that you cannot give unsupported opinions. Do support your opinions with a concrete piece of evidence while analysing something.
The Difference In Conclusion
Normally, at the end of writing, you give a concluding statement. When you write a summary, there is no need to give a concluding statement. The reason is that the summary itself acts as a conclusion to an article or essay. So, a summary does not include closing or concluding lines. On the other hand, the analysis includes a conclusion. while analysing an article or essay, the writer makes an argument by looking at the available information. After that, he gives a conclusion that suits the overall discussion in the research proposal.
The Difference In Connectivity Of Information
In summary, the writer provides the information in discrete pieces. It does not matter whether those pieces of information are related to each other or not. In contrast, the analysis flows smoothly, and it discusses how each piece of information is connected with the other. Hence, you will find connectivity in the information presented in the analysis.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, summary and analysis are two different things. Both have their own writing styles and guidelines to follow. A summary is the one that compacts the whole information into one thing and informs the readers about the vital points. In contrast, the analysis is about performing an in-depth examination of the ideas. Some major differences between both things are mentioned above. Read and follow them carefully, as they can help you craft a better version of the summary and analysis in your paper.