When you introduce yourself,

you give a summary. You tell

only the facts that people want

to hear.

A summary tells the main idea of a story, the news, a report,

or any information. A summary tells the most important facts

or ideas. A summary is useful for many things.

In a job interview, you talk

about your education and

work experience.

With new friends, you can

talk about your hobbies

and interests.

If you give too much information, it is not a summary. A

summary gives enough information to understand the main

idea.

A summary is much shorter than the original text. If the

original text is one paragraph, a good summary is only one

or two sentences. If the original text has many paragraphs,

a good summary is only one paragraph.

A summary also tells important facts and supporting ideas.

Titles are useful for understanding the main idea. However, a

title is not a summary. A summary uses complete sentences.

A summary uses different words from the original text.

When you write a summary, use your own words. Use

synonyms. Synonyms are different words that have the

same meaning.

Examples of Synonyms

easy = simple

hard = difﬁcult

fast = quick

great = terriﬁc

Most common words in the English language have

synonyms. A thesaurus can help you ﬁnd good synonyms.

Word Web Online is a useful thesaurus.

A summary is like describing a picture in one sentence. Look at

each picture. Decide what is happening. Write one sentence to

describe each picture.

Sketches are placeholders.

Replace with real photos.

Now read the original text.

Jim and Greg have a big test on

Friday.

Jim studies for four days in the

library. He studies for two

hours everyday.

For three days, Greg doesn’t

study. He watches TV and

relaxes.

On Thursday night, Greg starts

studying. He studies for 5

hours. He goes to sleep very

late.

On Friday, the Jim and Greg

take their test. Jim remembers

what he studies and does very

well. Greg is very tired and

forgets what he learned.

Compare your sentences with the original text. Did your

sentences tell a similar story? If so, you wrote a good summary!

Read the text. You

need to understand

the main idea.

Donʼt look at the text. Remember as many facts as you can. If

you are studying with someone, tell them about what you read.

Rewrite the most important information in your own words.

Include facts or ideas that support the main idea. Your writing

should be much shorter than the original text.

Read the following story and practice

writing a summary.

1. Read

Janet has an important job interview. The job

is a manager position. She is feeling very excited.

She is also very nervous. Janet prepares for the

interview. She practices interview questions

everyday. She learns about the company. Janet is

dressed her best. She knows looking professional is

important. She wears a business suit. She has nice

shoes and her hair is neat. The interview goes

well. Janet answers the questions directly. She

gives good examples. She smiles and acts

conﬁdently. She also asks good questions. After the

interview, Janet sends a thank you email. She

thanks the company for the interview. Janet

hopes she will get the job.

2. Recall

Remember as many facts as you can. Donʼt look at the text.

Now, look at the text. Look at the topic (beginning) and concluding

(ﬁnal) sentences. What is the main idea?

Janet has an important job interview. The job

is a manager position. She is feeling very excited.

She is also very nervous. Janet prepares for the

interview. She practices interview questions

everyday. She learns about the company. Janet is

dressed her best. She knows looking professional is

important. She wears a business suit. She has nice

shoes and her hair is neat. The interview goes

well. Janet answers the questions directly. She

gives good examples. She smiles and acts

conﬁdently. She also asks good questions. After the

interview, Janet sends a thank you email. She

thanks the company for the interview.

Janet hopes she will get the job.

What are the supporting ideas? A T-chart can help you organize

the supporting ideas and details. The ﬁrst one is done as an

example. Add the missing supporting ideas or details to each T-

chart.

Supporting Idea Details

Janet prepares for the

interview.

She practices interview

questions everyday. She

learns about the company.

Supporting Idea Details

Janet is dressed her best.

Supporting Idea Details

Janet answers the questions

directly. She gives good

examples. She smiles and

acts conﬁdently. She also

asks good questions.

Supporting Idea Details

After the interview, Janet

sends a thank you email.

To help you start, write just the main idea and the supporting

ideas.

Sample Summaries

All of these sentences are good summaries. The details are

different, but the main idea is clear.

a summary

Education

Work

Experience

Hobbies

Interests

A summary

tells the

main idea.

A summary tells the main

idea.

A summary uses different

words.

http://

www.wordweb

online.com

Link

What is a Summary?

Summary Warm Up

Jim

To o much

information

Too much

information

is not a

summary!

Greg

Jim

Greg

Jim

Steps for writing a Summary

1. Read

Janet has an important job

interview. The job is a manager

position. She is feeling very

excited. She is also very nervous.

Janet prepares for the interview.

She practices interview questions

everyday. She learns about the

company. Janet is dressed her

best. She knows looking professional

is important. She wears a business

suit. She has nice shoes and her

hair is neat. The interview goes

well. Janet answers the questions

directly. She gives good examples.

She smiles and acts conﬁdently.

She also asks good questions. After

the interview, Janet sends a thank

you email. She thanks the company

for the interview. Janet hopes she

will get the job.

2. Recall

3. Rewrite

Practice

Main Idea: Janet has an important interview for a job she

hopes to get.

Recall Ideas

Short

3. Rewrite

Your summary should be short. The original

text is one paragraph, so your summary should

be one or two sentences.

Main Idea

Decide which supporting ideas and details

are the most important. You donʼt have to

include all of the supporting ideas.

Different Words

Use your own words as much as

possible.

Remember the keys to writing a summary.

at the library

at home

Janet has a good job interview because she prepares well.

Janet gets ready for an important job interview. She

practices questions and learns about the company.

Janet wants an important job. She prepares for the

interview by practicing.

Janet prepares for a job interview. She does very well

because she acts professionally.

Topic Sentence - The

topic sentence introduces the

main idea. The topic sentence

is not always the ﬁrst sentence

in a paragraph.

Concluding Sentence

A good concluding sentence

restates the main idea of a

paragraph. A good concluding

sentence can also introduce the

next paragraph.

A summary is short.

Main Idea: Janet has an important interview for a job she

hopes to get.

Supporting Idea #1: Janet prepares for the interview.

Supporting Idea #2: Janet is dressed her best.

Supporting Idea #3: The interview goes very well.

Supporting Idea #4: After the interview, Janet sends a

thank you email.

Conclusion

A summary is shorter than the original text. A summary tells the

main idea and the most important facts. A summary uses your

own words.