Summarizing (Summarising)
Summarizing means restating the main ideas of a text, lecture or chapter in your own words and in a much shorter form. A good summary, or summarization, is concise, objective and accurate: it keeps the key points, drops the details and examples, and adds no opinion. As a study skill it forces you to decide what matters, which helps you understand and remember it.
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In more detail
Four things define a summary. It is concise, much shorter than the source. It is in your own words, not copied sentences. It is objective, so your opinion stays out. And it is accurate, so a reader who never saw the source would still get the main points right. Summarising is the British spelling of the same word.
Summarizing is easy to confuse with three close cousins. Paraphrasing rewrites one passage at about the same length. Retelling recounts a story or event in order, with most of its details. Synthesizing combines ideas from several sources into one new point. Only summarizing shrinks a whole text to its core, as the table below shows.
How long should a summary be? A common rule of thumb is about a tenth to a quarter of the original. For a short article that is often one paragraph; for a chapter, a few short paragraphs or one sentence per section. If your summary is almost as long as the source, you skipped the hard part, which is deciding what to cut.
Four techniques make it easier. The 5 Ws: answer who, what, when, where and why in one or two sentences. The one-sentence gist: write the whole point in a single sentence before you add anything. Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then: a frame for stories and history (who wanted what, what got in the way, how it was solved, how it ended). And heading by heading: one line per section, then cut the lines you could rebuild from the others.
Summarize, paraphrase, retell or synthesize
| Summarize | Paraphrase | Retell | Synthesize | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| What you do | Shrink a whole text to its main ideas | Restate one passage in new words | Recount a story or event in order | Combine ideas from several sources |
| Length | Much shorter than the source | About as long as the passage | Close to the original, minus small details | Depends on the sources |
| Sources | One | One passage | One | Two or more |
| Your own words | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes, plus your own conclusion |
| Best for | Checking you understood | Using an idea without copying it | Showing you followed the sequence | Essays and literature reviews |
Example
Mara finishes a three-page text on cell respiration, closes it and writes: Cells break down glucose in three stages: glycolysis, the Krebs cycle and the electron transport chain. The last stage makes most of the ATP and needs oxygen. That is a summary: two sentences for three pages. The two steps she could not write became her revision targets.
How to use it
- 1
Read or watch one section fully before you write anything.
- 2
Close the source and state the main point in one sentence, in your own words.
- 3
Add only the supporting details you would lose marks for forgetting.
- 4
Cut anything you could rebuild from the points you already wrote, and remove your opinion.
- 5
Check your summary against the source and fix what you got wrong or missed.
How StudyPDF does this
StudyPDF makes a summary from your own PDFs, slides or lecture videos: press New material, pick Summary and your sources. You get key points and a short text with citations that link to the page, so you can check each point. Write your own summary first, then compare. A free account is enough, no card.
See also
- TermCornell notes
- TermStudy guide
- TermElaboration
- TermMind map
- TemplateOutline notes template: free printable
- AlternativesSites like SparkNotes: the best SparkNotes alternatives
- TemplateChapter summary template: free printable for textbooks
- TemplateCheat sheet template: free printable one-pager
- TermLiterature review
- TermAnnotated bibliography
- StudyPDFAI Summarizer
Common questions
What is summarizing in your own words?
Summarizing is telling the main points of something you read or heard in a much shorter form, using your own wording. You leave out the small details, the examples and your opinion, and you do not copy sentences from the source.
What defines a summary?
A summary is concise, written in your own words, objective and accurate. It covers the main ideas of the whole source, leaves out details and examples, and adds nothing the source did not say.
What are some effective summarizing techniques?
Four that work: answer the 5 Ws (who, what, when, where, why), write the gist in one sentence first, use Somebody, Wanted, But, So, Then for stories and history, and write one line per heading before cutting the extras. All four push you to pick the main idea before the details.
What is an example of summarizing?
Source: a one-page article about sleep and memory. Summary: Sleep helps the brain store what you learned that day, so studying and then sleeping works better than staying up all night. One or two sentences carry the whole point.
What is the difference between summarizing and paraphrasing?
A paraphrase restates a short passage in your own words and ends up about as long as the original. A summary shrinks a whole text down to its main points and is much shorter. You paraphrase to use one idea without copying it. You summarize to see the big picture.
Put it to work on your own course
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