✂️ How to Write a Summary · Lesson 1 of 6

What a summary is — and isn’t

Short, accurate, neutral and in your own words.

Four rules

Short	Much shorter than the original — only the essential ideas
Accurate	Says what the author said, not what you wish they said
Neutral	No opinion, no “I think”, no evaluation
Your own words	Paraphrased, with the source credited

What it is not

Paraphrase	Rewords one passage at about the same length
Analysis	Evaluates the argument
Review	Judges whether it’s good
Retelling	Goes through everything in order, including minor details

The shape of a summary

First sentence: author, title and the main idea (“In ‘Title,’ Author argues that…”). Then the key points that support the main idea, in a logical order, with linking words. Optionally, the author’s conclusion. No new information, no examples of your own.

Reporting verbs

Vary the verb to describe what the author is doing: argues, claims, explains, describes, shows, suggests, reports, concludes. They tell your reader whether the author is proving, describing or proposing.

Tip

💡 A summary answers one question: “What did the author say?” Save “Was it right?” for the analysis.

✏️ Practice: your turn

Find a summary in a textbook chapter or abstract and check it against the four rules
List 8 reporting verbs and their slight differences
Write a one-sentence summary of a movie you saw: who, what, main point
Remove every opinion word from one of your old summaries

✏️ Summary & outline builder: main idea → key points → summary draft

🧠 Quick quiz

Answer all 4 questions correctly to mark this lesson as done.

1. Which belongs in a summary?

2. How is a paraphrase different from a summary?

3. Which first sentence is best?

4. Do you need to cite a summary?

0 of 4 correct

📝 What a summary is — and isn’t