How to Write a Summary in 3 Steps: Tips and Practical Examples

Ever been asked to summarize something and felt completely stuck?

Where do you even start when you’re staring down a block of text, and your boss’s email is asking for a written summary to be sent ASAP?

Summarizing is about capturing the main ideas without all the fluff. It’s an essential skill for students, professionals, and anyone who wants to save time while still getting the point across.

But figuring out how to write a summary that’s both clear and accurate can be tricky.

So, before your eyes start boggling and that pressure headache starts, take a breather.

In this guide, we’ll cover what a summary is, break down the writing process into three easy steps, and share some tips to avoid common mistakes.

What Is a Summary?

A summary is a short, simplified version of a text that highlights its main points.

So, is a summary just a regurgitated, shorter version of the text? Well, kind of.

The simplest summaries are just concise versions of the longer text, eliminating the fluff and sticking to the need-to-know important points only.

However, a good summary isn’t just about keeping things short and sweet (although that part is important).

It should give the reader enough information to understand the key ideas without needing to go back to the original text.

That might include subtext, context, and even implied meanings that aren’t explicit in the original text but that impact its delivery and meaning nonetheless.

To write a great summary, you need to consider what the author is trying to say in this piece and what additional context surrounds the text that impacts its message.

And then, concisely and clearly write these things into a text of your own.

3 Key Steps to Writing an Effective Summary

If that sounds like a lot, you’re not wrong. Summarizing text is not as easy as it first appears.

So, how do you start writing a summary in your own words?

1. Read and Understand the Original Text

First, it’s vital to read and truly understand the original text.

This might mean reading it through a number of times to truly understand its argument and structure.

In the first instance, it’s helpful to look at the text on the page. Is it a story, an essay, or an article?

Categorizing the text in this way can help you with a sense of its purpose. Identify the body paragraphs, the introduction, and the conclusion.

This can usually help you to get a sense of where the main ideas will be introduced and pick up on the key ideas before you start to read.

Now, read the text through for the first time.

Don’t focus too much on the summary at this point. Instead, just aim for an understanding of the text and its overarching message.

Now, read the text once more.

This time, you’re checking your comprehension of the text itself, picking up on things you may have missed the first time around and getting a deeper understanding of the structure.

If you can, you might want to use a highlighter here to select important sentences, like the author’s thesis statement, comments, or even key ideas.

This will be helpful to refer back to later.

2. Identify the Main Ideas

Once you’ve read the text a few times, you should be able to identify its key themes.

Usually, these ideas are introduced in topic sentences throughout the text.

A common form of academic or persuasive writing is to use the PEE approach (Point, Evidence, Explain).

Each paragraph should have a main idea that is then supported by a piece of evidence and then interpreted for you.

By identifying a structure in this way (honing in on the introductory sentence and going from there), you can notice the key takeaways from several paragraphs quickly simply by understanding each of the main points.

Once you’ve got a good grasp of the material, it’s time to separate the essentials from the fluff.

Ask yourself:

• What are the main points?
• What details support these points?
• What can I leave out without losing meaning?

Our pro tip: If you’re not sure which details to include, focus on what someone would need to know to understand the text’s overall message.

3. Write the Summary in Your Own Words

Once you have the main ideas, it’s time to start on your summary writing.

Here, the aim is to paraphrase the main ideas. Avoid copying phrases directly from the text—this isn’t just bad practice, it can lead to plagiarism.

(If you’re conscious of plagiarism or worried about not re-writing sufficiently, check your summary writing with a plagiarism tool before you submit it.

This can help you pick up on text that is too close to the original).

Tools like Undetectable.ai’s AI Paraphraser are also great for rewriting content while keeping the original meaning intact.

They’re great for when you’re struggling to find the right words or worried about making mistakes.

They can even help you check your summary by providing an AI-generated summary example so that you can compare your human version to it.

You can also explore our AI Humanizer in the widget below!

Tips on Writing a Good Summary

So, before you begin, let’s look at a few key tips to keep in mind when writing a summary.

Keep it Neutral

First, a summary writing piece should be neutral.

That means none of your own opinions or interpretations in most cases, just the cold, hard facts.

If you get stuck here, thinking how to start a summary that is without bias or your own opinion, just stick to what is included.

Don’t embellish or add anything else that could distort the message.

Stay Concise

Keep it simple and to the point.

Your summary writing should be shorter than the original, of course!

Don’t be scared to use conscice writing tools (like bullet points and tables) to help here if appropriate.

Keep the Same Structure

If you’re worried about how to start a summary, then a good rule of thumb is to follow the same structure as the original.

Start at the beginning (what does the thesis statement say about the general idea of the text?), then move onto the middle sections, and finish with the conclusion.

Look for clues in the text about what is important (and remember, length doesn’t always indicate better!).

Try to write in the present tense, too, which keeps your summary accurate and on track.

Double Check Your Work

No matter what you’re writing about – whether you’re an expert in the subject or a beginner getting to grips with the basics – always double check your work before submitting it.

This is where tools like Grammarly and Undetectable.ai’s plagiarism checker come in – helping hands to make sure you submit your best every time.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Writing a Summary

So far so good. But if you’re searching for, “What’s a summary?”, then you’ll probably need some success criteria, too.

Let’s take a look at common mistakes writers make during the summary process.

Including Too Much Detail

Top of the list is including too many of the little details.

Summaries are meant to be short and sweet.

If you find yourself writing a mini-essay, it’s time to cut back.

Failing to Paraphrase Properly

Simply rewording a sentence here and there isn’t enough to avoid the plagiarism detectors and to show that you fully understand a text.

Aim to completely rewrite ideas in your own voice and provide an overview of the text rather than copy pasted highlights.

Misrepresenting the Original Message

But perhaps the easiest mistake that some writers make is a failure to understand the text properly, then misrepresenting the original message.

This could be because of something simple, like dodgy grammar or the wrong tense.

However, if you’re finding that your summaries are consistently missing the mark, it’s time to improve your comprehension skills.

A great summary always stays true to the author’s intent.

Adding your own interpretation or leaving out key details can change the meaning entirely and make your summary ineffective.

Using AI Tools for Accurate Paraphrasing

As you might have guessed by now, paraphrasing and summarizing text is not something that’s easy.

It’s a skill that needs to be practiced and developed.

Fortunately, if you’re embarking on a summary, you’ll be happy to know that there are tools that can support you.

Tools like an AI Paraphraser are designed to help you rewrite content accurately while keeping the original meaning intact.

It’s like having a virtual editor by your side, ensuring your summary is both clear and plagiarism-free.

Frequently Asked Questions About Writing Summaries

Conclusion

Every summary begins with a bit of confusion, but it shouldn’t end there.

A summary is a tool to make complex texts and lengthy articles bitesized, but they’re not as easy as they seem.

However, by understanding the original text, identifying the key ideas, and rewriting in your own words, you can craft summaries that are clear, concise, and accurate.

And if you’re ever stuck, remember that tools like Undetectable.ai’s AI Paraphraser are here to help, providing guidelines, an example summary to go from, and helping you overcome writer’s block to get the summary flowing.