Whether you're writing an academic essay, preparing for exams, or engaging with new material in your field, knowing how to write a summary is an invaluable skill. Summaries allow you to distil complex texts into their essential messages without losing clarity or meaning. This blog post will guide you through everything from how to summarise a book to how to summarise a research paper, with clear steps and examples throughout.

We’ll also explore how summaries differ depending on the type of source you're working with, such as articles, essays, and academic texts. Whether you're new to summarising or looking to refine your skills, this guide will help you feel more confident and capable in your academic work.

What Is a Summary?

A summary is a brief account of the main points or ideas in a longer piece of writing. It captures the essence of the original material while leaving out the finer details and examples. The goal is to restate the content in your own words, making it shorter, more digestible, and often more accessible.

Summaries are not just useful in academic settings, but they’re also widely used in business, journalism, and day-to-day communication. For students in particular, learning how to summarise a text is essential for building strong reading comprehension, improving writing clarity, and contributing meaningfully to discussions and essays.

Why Learn How to Summarise?

There are many reasons why summarising is a core academic skill:

  • First, it helps you actively engage with the material you're reading. Instead of passively absorbing information, you’re forced to process and interpret it. This deepens understanding and improves recall.
  • Second, summarising supports effective academic writing. When you write essays or literature reviews, you're expected to refer to existing research—but not to repeat it verbatim. Knowing how to summarise an article or research paper allows you to reference key points without overwhelming your own analysis.
  • Finally, summarising encourages critical thinking. You must decide what’s important, what can be left out, and how best to present the information clearly.

How to Start a Summary

Many students ask: how do I begin a summary? The first step is always careful reading. You should read the entire text slowly and with full attention. Don’t assume that a quick skim will give you enough information to summarise effectively. Once you've read the piece, take time to identify its core message.

It’s also helpful to highlight or underline topic sentences, transitions, and conclusions. These are often clues to the text’s structure and flow. Try to pinpoint the central argument, the key points that support it, and any major conclusions.

Before you begin writing, pause and try to explain the main idea of the text aloud or in writing, without looking at it. If you can’t do that yet, read it again. Understanding the material deeply is essential for summarising it well.

How to Write a Summary of an Article

When writing the summary of an article, always think about your final goal: presenting the article’s thesis and supporting points clearly and concisely.

  1. Start by identifying the article’s purpose. Is it arguing a specific point? Presenting new research? Offering a critique of an existing idea?
  2. Note the key points made by the author. If it’s a research article, focus on the research question, methods, and findings. If it’s a news article, focus on the main events and outcomes.
  3. Write your summary in paragraph form, using your own words. Don’t quote unless it’s absolutely necessary. Keep your summary much shorter than the original (generally no more than a third of its length).

Here’s a short example:

The article argues that social media has contributed to rising political polarisation by amplifying extreme views and limiting exposure to opposing opinions. It supports this claim with data from user engagement patterns on several major platforms.

How to Summarise a Text

Summarising a text follows the same principles but is a more general task. It could involve a passage from a novel, an academic essay, or even a legal document. Your aim is to preserve the original meaning while simplifying the language and reducing the volume.

Make sure to:

  • Identify the topic and tone of the text.
  • Understand the structure—how the author develops their points.
  • Eliminate examples, anecdotes, and redundant phrases.
  • Important!

    Summarising is not the same as paraphrasing. Paraphrasing involves restating a specific sentence or passage in new words, while a summary condenses the entire work.

How to Summarise a Book

Summarising a full-length book can seem overwhelming, but it becomes easier if you break the process into smaller tasks. Begin by reading the book carefully, chapter by chapter. As you go, make notes on key events, arguments, or themes.

Once you’ve completed your reading, ask yourself:

  • What is the book about as a whole?
  • What is its primary message or purpose?

Then write a summary that captures that message and refers briefly to the main points, without retelling the entire plot or repeating every chapter’s content.

For example:

In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee explores themes of racial injustice and moral growth in a small Southern town. Through the eyes of Scout Finch, the novel examines how individuals confront prejudice and develop empathy, particularly in the context of a controversial court case.

How to Summarise a Research Paper

If you are wondering how to summarise a research paper, you should know that it’s not entirely different from summarising an article.

  1. First of all, focus on its structure. Most research papers follow a consistent pattern: introduction, methodology, results, and conclusion.
  2. Begin by identifying the research question: what is the paper trying to find out?
  3. Then look at the methods: how did the researchers go about answering their question?
  4. Next, summarise the findings: what did they discover, and how do they interpret the results?
  5. Avoid technical jargon unless your audience is familiar with it. Instead, aim for clarity and conciseness.

Here’s an example:

The paper investigates the effects of mindfulness training on student stress levels. Using a controlled study of 150 university students, the researchers found a significant reduction in stress among those who practised mindfulness for six weeks. They conclude that such programmes may be beneficial in academic settings.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Summarising a Text

When summarising texts of any kind, it’s easy to fall into common traps.

One is copying language from the original text verbatim. Watch out, as this can amount to plagiarism, even if it's unintentional. Always use your own words and sentence structure.

Another issue is including too much detail. A summary is not a rewrite of the entire piece—it should focus on the most important ideas. Similarly, avoid inserting your own opinions unless you’re explicitly asked to evaluate the text.

Lastly, make sure you fully understand the material before summarising. Misunderstandings can lead to inaccurate summaries, which can damage your credibility in academic work.

Final Tips for Summarising Academic Sources

If you’re working on a dissertation or academic paper, summarising individual texts is only part of the challenge. You also need to connect these summaries together, identify themes, and construct a logical review of existing literature.

But summarising is a skill that improves with practice. Try summarising different types of texts—short articles, long books, complex essays—and compare your summaries with others or with professional examples. Over time, you’ll develop a stronger sense of how to convey essential ideas clearly and efficiently.

Whenever you summarise, aim for clarity, brevity, and accuracy. Keep your reader in mind, and always be sure that your summary reflects the original source faithfully.

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