All about summaries A
Learn about this helpful educational tool
SUMMARY is a concise version of the most important information in a document. It’s used when you need to study a lot of content and you want to focus on the most important bits of information.
In school, you’re expected to create summaries in your home language and first additional language – these are called formal summaries.
While summaries created in a language class must meet specific requirements, self-made summaries for study purposes can be creative and enjoyable. Being able to summarise will improve your academic performance and your chances of getting good grades. Here’s more advice on how to ace summaries.
FUNCTIONAL SUMMARIES
You can use the following tips to create a good summary for your own studies.
1 Read carefully Start by carefully reading the piece you need to summarise. While reading, try to understand the main points the writer is making.
2 Identify the topic Ask yourself what the paragraph is about to determine the topic. Use these topics as headings in your summary.
3 Highlight the keywords Read each sentence and underline the important words. Make them colourful or develop your own code, such as arrows or emojis.
Work systematically and don’t rush. You might want to finish the work quickly and be tempted to skim sentences, but you’re likely to miss vital facts in your haste.
4 Reread what you’ve underlined In each sentence, read the words you’ve underlined aloud to yourself. Do you understand what you’re reading, and does it make sense? If you don’t understand, add something; or if you’ve underlined too much, remove unnecessary words.