How to Summarize

Summarizing is a critical skill that enables you to extract the key points from a text, speech, or any communication form.

This lesson is a part of Onsego GED Prep.

Video Transcription

Welcome to our lesson on the art of summarizing information. Summarizing is a critical skill that enables you to extract the key points from a text, speech, or any communication form. Today, we’ll delve into effective summarizing techniques and illustrate these with practical examples.

A summary concisely restates an author’s main idea and major supporting details. The summary’s length varies with the original content’s length and complexity. For example, a few paragraphs might yield a three-to-four-sentence summary, while more extensive readings could require a detailed paragraph or two, especially if the topics are complex. In this lesson, you’ll learn to craft a succinct summary paragraph of any reading.

Remember, summaries should be impartial, devoid of personal opinion, and written in the third person for an objective viewpoint. They avoid first-person (“I”) or second-person (“you”) perspectives, maintaining a neutral tone.

Summarizing involves three primary steps: identifying the main ideas, condensing the information, and rephrasing in your own words. Let’s explore these steps:

1. Identifying Main Ideas: Focus on the central points or arguments when reading a text or listening to a speech. For instance, a news article on climate change might center on its causes, effects, and potential solutions.
2. Condensing Information: This involves filtering out minor details to concentrate on essential facts. Using the climate change example, you would highlight significant impacts and proposed solutions rather than every statistical detail.
3. Rephrasing in Your Own Words: Take the identified main ideas and essential facts and encapsulate them into a clear, concise summary. A summary of the climate change article might read: ‘The article outlines human contributions to climate change and proposes solutions like adopting renewable energy and cutting carbon emissions.’

Another Example:

Let’s consider a different scenario — attending a seminar on time management techniques. The seminar’s focal points could include strategies for prioritizing tasks, the benefits of scheduling, and techniques for avoiding procrastination. Your summary might articulate: ‘The seminar emphasized the significance of task prioritization, the advantages of adhering to a schedule, and methods to circumvent procrastination for enhancing personal productivity.’

In conclusion, summarizing distills the essence of a given content, equipping you with the ability to quickly grasp and succinctly convey critical information. Practicing summarization on various materials can sharpen this invaluable skill, aiding your academic, professional, and personal endeavors.

Last Updated on October 19, 2025.