How to Make a Summary: A Step-by-Step Writing Guide

A summary can be very useful if you know what it is and how to create one. Summarizing can mean many different things depending on the context in which you use it, but in any situation, the goal is similar and the way you make a summary is pretty much the same.

You read a text, find the main idea, remove any unnecessary details, and list the key points in your own words. A good summary is short, clear, accurate, and in most cases, objective. But how do you create a summary?

In this guide, we’ll go through everything you need to understand about summaries, including what a summary is, how long it should be, how to start and end one, and how certain tools can make the process of creating summaries faster and easier.

What is a summary?

Very simply put, a summary is a short version of a longer text. It explains the main idea and the most important supporting points without adding new opinions.

The meaning of a summary is simple: it takes a text and condenses the information. Instead of repeating every detail from the original text, you put the focus only on the central idea and the key facts that are needed to understand the main message.

According to Merriam-Webster, the official definition of a summary is: : “an abstract, abridgment, or compendium especially of a preceding discourse.“

There are many different types of summaries, but they all serve the same purpose:

• You can summarize an article to explain the author’s main argument
• A book summary explains the main theme of the story and key events of the plot
• In a professional setting, a project summary gives a short overview of goals and KPIs.
• And an executive summary gives a quick understanding of a report for decision-makers.

There are also many things a summary does not include in general, like personal opinions and minor details that are not relevant to include in order to understand the main ideas.

What a summary is (and is not)

Many people confuse a summary with other concepts like paraphrasing or analysis. Although these things can compliment a summary and still be useful, they are different.

• Paraphrasing means rewriting one part of a text in your own words.
• Analysis means explaining what the text means or whether it is effective.

In general, you should keep summary neutral and explain what the text says and not what you think about it. For a deeper explanation of objective writing, read our guide on objective summaries.

What is a summary statement?

A summary statement usually appears at the beginning of a longer summary, like summary paragraph. It is a single sentence that sums up the main idea of a text.

An example of  a summary statement would be this sentence that captures the main thesis statement of an article on remote work & communication tools:

“In this article, the author argues that remote work improves productivity when teams use clear communication tools.”

That sentence tells readers the main idea right away, which is the goal of a summary statement.

What is the main idea of a text?

The main idea is the central point the author wants to communicate.

In every well-written text, the author wants to communicate a central point. The rest of the text is built around this central point and serves as arguments for (or against) the central point with the goal of supporting the argument. This is the main idea of a text, or the thesis.

To find the main idea of a text, there are a few questions you can ask:

• What is this text mostly about?
• What is the main thing the author trying to prove or explain?
• If I had to explain the contents of this text in a single sentence, what would I say?

Find the main idea of the text first. It is the most important step you need to take in order to write an effective summary.

Where do you use summaries?

Summaries can be useful in many settings and they are used in all sorts of places:

• Students have to summarize stories and novels at school
• At work, you may tasked with creating an executive summary or a project summary
• Teams create staff meeting summaries to track progress and make decisions

Need to turn long meeting notes or transcripts into clear summaries with action items? Summary AI helps you create the perfect AI summaries in seconds.

How long should a summary be?

Summaries are useful, yes, but how long is a summary exactly? The answer depends on a few things. It depends on the length of the original text and your purpose with creating a summary. There is no fixed number of sentences that a summary should contain.

A one sentence summary–as seen at the beginning of this article–would also be considered a summary, but a summary can also be much longer.

The only important thing when considering the length of a summary is not to ask yourself “is this short? is this too long?,” but to take care to cover the main idea of the text in the summary sufficiently.

Make the summary as short and as concise as possible while keeping the main idea and key points intact.

9 types of summaries (with examples)

There are many different types of summaries depending on the purpose and audience. Read about the most common types below.

Informative summary

The goal of an informative summary is to present the main idea and the key supporting points of a text. That way, the reader has enough detail to understand the core message of the full article without having to read it themself.

Descriptive summary

A descriptive summary (or indicative summary) explains what the text covers but does not include detailed results or evidence.

Executive summary

An executive summary is usually included at the beginning of a business report to highlight important information for decision-makers. It includes the purpose, key results, and recommended next steps so they can be up-to-date and decide what to do quickly.

Project summary

A project summary is a short overview of a project’s goals and outcomes. It is common in project management and team updates and the purpose is tracking progress.

Narrative summary

A narrative summary includes the main events of a story (novel or movie, etc.) in order. It focuses on major plot points, and doesn’t include details.

Chapter summary

As the name suggests, a chapter summary explains the main idea of a single chapter of a book. This is a common exercise in school. Include important events or arguments from the chapter.

Abstract

An abstract is a short summary at the beginning of a research paper which explains the purpose, methodology, and results of the study.

Critical summary

A critical summary combines summary with analysis. It presents the main points of a text and evaluates its strengths or weaknesses.

Précis

A précis is often used in an academic setting. It is more structured and formal and follows the original text’s logic and tone.

How to create a summary step-by-step

Following these steps to learn how to make a summary. These process works for most types of texts.

Step 1: Read the text

To start a summary, you need to read the entire text thoroughly. Do this before you start writing. You should have a picture of the entire text to understand what details are important to summarize the main idea. Do not try to summarize the text as you go or after reading only the first paragraph, although taking notes may help.

As you read, ask yourself these questions:

• What is the main idea?
• What argument is the author building?
• What is the conclusion?

If needed, read the text more than once. You need to understand the text before writing a summary.

Step 2: Split the text into sections

It helps to divide the text into smaller parts in order to create a summary. List the important headings, subheadings, or natural breaks in the paragraphs and use those as an outline for your summary.

Step 3: Find the main idea and key points

You need to explain what the text is about in a few sentences. If you can’t, go back and read the text again. If you are stuck, it helps to set a timer and give yourself 30 minutes to write freely until you organize your thoughts.

Step 4: Write the summary in your own words

Now write a draft. Use clear language. It’s best if you write the summary as if you were explaining the topic to a friend at first.

The beginning of the summary should make it clear what you are summarizing, who wrote it, and what the main idea is. To end your summary, include a quick recap of the main idea.

Step 5: Review and edit your text

After writing, compare the summary you wrote to the original text.

Check the text to see if you included the main idea without mentioning irrelevant details.

Even if your first draft is messy, editing improves clarity. You will probably need to cut a few extra words or combine sentences.

Summarize meetings and more with AI

Summary AI is a powerful AI summarizer that turns long meetings into clear, concise AI summaries in seconds. It captures key points, decisions, and action items while saving your team hours every week.

You can either have Summary AI join your meeting to take notes or you can upload your meeting, create a transcription, extract key points, and translate the sumary into any language so you can share it with your team.