Introduction to Precising and Summarising
Welcome! Have you ever tried to tell a friend about a whole movie in just two minutes? Or explained what happened during your entire weekend in just a couple of sentences? If you have, you are already an expert at summarising! In this chapter, we are going to learn how to take long pieces of writing and make them shorter while keeping the most important information. This is a brilliant skill because it helps you understand what you read and makes your own writing much clearer for your readers.What is Summarising?
Summarising is when you pick out the main ideas from one or more paragraphs and put them into your own words. Think of a summary like a "highlights reel" of a football match. You don't need to see every single pass or every time the ball goes out of play; you just want to see the goals and the big moments!The Main Idea (Reading Skill 2c)
In your Reading tests, you will often be asked to summarise the main ideas from more than one paragraph. To do this well, you need to:- Look for the topic sentence (usually the first sentence of a paragraph).
- Identify the most important "who, what, where, and why."
- Ignore the small details, like descriptions or extra examples.
What is a Precis?
A precis (pronounced pray-see) is very similar to a summary, but it is usually a bit more formal. When you precis a longer passage, you are trying to create a shorter version that keeps the same tone and order as the original writing. In Years 5 and 6, you are expected to be able to precis longer passages to help make your writing more "concise" (which just means using fewer words to say the same thing). Note: To learn how to choose the right tone for your writing, check out the chapter on Vocabulary choice and register.How to Write a Great Summary or Precis
Don't worry if this seems tricky at first! Just follow these simple steps:1. Read and Understand
You can't shorten something if you don't understand it! Read the passage carefully. If there are words you don't know, try to guess their meaning from the sentences around them.2. Underline the Keywords
Look for the nouns (people, places, things) and verbs (actions) that are vital to the story or information.3. Cut the "Fluff"
To make a passage shorter, you need to get rid of:- Adjectives and adverbs that aren't necessary (e.g., instead of "the bright, shimmering, golden sun," just use "the sun").
- Repetition (if the author says the same thing twice in different ways, pick the best one).
- Examples and lists.
4. Use Your Own Words
Try to explain the main points using your own vocabulary. This shows you really understand the text.5. Check the Meaning
Read your summary back. Does it still make sense? Does it still tell the same "truth" as the long version?Real-World Analogy: The "Text Message" Trick
Imagine you are sending a text message to a friend, but you only have a tiny bit of battery left! You have to tell them what happened in your English lesson before your phone dies.Long version: "Today in our very exciting English lesson, Mrs Smith walked into the room wearing a bright red hat and told us all to sit down quietly before she started teaching us about how to write short summaries of long stories."
Summarised "Text Message" version: "Mrs Smith taught us how to write summaries in English today."
See? You kept the important bit (the lesson topic) and cut the extra bit (the red hat).
Top Tips for Success
- Mnemonic: S.U.M.
S - Shorten the text.
U - Use your own words.
M - Main ideas only! - Did you know? The word "precis" comes from a French word meaning "precise" or "exact." When you write a precis, you are being very exact with your words!
- Don't change the facts: Even though you are using your own words, you must not change what actually happened in the text.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
X Adding your opinion: A summary should only contain what was in the original text, not what you think about it.
X Keeping too many details: If your summary is almost as long as the original, you haven't summarised it yet!
X Forgetting the "Why": Make sure you include the reason why things are happening, not just a list of events.
Quick Review
What have we learned?
- Summarising means picking out the main ideas from a text.
- A precis is a formal, shortened version of a longer passage.
- We should focus on key information and remove unnecessary descriptions.
- Using cohesive devices helps the summary flow smoothly (learn more about this in Cohesion within and across paragraphs).