Shorten Your Summary

Sometimes you may be required to summarize a text in a certain number of words. How can you make sure you have the most important information in your summary?

One way to practice is to start with a text and start deleting the parts that you think are unimportant. When you re-read the text, the overall meaning should still be clear if you've kept the important information.

Example:

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea's navy fired warning shots to chase away a North Korean fishing boat that crossed their disputed sea border early Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said, in the latest flareup of tension on the divided peninsula just days before the Group of 20 summit in Seoul. The North Korean boat intruded on South Korean territory for about two hours before returning to North Korean waters early Wednesday, the ministry said. The fertile maritime border, the scene of three deadly skirmishes between the Koreas, is a key flashpoint because the North does not recognize the line drawn by the U.N. at the close of the 1950-53 Korean War.
          The firing comes just days after North Korea shot two rounds at a South Korean guard post in the Demilitarized Zone, prompting return fire from South Korean troops, according to Seoul military officials.South Korea is bracing for any possible North Korean moves to sabotage next week's Group of 20 summit of world leaders. North Korea has a track record of provocations when world attention is focused on the rival South.

 When you read what's left, the meaning should still be clear. In this example, you could remove a few more words and it would still make sense.

SEOUL, South Korea – South Korea's navy fired warning shots at a North Korean fishing boat that crossed their disputed sea border just days before the Group of 20 summit. The North Korean boat intruded on South Korean territory for about two hours before returning to North Korean waters. The border is a flashpoint because the North does not recognize the line drawn by the U.N. at the close of the Korean War.
          The firing comes just days after North Korea shot at a South Korean guard post, prompting return fire from South Korean troops. South Korea is bracing for any possible North Korean moves to sabotage next week's Group of 20 summit. North Korea has a record of provocations when world attention is focused on the South.

That reduces it from about 180 words to about 125. The meaning is still there and it makes sense. Now you just need to put it into your own words, which will simplify it and probably cut the word count even further.

          South Korea fired warning shots at a North Korean fishing boat that crossed their disputed sea border just days before the G20 summit. The North Korean boat was in South Korean territory for about two hours. The border is a trouble spot because the North does not recognize the border the U.N. drew at the end of the Korean War.
          A few days ago, North Korea shot at a South Korean guard post and South Korean troops shot back. South Korea is preparing for possible trouble from North Korea before next week's summit. In the past, North Korea has caused trouble when world attention is focused on the South.

 Here are two ways to practice it yourself.

• Find an online that's easy for you to understand. Copy and paste it into a new document. Then delete the unnecessary parts and read it again to see if the important information is still there and it makes sense. Re-write it in your own words.
• Photocopy an article from your textbook that you need to summarize. Cross out the unnecessary parts and read what's left. It should still make sense and contain all the important information that was in the original. Then re-write it in your own words.

On an exam, you could do the same thing a little differently.

1. Mark the parts that you think contain the main points.
2. Read only those parts and see if the main message of the article is there and it makes sense.
3. Write a topic sentence and then add the main points that you marked. Be sure to put the main points into your own words!