Summarizing Literary Texts

Front

What is a summary?

Back

A summary is a brief statement that gives the main points of a text in your own words.

Front

Why is summarizing important?

Back

Summarizing helps you understand and remember the main ideas of a text.

Front

What does it mean to identify the main idea?

Back

Identifying the main idea means finding the most important point or message in a text.

Front

What are supporting details?

Back

Supporting details are facts, examples, or descriptions that help explain or support the main idea.

Front

How can you tell if a summary is good?

Back

A good summary includes the main idea and key supporting details without extra information.

Front

What is the difference between a summary and a retelling?

Back

A summary is a brief overview of the main points, while a retelling includes more details and may follow the original order.

Front

What should you avoid when summarizing?

Back

Avoid including personal opinions, unnecessary details, or information not found in the original text.

Front

What is a topic sentence?

Back

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main idea of a paragraph.

Front

How can you find the main idea of a passage?

Back

Look for repeated ideas, the first or last sentence, or a sentence that summarizes the paragraph.

Front

What is paraphrasing?

Back

Paraphrasing is restating information in your own words while keeping the original meaning.