Summarising main ideas

Identifying key information and condensing a text into a short summary

Name:

Date:

Try each question. If you're stuck, leave it and come back. The answer key is on the last page.

1
What is a summary? A) A shorter version that captures the main ideas B) An exact copy of the original text C) A list of every word in the text D) Your personal opinion about the text
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2
Which is the best summary of this passage? 'Sam baked a chocolate cake. He mixed flour, sugar, eggs and cocoa, then baked it for thirty minutes. The whole family enjoyed it.' A) Sam baked a chocolate cake that his family enjoyed. B) Sam mixed lots of ingredients. C) Sam used flour, sugar, eggs and cocoa to make a cake. It baked for thirty minutes. Everyone liked it. D) Sam likes baking and his family loves him.
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3
A good summary should be ___ than the original text. A good summary should be ___ than the original text.
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4
What is a SUMMARY? A) a very long version of the text B) a short version of the main points C) a translation D) a list of every detail
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5
When summarising, what should you leave OUT? A) Minor details and examples B) The main idea C) The topic D) The conclusion
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6
Which is the best summary of this passage? 'Bees are vital for the environment. They pollinate flowers, which helps plants grow. Without bees, many crops would fail. Sadly, bee numbers are falling because of pesticides and habitat loss.' A) Bees pollinate plants and are essential, but their numbers are declining. B) Bees are nice insects that fly around. C) Pesticides kill bees and that is sad. D) Bees pollinate flowers, which helps crops, but some flowers don't need bees.
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7
Complete the rule: A summary should be in your ___ words. A summary should be in your ___ words.
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8
Summarise this in one short sentence: 'Mia loves reading. Every weekend, she goes to the library and borrows three books. She reads for two hours every night before bed.' Mia ___. Mia ___.
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9
Which summary captures the key idea of this passage best? 'Scientists have discovered a new species of frog in the Amazon. It is the smallest frog in the world, measuring only seven millimetres. They believe it could help in medical research.' A) Scientists found the world's smallest frog in the Amazon. It may help medical research. B) Scientists like the Amazon and frogs are great. C) Frogs are small and live in the Amazon, where there is medical research. D) Seven millimetres is the size of a small frog. Many frogs live in the Amazon.
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10
Complete: When summarising, keep the main idea but leave out ___ details. When summarising, keep the main idea but leave out ___ details.
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Answer key

Summarising main ideas · for parents and teachers

1
A shorter version that captures the main ideas
A summary is a shorter version of a text that captures only the main ideas in your own words.
2
Sam baked a chocolate cake that his family enjoyed.
The first option is the shortest and captures the main ideas: Sam baked a cake; the family enjoyed it.
3
shorter
A summary should always be shorter than the original. It captures the main ideas only.
4
a short version of the main points
A summary is a short version focusing on the main points.
5
Minor details and examples
When summarising, leave out minor details, examples and repetitions - keep only the main ideas.
6
Bees pollinate plants and are essential, but their numbers are declining.
The first option captures the two main ideas: bees are important pollinators, and their numbers are falling.
7
own
A good summary is written in your own words, not copied from the original.
8
loves reading
The main idea is that Mia loves reading - all the details support this central point.
9
Scientists found the world's smallest frog in the Amazon. It may help medical research.
The best summary mentions both the main discovery (smallest frog) and why it matters (medical research).
10
minor
A summary keeps the main idea and leaves out minor or unnecessary details.