How To Summarise An Essay

Summarizing an essay involves condensing the main ideas and arguments of the essay into a shorter, more condensed version.

Subscribe to our mailing list to receive FREE exclusive content and offers!

Here are a few steps to help you summarize an essay:

  • Read the essay carefully and make sure you understand the main ideas and arguments presented.
  • Identify the thesis statement of the essay, which is usually the main argument or point that the author is trying to make.
  • Take note of the main points and evidence used to support the thesis statement.
  • Write a summary of the essay that includes the thesis statement and the main points and evidence used to support it. Make sure to maintain the main idea and arguments while condensing the content.
  • It might be helpful to use your own words while summarizing as it will avoid plagiarism.
  • Check that your summary accurately represents the main ideas and arguments presented in the essay and that it is presented logically and coherently.
  • The length of your summary should be a fraction of the original essay. It’s important to be concise and stick to the main points.
  • Finally, to check your summary, you might want to compare it with the original text to see if the meaning and context have been preserved.

Summarizing an essay can be challenging, but it’s a crucial skill to have in academic and professional settings. It’s important to be clear and precise and to maintain the main ideas and arguments of the original essay. Additionally, it’s worth mentioning that you should also take into consideration the purpose of summarizing the essay. Depending on the situation, you might need to include or exclude certain information.

How To Write Footnotes

Footnotes are a way to provide additional information or citations in a document. Here are a few steps to help you write footnotes:

Place a superscript number at the end of the sentence or phrase that requires a footnote. The number should be placed after any punctuation, except for a dash.

At the bottom of the page, or in a separate section at the end of the document, list the corresponding footnote using the same number as the superscript in the text.

In the footnote, provide the citation or additional information that corresponds to the text. The citation should include the author’s name, the title of the work, publication date, publisher, and page numbers (if applicable)

Follow the citation style that you are using for the document. different academic fields and publishers use different citation styles such as Chicago, MLA, APA, Harvard, etc.

Make sure that the formatting of the footnote is consistent throughout the document.

Keep the footnotes brief and to the point, the main purpose of the footnotes is to provide additional information and to support the main text, not to extend it.

Finally, after you finished writing your document, make sure to proofread the footnotes and check that they match the citations and information in the main text.

Footnotes can be an effective way to provide additional information or citations in a document, but they should be used sparingly and only when they add value to the main text. Keep in mind that footnotes are not the main text but supplementary information, thus they should not be overused.


If you enjoyed this article please share!


More English Language Learning Resources And Articles


Spotted an error on this page? Please let us know! errors@word-lists.com.