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Learn How to Summarize an Article with 5 Proven Ways
Learn How to Summarize an Article with 5 Proven Ways
Learn to write a strong article summary with this step-by-step guide, featuring essential techniques, common traps to avoid, and real summary examples.
Apr 25, 2025
Writing with AI
10 min read
All students have to learn how to summarize articles. You’ll have to provide summaries of your key sources when you write literature reviews, essays, term papers, and most other assignments. Whether you want to generate summaries with the StudyAgent, your personal AI assistant for writing and studying, you must know what makes for a good article summary.
Keep reading to find out:
- 5 steps to summarize an article
- 6 tips for writing a good article summary
- 5 common mistakes to avoid when writing a summary
- Article summary examples
What Is Summarizing?
Article summarization involves creating an objective outline of an article’s main argument and key points. The summary should reflect your own wording and may vary in length. It can be a single paragraph when included as part of another assignment or a longer standalone task.
When written as one paragraph, the article summary generally follows this structure:
- Opening sentence: Includes the article’s title, the author’s name, and the central thesis.
- Main content: Covers essential points and key details, typically one sentence per point.
- Final sentence: Reinforces the overall message or conclusion.
If the summary is an independent task, it should typically be about one-third the length of the original article. In this case, it must include a more detailed overview of the article’s ideas and supporting evidence.
Summary parts | Elements to include |
|---|---|
Introduction |
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Body paragraphs |
|
Conclusion |
|
5 Steps to Summarize an Article Effectively
Have a question about how to write an article summary? In short, you’ll need to read the source material, identify its main idea and important information, write the draft, and polish it off. It might sound simple, but every step is more intricate than you might think initially. Let’s break down how to summarize an article in five steps.
Step 1. Read (and Re-Read) the Article
Whether you sum up news articles or academic articles, you’ll need to understand exactly what the author wanted to communicate before you even think about your article summary.
Here’s how to gain a full grasp of your source material:
- Skim through the original article. Focus on the overall topic and the text’s structure. Read the abstract and pay attention to chapter headings or subheadings.
- Read the text. Highlight or take notes on the most important details. Reflect on the material as you read it.
- Look through the article once more. Read the parts of the original article you haven’t quite managed to wrap your head around one more time.
- Compare the introduction and conclusion. Did the author manage to achieve the goals stated at the beginning?
If you’re working with digital content or AI-generated materials, using an AI essay rewriter can help restructure complex sentences for easier comprehension before summarizing. You get unlimited attempts to rephrase until you’re fully satisfied. Every summary is original, clear, and to the point within seconds. Just paste your text, highlight the section you want to shorten, hit “Summarize,” and watch the AI do the heavy lifting.
Step 2. Break Down the Original Text into Chunks
If you’re tasked with writing a summary of a lengthy article or research paper, breaking it down into smaller sections will make the whole thing more manageable. It’ll also help you ensure you won’t miss a key point or supporting argument.
To break down the original article into several parts, you can either follow its subheadings (if there are any) or sum up each paragraph or section in the margins. As a result, you should be able to list all the main themes and points of the original article.
Step 3. Pinpoint Key Points and Arguments
Remember what your summary should include? Create a new document in your preferred word processing tool and jot down:
- The article’s thesis or main idea
- Key supporting arguments for the thesis/idea
- Results or findings of the article
Use a bulleted list to make your notes concise and easy to skim through. The list’s length will also help you see if you’re focusing on too many points or details at once.
Alternatively, you can highlight sentences that reflect the main idea and arguments right in the original text. Just remember that you’re supposed to describe those in your own words once you get to writing.
Keep in mind that this is still a summary. For it to be truly concise, it should focus only on the central theme and big-picture points. Leave details alone; if readers want to learn more about the article, they’ll check out the source material directly.
Step 4. Write the Article Summary Draft
With the notes and original text in front of you, you can get to writing the first draft of the summary. It is the best way to summarize an article. Leave your perfectionism behind: first drafts are never impeccable. The important part is to get your thoughts out of your head and onto the screen. For a faster approach, you can try an AI Article Writer to help structure your ideas and draft summaries efficiently.
Here are some tips on how to write a summary of an article to streamline the process for you:
- Start with the article’s main idea. If you had to summarize it in one sentence, what would it be? Write it down. Then, add the article’s title and author to the first sentence.
- Stick to the expected length. One or two paragraphs are enough for summaries used in other papers. Standalone article summaries are usually a third of the article’s length.
- Use a formula for the main points. Describe one point per sentence or paragraph, depending on the summary’s length.
Step 5. Revise and Improve the Draft
Let your article summary sit for a bit and return to proofread and edit it. Here are the five things to watch out for while you’re revising your draft:
- Unnecessary details. Identify the sentences or paragraphs that bloat your summary and remove those with a steady hand.
- Your opinions. This isn’t a place for your critique or analysis of the original article. Stick to the objective retelling of the article – in your own words, of course.
- Verbatim quotes or near-verbatim sentences. Rewrite every point in your own words; otherwise, your summary might get flagged as plagiarism.
- Missing elements. Make sure you covered every single main point from the original text.
- Verbose language. Say what you mean to say in as few words as possible.
Want to streamline this process? Check out our guide on how to use AI to write an essay, with or without article summaries.
6 More Tips for Writing Summaries Like a Pro
Still can’t quite figure out how to summarize an article effectively? Here are our six tips for summarizing any article like a pro:
- Use a formula for the opening sentence. Here it is: “In [article’s title], [author’s name] argues/reports/states/illustrates that [the article’s main idea].”
- Annotate the source material. If you’re facing a complex or lengthy article, highlight key points and describe each chapter or paragraph with a single phrase.
- Don’t forget about transition phrases in long summaries. Make sure your summary’s narrative flows smoothly with phrases like “In addition to…” and “Furthermore…”. Add reminder phrases like “The author goes on to state…” or “The author concludes…”.
- Add citation references. When used within another paper, your summary should end with a citation for the source.
- Have a good closer. The final sentence or paragraph should encapsulate the article’s overview, connecting the mentioned supporting arguments with the main idea or thesis.
- Always edit for conciseness. It’s okay if your first draft is a bit too lengthy. Just strive to make it concise while you revise it.
5 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Summarizing
Writing a summary may seem simple, but there are common mistakes that can make it less effective. Here are five things to watch out for:
- Copying exact quotes. A summary should be written in your own words. This shows that you truly understand the article. Also, tools like Turnitin might mark copied text as plagiarism.
- Forgetting the title or author. It’s easy to miss this, but readers need to know what article you’re talking about. Always include the title and the author in your summary.
- Including too many details. You don’t need to mention every point from the article. Focus on the main message and the key arguments.
- Making it too simple. Avoid using overly basic language. Even though it’s a summary, it should still reflect your full understanding of the topic.
- Share your own opinion. A summary is not the place for your personal views. Explain what the article says, and save your thoughts for a separate analysis or reflection.
Need an Article Summary Example?
Example 1: According to Tom Orlik’s article, “Dangerous Game,” the impact of tariff hikes imposed by President Trump on April 2 is bound to be historical, but its full extent is yet to be seen. Using the Federal Reserve’s data on the impact of tariff increases on the U.S. economy’s growth and inflation during President Trump’s first term, inflation is projected to increase by an additional 2%. The country’s GDP is forecasted to decrease by almost 3%. The final impact, as the author reiterates multiple times, is hard to assess due to how unprecedented the policy decisions are.
Source: Orlik T. (2025). Dangerous game. Bloomberg Businessweek, May 2025, pp. 16-17
Example 2: As Rachel Giese explains in “What Makes a Man?” hyperaggressive masculinity is on the rise, not just due to the political shift toward a more traditionally masculine narrative and the promotion of such views in algorithm-driven online spaces. The author emphasizes that this shift is also driven by the desire for connection, friendship, and guidance, which the manosphere can satisfy. Dismissing this means dismissing one of the key reasons why hyperaggressive masculinity is gaining traction, according to the author. Therefore, it’s crucial to provide alternative ways to find connection and guidance to boys and young men as we pursue the goal of gender equality.
Source: Giese R. (2025). What makes a man? Bloomberg Businessweek, May 2025, pp. 64-67
To Sum Up
While the five steps to summarize an article may appear straightforward, implementing them can be time-consuming and mentally demanding, especially when dealing with dense or complex source material. Still, mastering article summarization is an essential skill that serves students and professionals alike across a wide range of disciplines.
The most critical element in crafting an effective summary is your comprehension of the original article. Without a solid grasp of its key arguments and supporting ideas, even the most structured summary will fall short. Take the time to read closely, analyze thoroughly, and internalize the content before you begin writing. Your clarity will translate directly into the quality of your summary.
Frequently asked questions
To prepare for writing a summary, read the original text attentively. Re-read difficult passages and identify the article’s main idea and points. Then, write the first draft and revise it for clarity, conciseness, and completeness.
As you write a summary, remain objective and don’t analyze or criticize the original article. Describe everything in your own words, without verbatim quotes, and cover only the essentials – details aren’t necessary.
To write an article summary:
- Read the original text. Skim through it first to get a sense of its topic and structure. Then, read the whole thing and reflect on the content.
- Break it down. Write notes for every paragraph or chapter.
- Write down the main idea and arguments. Use a bulleted list and verify all list items are essential enough to include.
- Draft and revise. Write your first draft, let it sit, and edit it for conciseness and clarity.
Good article summaries are:
- Objective. Stick to writing an overview instead of analyzing or critiquing the article.
- Concise. Avoid verbose language and remove any unnecessary details from your summary.
- Comprehensive. Verify that you cover all the relevant information from the article and mention its title and name.
- Plagiarism-free. Write the overview in your own words, without watering down the article’s points, of course.
Sources:
- Guidelines for writing a SUMMARY. (n.d.). https://academics.smcvt.edu/cbauer-ramazani/AEP/EN104/summary.htm
- Research Guides: Article Summaries, Reviews & Critiques: Writing an article SUMMARY. (n.d.). https://libguides.randolph.edu/summaries
- University of Washington. (2006). How to summarize a research article. https://writingcenter.uconn.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/593/2014/06/HowtoSummarizeaResearch_Article1.pdf
- Writing a summary | UAGC Writing Center. (n.d.). https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/writing-summary
