What to Include in a Summary

In the lessons Listening Comprehension: Main Ideas and Listening Comprehension: Major Details we discuss in greater detail how to recognize main ideas and major details in listening. As a listener, you should be asking the question What does the speaker want me to know? This question should lead you directly to the main idea. The most essential information should be easily identifiable. From there, you can begin to identify which details the speaker included that are most helpful in understanding the main idea. Depending on the speaking context, it may also be important to recognize the speaker's purpose and point of view as we discuss in the lessons Listening Comprehension: Identify Speaker's Purpose and Listening Comprehension: Identify Speaker's Point of View.

A summary requires an understanding of these different points because you are going to simplify the information and pass it on to someone who (in most cases) is not going to listen to the original source. The person is trusting your understanding of what was said. This definitely puts a minimum expectation of comprehending essential information, but can also require you to recognize bias and purpose. Why? Because we select what we define as important information based on our perspective on that information. The speaker's background will influence what is "important."

For example, at a city council meeting, there may be a discussion about developing previously unused land. Some people in the room may identify the most important information as the amount of money that can come from developing the land. Others might focus on how developing the land by building apartment complexes could be positive for the community by providing a place where employees can live close to their work and, in turn, support the local economy. Another group may have concerns that more apartment complexes could lead to more traffic or crime in the neighborhood. Yet another group in the room may focus on how local wildlife would be impacted by disrupting the unused (by humans) land. 

Now in this example, the main idea is the same for all groups: Developing this unused land will have an impact on the city. Additionally, all of these major details they use to support their purpose and point of view can all be true. Their approach to supporting their ideas on the same topic will be very different. Therefore, a clear understanding of what is said and why they say it can be very important to understand before summarizing.

How to Give a Summary

So, when creating a summary, ask yourself the following questions about the source:

• What is the focus? In other words, if I had to say this in one sentence, what would I say?
  • Within that focus, is there a purpose (such as persuasion) that I should identify?
  • Is there an obvious bias or opinion that is influencing the speaker's point of view that I should mention?
• What felt like the strongest three points the speaker used to make the main idea clear for me?
• Are there any specific (minor details) that I think I must include in my summary?

These questions will help you think through the source material and decide what your new audience will need to know. 

Now, as we discuss in the lesson Speaking Strategy: Organization & Transitions it is important to recognize what your purpose, content, and audience will be. The previous questions help you to identify the information (content) to include in your summary. Consider the following questions to prepare for your purpose and audience:

• Why are you summarizing? 
  • Is this a class assignment?
  • Are you relating an interesting story you heard?
  • Are you expected to express your own opinion on the topic?
• Who is your audience?
  • How much does the new audience know about the topic?
  • Does the new audience need to do something with the information you share?

The combination of answers to the above questions is what will guide you to the format of your summary. For the most part, a summary would follow a basic structure like the following:

The speaker/writer said [insert main idea]. One reason to explain this is [insert major detail 1]. The speaker also said [insert major detail 2]. For example, [insert important minor detail]. Another interesting point was [insert major detail 3]. For these reasons, [insert speaker's point of view or purpose OR your point of view or purpose].

As a general rule, the summary should be shorter than the original source. If you speak for the same amount of time and in the same amount of detail, the new audience might as well have listened to the original.