Summarizing a Whole Article

Combine the main ideas of each section into a short, objective summary.

To summarize a whole article, work in layers. First, find the main idea of each section or paragraph. Second, find the main idea of the whole article. Third, write a summary that starts with the whole-text main idea and then briefly gives each section's point, in your own words and without opinions. Example: an article called 'Living on the Space Station' has three sections.

Section 1: astronauts exercise two hours a day because muscles weaken in low gravity. Section 2: food is packaged carefully so crumbs don't float into equipment. Section 3: sleeping bags are strapped to walls so astronauts don't drift. Summary: 'Daily life on the space station is shaped by low gravity.

Astronauts exercise to protect their muscles, eat specially packaged food, and sleep strapped to the walls. ' Two sentences cover the whole article.

• 1Find each section's main idea first.
• 2Start the summary with the whole-text main idea.
• 3Add each section's point briefly, with no opinions.