Sixth Grade
Worksheets
Summarizing
Your teacher has asked you to write a summary of the story you've just read. You've tried this before. What you usually write is a long rambling paragraph that doesn't seem to make much sense. There must be a better way, right? Right!
There are different ways to write a summary. But all summaries have some things in common. They all include main ideas and details. You can write a summary for a non-fiction article or a narrative story. You will write differently for different genres.
To write a summary of a non-fiction article, begin with a topic sentence that tells the main idea. Then continue with key facts that support the main idea. This type of summary doesn't usually include an opinion on the topic. You can add a concluding sentence that sums up the main idea, but it isn't always necessary. Use this formula for writing a summary of information from your science or history textbooks. You might also use it for writing a summary of an article from a newspaper, magazine, or the Internet.
