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Summarizing Texts in Your Own Words

Faculties: AC, AMP, AR, BI, BW, D, EFI, IN, MB/VS, SOH, SW, VT, WT

Many students find it difficult to express what they have read in their own words. With this combined reading and writing technique, you practice identifying the key ideas of another text in order to integrate them into your own writing.

Contents

What can I use this exercise for?

Two essential steps in academic work are reading academic literature and extracting the main ideas. This method makes it easier for you to grasp the key points of a text, approach a text that is difficult to understand, or move away from the exact wording of the original text when paraphrasing.

In addition, this technique encourages you to take a critical and questioning approach to your reading.

How it’s done

For this reading and writing technique you will need:

  • The text to be read
  • Reference books, dictionaries, a computer with internet access
  • Several sheets of paper,
  • Pens
  • Approx. 45 minutes time.

Here’s how to proceed:

  • First, read the whole text passage (5 min.).
  • Write a freewriting piece – an unedited flow of writing – about what you liked in the text, which aspects you found critical, and what questions you have about it (5 min.).
  • Read the text again and highlight any words you don’t understand. Look them up (10 min.).
  • Next, number the paragraphs of the text and write the numbers vertically on a blank sheet of paper, leaving enough space between them (2 min.).
  • For each paragraph, write a heading, a main statement, or a question and note it next to the respective number on the sheet.
  • Put the original text aside and write your own text or an indirect quotation using your headings, main statements, and questions (10 min.).

Literature (in German): Grieshammer, Ella; Liebetanz, Franziska (2013): Zukunftsmodell Schreibberatung: Eine Anleitung zur Begleitung von Schreibenden im Studium. Hohengehren: Schneider.

Frequently asked questions

When should I use this reading and writing technique for my texts?

Especially if you find it difficult to paraphrase, this reading method can help you learn to identify the key ideas of another text and express them in your own words. It also helps you develop a critical and questioning attitude toward your reading.

What do I do with what I’ve written?

For example, use what you’ve written to create a commentary on your reading that you can refer back to later. Or write the draft of the section for which you read the text.

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This article was published in August 2025 and last updated in February 2025.

Faculties: AC, AMP, AR, BI, BW, D, EFI, IN, MB/VS, SOH, SW, VT, WT

Contributors: Maria Noll, Schreibzentrum, Dzifa Vode, Deirdre Rieker

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