ADHD glossary · Family perspectives
Summary: keep the main points without changing the message
A summary is a shorter account of the main points in a larger piece of material. It does not have to reproduce every example, but it should not add a conclusion the original did not make. In this practical guide, we use a small invented notice to show the difference between shortening information and changing it.
General education and practical perspectives. Editorial standards.
An outline arranges the sections of a piece of work. An annotation sits beside a specific passage. A summary stands as a brief account of the material, with enough context for someone to know what it describes and where the original can be found.
Compare two versions
Imagine a club notice: “The craft session has moved from Tuesday to Thursday this week. The room is unchanged. Please reply if the new time does not work; we have not decided next week's date.”
A faithful short account could be: “This week's craft session is Thursday in the usual room. They want to hear about timing problems; next week is undecided.”
“Craft club now meets every Thursday” is shorter, but it turns a one-week change into a permanent arrangement. “Everyone accepted Thursday” adds a claim about replies that the notice never made. Our example shows why the missing qualification can matter more than a missing decorative detail.
A summary note you can use
What I am summarizing:
Where the original is:
Main point:
Details needed to understand that point:
Condition, uncertainty, or exception I must keep:
My separate question or reaction:
The last field is intentionally separate. A reader's opinion can be worth discussing without being presented as part of the source's message.
Check the shorter version against the original
Ask whether the summary changes who did something, when it applies, how certain the source was, or what was merely proposed. Check names and dates if they are included. Do not add a precise number when the original only gave a broad description.
For schoolwork, use the assignment's actual requirements for length and attribution. This example does not establish citation rules or permission to reproduce someone else's wording. If the subject is a scientific finding, the underlying source and its limits still need checking; a fluent summary is not evidence that it is correct.
Different readers, different purposes
A child may want only the next activity date. A parent may also need the reply request. A grandparent helping with transport needs the location and whether the date is confirmed. They can receive different amounts of detail without receiving contradictory accounts.
A teen or adult can choose which personal reactions remain private. Ask before forwarding a summary that includes another person's information. Keep the original available to the people who are entitled to access it, rather than treating your shorter version as the sole authority.
Related guides
Updates and corrections
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Found a factual error or something unclear? Use the contact route on our Trust page. Read our research method for the evidence approach.