This page has a worked example from our teachers.
Why selection comes first
Most summary marks are decided before you write a sentence. Selecting points means reading the passage against the task’s focus.
You pull out each separate idea that answers it. You leave out examples, long description, repetition and the writer’s opinions.
If your selection is right, the writing is almost easy. If it is wrong, polished prose cannot rescue the marks, because marks are given for the points, not for the style.
This skill supports summary tasks in First Language English and English as a Second Language. It also helps with note-taking and revision.
The number of points expected and the marks for each differ by board and syllabus year, so we teach from each board’s official syllabus. See our qualification pages.
A point is not a detail
The hardest part is telling a point from the material that supports it. Look at this sentence: “The road was dangerous: it was narrow, it had no barrier, and a lorry had once gone over the edge.”
The useful points are the two features that made the road dangerous: it was narrow, and it had no barrier. The lorry is an example. It proves the danger, but it is not a separate point.
Many students keep the memorable example and drop the plain point. They then lose the mark.
A five-step method
- Read the focus. Put it in your own words so you know what you are looking for.
- Work through the passage from start to finish. Do not skip ahead. Relevant points can be late as well as early.
- Note each answer. When you find content that answers the focus, write it in a few words of your own.
- Test every candidate. Ask: is this a new point, or an example or repeat? Keep only new points.
- Check against the focus. Delete anything that is interesting but does not answer the question.
A worked example
This passage and selection are our own, written for teaching.
Running the stall taught Rehan several lessons. He learned to arrive early, because the best pitches near the entrance were taken within minutes. He discovered that customers trusted a tidy display and walked past a messy one.
His neighbour, whose fruit was tumbled in heaps, sold far less. Above all, he learned to keep some money back for slow weeks, having once spent everything and been caught short when the rains kept shoppers away.
Focus: what Rehan learned.
Points:
- Arrive early to get a good pitch.
- Keep the display tidy, because it wins customers’ trust.
- Save some money for slow weeks.
Left out: the neighbour’s tumbled fruit and the rainy week. They support the points but are not points themselves.
You now have three clean ideas, ready to write within the word limit.
This is easier to improve with a teacher beside you. A paid one-hour trial starts from your child's own recent work.
Common mistakes
- Choosing examples instead of points. The student keeps the illustration and drops the idea.
- Over-selecting. The list counts one idea several times in different words.
- Skimming. The student misses points buried in the middle.
- Leaving the focus. The student adds an interesting fact that the task did not ask for.
- Joining two points into one. One note covers two ideas, so a mark is lost.
Every one of these is a reading fault, not a writing fault. That is why we practise selection on its own.
How to practise
Choose an article, set yourself a focus and write only the list of points. Then check each item: is it a separate idea, or only support for another? You never write the full summary, so you can do several lists in the time of one.
Another useful exercise is to select points from a passage, put the list away for a day, then do it again from scratch. Compare both lists. The differences show where your reading wobbled: a point you missed, or an example you mistook for a point.
You can also label every sentence in a paragraph as “point” or “support”. This makes the difference clear.
Where students usually get stuck
Most students cannot tell a point from its example, so their lists are too long and their summaries run over the word limit. In 1-to-1 lessons, our teachers set a focus, question each item on your list (“is that new, or the same idea again?”) and keep going until you can sort points quickly. This is part of reading-paper focus teaching in First Language English.
Book a paid one-hour trial and bring a past summary. The teacher who would continue with you will show you which points you missed and which examples crept in.
What to read or try next
Compare your work with the annotated model responses, then try the practice tasks. To turn your list into a finished answer, read how to write a summary within the word limit.