Identifying themes and summarising a text

Summarising means picking out the main ideas and putting them briefly in your own words. It is the first step towards synthesis (Paper 2 Question 7a), and it helps with every reading question.

Practise this lesson free (6 questions)

Theme or topic?

The topic is what a text is about: a man moving to a new town.
A theme is the bigger idea it explores: loneliness, belonging, hope.
To find themes, ask: what does the writer seem to be saying about people or life?

Practice extract

An original diary entry.
Monday 3rd March. Rain again. I have now spent nine days in this town and still cannot find my way from the station to the lodging house without asking. The people are kind but they speak so fast that I nod and smile and understand perhaps one word in five. Tonight Mrs Hale gave me a second helping of stew without being asked, and I could have hugged her. I miss home terribly, and yet, walking back over the bridge this evening with the lamps coming on, I thought for the first time: I could be happy here.
Practice extract, written for GCSE-ready

How to summarise

1. Read the whole text first.
2. Underline the main points, not the examples.
3. Group similar points together.
4. Write them in your own words, in a logical order.
5. Cut descriptive detail and repetition.
A summary is shorter than the original and adds no new opinions of your own.
Worked example

Summarise the diary entry in two sentences.

  1. Main point 1: the writer is new to the town and still finds it hard.
  2. Main point 2: local people are kind.
  3. Main point 3: despite homesickness, the writer feels a first moment of hope.

Answer: The writer is still struggling to settle in an unfamiliar town, getting lost and struggling to understand people. Although homesick, they are touched by a landlady's kindness and begin to feel they could be happy there.

Key idea

Topic is what a text is about; theme is the bigger idea. Summarise by selecting main points, grouping them, and rewriting them briefly in your own words with no added opinions.

Key words
Synthesis
Drawing information together from two texts to show what they have in common (GCSE Paper 2 Question 7(a)).
Repetition
Repeating a word, phrase or structure to emphasise an idea or make it memorable.

All GCSE and International GCSE English Language key terms and definitions →

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Extra practice

2 more questions

Try each one, then tap to check.

  1. What is the topic of the diary entry?

    1. Belonging
    2. A newcomer's first days in a town
    3. Hope
    4. Loneliness
    Show the answer

    Answer: A newcomer's first days in a town

    The topic is what it is about; themes are the bigger ideas.

  2. Which detail is essential for a summary of the diary entry?

    1. The date is Monday 3rd March
    2. It is raining
    3. The writer begins to feel hopeful about the new town
    4. The landlady is called Mrs Hale
    Show the answer

    Answer: The writer begins to feel hopeful about the new town

    A summary keeps the main ideas.

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Sources and references

Checked by the GCSE-ready editorial team, 17 October 2026. Last updated 2 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us and we will fix it.

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