summarize
To express the main points of something briefly.
ExampleThe student summarizes the lecture before giving her opinion.
ExampleThe task asks you to summarize the professor's main point.
Usage Scenarios
Speaking from notes
Use summarize when you explain a lecture's core idea in a short response.
ExampleThe student summarizes the lecture by focusing on the professor's two objections.
Integrated writing
Use it when you report how the lecture responds to the reading.
ExampleThe first paragraph summarizes the reading's explanation before the essay discusses the lecture.
Usage Guide
Recognize summarize when a task reduces a lecture, conversation, reading, or argument to its main points. TOEFL often tests whether you can identify what matters most.
Useful patterns include summarize the lecture, summarize the passage, and summarize the main point. Add briefly when you need to emphasize concision.
Do not summarize by listing every detail. A good summary keeps the main claim, key support, and relationship between ideas.
Word Forms & Word Building
Summarize is built from summary plus the verb-forming ending -ize, meaning to make into a summary.
Summary is the noun for the shorter version itself; summarize is the action of creating that shorter version.
Summarized is the past form, and summarizing is the -ing form. TOEFL tasks often move from listening or reading to summarizing main points.
Meaning Boundaries
Summarize vs paraphrase
Paraphrase means say the same idea in different words. Summarize means shorten to the main points.
Summarize vs explain
Explain may include reasons and details. Summarize focuses on the essential points.
Register
Summarize is neutral and common in TOEFL task directions, academic speaking, and writing.
Memory Tricks
Think main points only. If a detail does not support the main idea, leave it out.
Practice with the chain: listen, choose main points, summarize.
Recognize summarize when the task asks what the speaker mainly says, not every example.
Common Traps
Do not include tiny details in a summary unless they support the main point.
Do not copy full sentences from the passage when asked to summarize.