Le résumé / Résumer un texte : Guide + Exercices corrigés

About this resource

What's inside this resource

Ce document aidera vos élèves à bien résumer un texte. Il présente une méthode détaillée suivie d’exercices pratiques pour développer cette compétence. Le guide contient 11 étapes, allant de la lecture attentive du texte à la révision finale du résumé rédigé (pour s’assurer qu'il est fidèle au texte original). En suivant ces étapes claires, les élèves parviendront à résumer différents types de textes sans problèmes. Cette ressource est destinée aux élèves du secondaire, mais peut être adaptée pour des apprenants plus jeunes. Elle peut être utilisée en classe ou pour des travaux individuels à la maison. Le document, qui comprend 11 pages, est fourni au format PDF, prêt à être imprimé ou utilisé en version numérique. Vous pouvez suivre le guide étape par étape avec vos élèves ou adapter certaines étapes en fonction de leur niveau. C'est possible aussi de faire des variantes d’exercices avec des textes de longueurs différentes.

What's included

An eleven-step guide in French to summarising a text, each step headed and explained in a short paragraph
Guidance on summary length, including the note that a reduction near 10% is common for long texts and a quarter to a fifth for short ones
A worked example: the full text "L'impact des réseaux sociaux sur la société moderne" followed by a model résumé of it
Exercice 1 — the text "L'impact de la technologie sur l'emploi" with the instruction "Résumez le texte suivant (60 mots)" and a Nom / Date header
Exercice 2 — the text "Les bienfaits de l'exercice physique régulier" with the instruction "Résumez le texte suivant (35 mots)"
A blank Nom / Date answer page for the second exercise
A corrigé for each exercise, giving a model summary written to the stated word count

Resource types: Activities

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Learning objectives

Follow a named eleven-step process for producing a summary, from close reading to a final check for fidelity
Compress a two-page argumentative text on automation and employment into a 60-word summary
Compress an informative text on physical exercise into a 35-word summary that keeps its central recommendation
Reformulate a source's ideas without copying its sentences, as step 5 of the guide requires
Keep a summary free of personal opinion and judgement, reporting only what the source argues

Teaching tips

The three parts are meant to run in order: read the eleven steps as reference, study the social-media example as the worked model, then attempt the exercises — the example is the only place where method and product appear side by side
Exercise 2 comes with its own blank Nom / Date page for the student's answer; exercise 1 does not, so provide a separate sheet for the 60-word task
Word counts here are the point of the task, so have students count their draft — both corrigés land within a few words of the limit they were set, which makes them a useful benchmark
Step 7 notes that examinations and competitive entrance tests state a required word count, so the 60- and 35-word instructions rehearse exactly that constraint
The three source texts — social media, automation and employment, regular exercise — are all discussion topics in their own right, so each can carry an oral debate before the written summary

Skills covered

Summarising method — students work through eleven named steps covering close reading, purpose, key points, cutting detail, rewording, structure, length, revision, objectivity and citation.
Writing to a fixed word count — the two exercises specify 60 words and 35 words, and each corrigé shows what that length actually looks like on the page.
Reformulation in one's own words — step 5 rules out copying sentences from the source, and both model summaries recast the arguments instead of quoting them.
Separating argument from supporting detail — the automation text runs across two pages of examples, sector caveats and regional variation, which the 60-word model reduces to four sentences.
Objective reporting — step 9 excludes personal comment, and both models present the source's positions without evaluating them.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

Which language is the resource written in?

French throughout — the eleven-step guide, all three texts, the exercise instructions ("Résumez le texte suivant") and both corrigés. No English version or translation appears in the file.

How long is each summary supposed to be?

The instruction fixes it for each task: 60 words for the text on technology and employment, 35 words for the text on regular exercise. The guide adds a general rule of thumb — a reduction of around 10% for long texts, rising to a quarter or a fifth for shorter ones.

What does the worked example show before students start the exercises?

A complete text on the impact of social media on modern society, printed in full, followed by a model résumé of it. Students see the whole passage and its compression side by side before they are asked to produce one of their own.