Thesis at the top
AskSia identifies the essay's central thesis and quotes it at the top of the summary, with a [N] citation linking to the exact passage. Useful for fast reading and for checking your own thesis when revising.
Thesis identification
AI Essay Summarizer
Summarize any essay, with thesis and arguments laid out.
Upload an essay or paste the text into AskSia and read a structured summary in seconds. The thesis appears at the top, supporting arguments and evidence underneath, with citations linking every claim back to the source. Useful for class readings, peer review, and writing-center prep. 40+ languages, free to start.
SupportsPDFWordPowerPointMarkdownScanned PDF · OCREPUBTXTCSVGoogle Docs
4.8 / 5 · 2M+ documents summarized by students at 2000+ universities
asksia.ai/summarize
9 files indexed
Study materials
Upload
Library
Selected files
Biology_Chapter_12.pdf
500p
Lecture_Slides_W6.pptx
Prof_Chen_Notes.docx
Handwritten_Review.pdf
OCR
Study_Guide.md
Problem_Set_5.pdf
Research_NeurIPS.pdf
Midterm_Review.docx
Tutorial_Slides.pptx
Midterm study plan — from all 9 of your files
Focus on cellular respiration and the Calvin cycle first — they dominate your textbook1 and lecture slides2. Prof. Chen's notes flag three common exam traps3.
Biology_Chapter_12.pdf
1
5
Lecture_Slides_W6.pptx
2
Prof_Chen_Notes.docx
3
Handwritten_Review.pdf
4
Study_Guide.md
6
≡ Summary
Study guide
Quiz
Flash Card
PDF
Biology_Chapter_12.pdf
p. 217
Quick Answer
What is AskSia AI Essay Summarizer?
AskSia AI Essay Summarizer takes any essay (uploaded as PDF, DOCX, MD, TXT, or pasted as text) and produces a structured summary that lays out the thesis, supporting arguments, evidence, counter-arguments, and conclusion, all with [N] citations linking back to the source passage. Useful for class readings, peer review of classmate essays, writing-center prep, and English-class analysis. 40+ languages with translation.
100
files per session
500p
textbook in one pass
OCR
native, zero setup
100%
answers cited to page
Why AskSia
The essay summarizer that thinks like a writing tutor.
Generic chatbots paraphrase essays without showing structure. AskSia breaks the essay into thesis, arguments, evidence, and counter-arguments with citations on every line.
Arguments and evidence laid out
Each supporting argument appears as a section, with the evidence the essay uses to support it cited to the exact passage. Useful for peer review and for understanding how an argument is structured.
Argument structure
Counter-arguments surfaced
AskSia extracts any counter-arguments the essay engages with and the responses to them, useful for understanding scholarly debate and for revising your own essays to address opposing views.
Counter-argument view
Cited to the exact passage
Every line of the summary carries a [N] marker. Hover to see the exact source passage highlighted in the essay. Click to jump to that paragraph for direct quoting.
Hover to verify
40+ languages with translation
Read essays in Spanish, Mandarin, French, German, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, or any of 40+ supported languages, with the English summary alongside the original.
Cross-lingual essays
Peer-review and writing prep
One click turns the summary into a peer-review question list, a structural outline (thesis, body paragraphs, conclusion), or a writing-center prep brief. Useful for revising your own essays.
Peer review tools
How It Works
From essay to thesis-and-arguments summary in seconds.
Upload or paste. The structured breakdown saves a full read.
Step 01
Upload or paste the essay
Drag the essay file (PDF, DOCX, MD, TXT, RTF) into AskSia, or paste the essay text directly.
Drop documents here
PDF, Word, PPT, Markdown, scans, and photos
PDF
Biology_Chapter_12.pdf
500p
P
Lecture_Slides_W6.pptx
38
W
Prof_Chen_Notes.docx
12
MD
Study_Guide.md
4
9 files ready · 100 max
Step 02
AskSia extracts the structure
AskSia identifies thesis, supporting arguments, evidence, counter-arguments, and conclusion, and builds a passage-level citation index over the essay.
Indexing in parallel
PDF
Textbook pages
DONE
P
Lecture slides
DONE
W
Professor notes
DONE
PDF
Handwritten review
OCR
MD
Markdown study guide
READING
100%
Sources indexed with page-level citation anchors.
Step 03
Read, ask, export
Read the structured summary with [N] citations on every claim. Ask Sia for peer-review questions, an outline, or flashcards. Export as TXT, DOCX, or Google Docs.
What should I study first for the midterm?
Start with cellular respiration1 and the Calvin cycle2. Your handwritten review adds a comparison table4.
Biology_Chapter_12.pdf
p.217
Referenced passage highlighted on the original page.
Use Cases
How students summarize essays with AskSia.
Assigned essay readings
Upload an essay assigned for class (an op-ed, a scholarly essay, a humanities essay) and AskSia returns a thesis-and-arguments summary with citations, ready for class discussion.
Class essay prep
Peer review of classmate essays
Upload a classmate's draft and AskSia surfaces the thesis, argument structure, and any holes in evidence, useful for writing-center prep and peer-review sessions.
Peer review
Your own essay drafts
Upload your own essay draft and AskSia returns a structural summary that lets you check whether your thesis appears clearly, your arguments are supported, and counter-arguments are addressed.
Self-revision
Scholarly essays for research
Drop a stack of scholarly essays from JSTOR or Project Muse and ask 'compare arguments across these essays' or 'find essays that engage with X'. Synthesized answer with per-essay citations.
Scholarly essay research
Foreign-language essays
Read essays in Spanish, Mandarin, French, German, Japanese, or any of 40+ supported languages, with the English summary alongside the original.
40+ languages
AP, IB, and standardized exam essays
Upload sample AP, IB, GRE, or admissions essays and AskSia returns a structural breakdown useful for studying argument structure before your own writing.
Test essay study
Compare
AskSia vs. NotebookLM,
ChatPDF, and ChatGPT.
Most AI document tools are built for one file. AskSia is built for students studying a whole library at once.
| Feature | AskSia | NotebookLM | ChatPDF | ChatGPT File Upload |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max files per session | ✓ 100 | ~ 50 | 1 | ~ 10–20 |
| Native OCR for scanned PDFs | ✓ Auto, no setup | ~ limited | ✗ | ✗ |
| Handwritten notes recognition | ✓ 40+ languages | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Mixed-format session (PDF+PPT+DOCX+MD) | ✓ All at once | ~ partial | PDF only | ✓ |
| Hover-to-source page highlighting | ✓ Visual preview | ~ citations only | ~ page ref | ✗ |
| 500-page textbook in one pass | ✓ No chunking | ~ size limits | ~ size limits | ✗ truncation |
| Cross-document Q&A | ✓ Unified answer | ✓ | ✗ single doc | ~ degrades |
| Auto flashcards & quizzes | ✓ One click | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Free to start, no credit card | ✓ 100 files free | ✓ | ~ 1 file free | ✗ Plus needed |
FAQ
Common questions about essay summarizing.
How do I summarize an essay with AskSia?
Drag the essay file (PDF, DOCX, MD, TXT, RTF) into AskSia, or paste the essay text directly. AskSia identifies the thesis, supporting arguments, evidence, and counter-arguments, and returns a structured summary with [N] citations on every claim. Hover any [N] to see the source passage highlighted.
What essay formats does AskSia support?
AskSia handles essays uploaded as PDF (native and scanned), DOCX, DOC, MD, TXT, and RTF, plus pasted essay text directly into the input area. Useful for both formal essays from journals and quick essay drafts you typed in Google Docs.
Can AskSia identify the thesis correctly?
AskSia is tuned to identify the central claim of an essay across common essay structures (humanities, social sciences, philosophy, op-eds, college admissions). When the thesis is implicit, AskSia surfaces the strongest version of it and shows the passage that grounds it. Useful for reading dense academic prose where the thesis is not stated upfront.
Can I get peer-review questions for an essay?
Yes. One click turns the summary into a peer-review question list (clarity, evidence, counter-arguments, transitions, conclusion) tailored to the essay's structure. Useful for writing-center sessions and peer-review groups.
Can AskSia summarize my own essay drafts?
Yes, and many students use it for exactly that. Upload your draft and AskSia surfaces whether your thesis appears clearly, your arguments are supported, and your counter-arguments are addressed. Useful for revision before submitting.
Can AskSia summarize essays in other languages?
Yes. AskSia summarizes essays in 40+ languages and detects the source language automatically. You can also translate the summary at the same time, useful for international students reading English essays or for English speakers reading essays in other languages.
Can I export the essay summary?
Yes. Export the thesis-and-arguments summary, the peer-review questions, or the structural outline as TXT, DOCX, PDF, or send to Google Docs or Notion. Citations and source-passage links are preserved in the export.
Start Today
Upload an essay. See the thesis and arguments.
Whether an assigned essay reading, a classmate's draft, or your own writing, AskSia summarizes any essay with thesis, arguments, and evidence cited to the source.
From the AskSia study library
Study resources by university and exam
Course guides, shared notes and exam prep written for specific subjects. Start with your institution or your exam.
Study picksCourse SupportShared materials and discussions organised by subject.Browse by universityScore goalsStandardized ExamsStudy materials, shared notes and discussions for major exams.Browse by exam
AUAustralia
University of Sydney study resourcesUniversity of Melbourne study resourcesMonash University study resourcesUNSW Sydney study resourcesUniversity of Technology Sydney study resourcesUniversity of Adelaide study resourcesAustralian National University study resourcesRMIT University study resourcesGriffith University study resourcesFlinders University study resourcesQueensland University of Technology study resourcesUniversity of Newcastle study resourcesMacquarie University study resourcesUniversity of Queensland study resourcesCharles Sturt University study resourcesVictoria University study resources
Let's Get in Touch
