Add your signs to the output (output method="text")
File: Data.xml <chapter> <title>The Chapter</title> <sect1> <title>First Section</title> <figure> <title>First picture in book</title> <graphic fileref="pic1.jpg" /> </figure> </sect1> </chapter> File: Transform.xslt <xsl:stylesheet xmlns:xsl="http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform" version="1.0"> <xsl:output method="text" /> <xsl:template match="sect1/title"> [ <xsl:apply-templates /> ] </xsl:template> <xsl:template match="para" /> </xsl:stylesheet> Output: The Chapter [ First Section ] First picture in book