Summarizing Learning Objective You will learn how to

Summarizing Learning Objective: You will learn how to summarize articles, stories and novels to demonstrate your understanding of material.

What is a summary? • A summary – a shorter version of a longer piece of writing. The summary captures all the most important parts of the original, but expresses them in a [much] shorter space. • For our purposes, your summary should not be longer than 1/10 of the text you are summarizing.

But why? • Summarizing is something your teachers have you do in all of your classes to test your understanding of material. • Summarizing is a useful skill when gathering information, demonstrating understanding, or doing research.

Step #1 PREREADING • Look through the article, story or book. • Title • Headings • Bold or italicized words • Any graphics (charts, diagrams, etc. )

Step #2 • Do a quick read through the article or short story. We usually wouldn’t do this for a book, though. • The purpose of this is to get the overall meaning of the piece. Don’t spend a lot of time puzzling things out.

Step #3 • Next, find the main idea. Usually this can be found in the first paragraph of an article. A short story or book may take longer to figure out. • If you’re not sure, think: What is this article or story or novel trying to tell me? Main Idea: The pig who took his time and built the best house was able to survive the visit from the wolf.

Topic and Main Idea Passage Example Going for a ride today? Don't forget your helmet! Motorcycle helmets save lives and money! It is a proven fact that wearing motorcycle helmets protects the head enough to save lives. If you get hurt and don't have any insurance, the government has to pay the cost. In states that have already enacted a helmet law, deaths on motorcycles were significantly reduced. We need everyone's support when it comes to making changes that save lives. What is the topic?

Topic The subject of a passage What, in general, is the passage about? Using motorcycle helmets.

MAIN IDEA The main point that the author is trying to get across • What is the main idea that the author wants the reader to get? • Motorcycle riders should wear helmets.

Step #4 • Complete a close read. • In a short story or article, you might read the work twice—once to figure out the main idea, once more to complete a close read. • In a novel you might assess the main idea and read closely at the same time. – Circle key words. – Cross out details that may be interesting but are too specific for a summary. – Cross out anything that is repeated. – Underline items that support the main idea.

Now getting to the summary. • What length? • Review the main idea. • Look through and get rid of any notes that you think are not needed.

Make a list of the most important ideas of the article.

Phew! If your idea list is long, see if there any ideas that can be combined.

Number the ideas to put them in the best order for your summary.

Rough Draft • Be sure to include the author and title somewhere in the beginning. (Article titles should be in quotations. ) • Include the main idea in the first sentence. • Provide support for the main idea. • End with a conclusion that wraps up the main idea of the article. • Put the information in your own words without changing the meaning.

Oh yes, revise and edit! • Read it out loud! – Is it smooth. – Do you need to reword anything? – Does is make sense? • Gateway Criteria!