Summary Writing What is a Summary In a

Summary Writing

What is a Summary? § In a summary the reader… – Pulls out and focuses on central or key ideas – Uses key words or phrases – Puts the text into their own words – Organizes the text into a condensed version – Includes information from beginning, middle and end of the selection

What usually happens when you are asked to summarize? § Write down EVERYTHING (way too much ) § Write down next to NOTHING (not enough ) § Copy word for word § Include information from only part of the selection

Why Write a Summary? § Summaries help the reader … -Score well on the WASL and on class summarizing assignments -Identify and remember the main ideas of a selection – Logically condense information into a shorter version using their own words so they can remember the information

Goals for Summary Lessons Learn to write a summary that has a summarizing statement and at least three main events. To learn a strategy for writing summarizing statements To be able to decide if an event is a main event

Writing a Summary Statement

Start your summary with a summarizing statement What can help you to make a summarizing statement- I + V+ FT= A summarizing statement

I= Introduce § Answer these questions. What is the title? What format is it written in (article, book, poem, etc…) Who is the author? For example, “Tell-Tale Heart”, a short story, by Edgar Allan Poe….

V= Verb § Use a verb (action word) Some to consider. Describes Explains Shows Tells Convinces For example“Tell-Tale Heart”, a short story, by Edgar Allan Poe…describes Poe…

FT= Finishing thought § The main thing that happens in the story (the gist). For example, “Tell-Tale Heart”, a short story, by Edgar Allan Poe describes the thoughts, actions and motivations of a crazed but clever man who murdered someone because of his eye and then uncontrollably confessed his crime to the police.

Practice with a partner § Find someone who read the same story as you (“The Landlady” or “The Monkey’s Paw”) § Write a summarizing statement for that story § Be sure to include all the parts: – I Introduce author and title – V Verb: describes, tells, persuades etc. – FT Finishing Thought… main ideas from the beginning, middle and end

Examples from “The Monkey’s Paw” Summarizing Statement Yes or No? § “The Monkey’s Paw”, a short story by W. W. Jacobs, describes the eerie qualities of a magical cursed paw given to the White family.

§ “The Monkey’s Paw”, W. W. Jacobs’s spooky short story, describes a magical cursed monkey’s paw that the White family uses to make wishes with dire consequences.

§ This story describes a creepy paw with magical powers that makes the White family’s wishes come true but in horrible ways.

Examples from “The Landlady” Summarizing Statement Yes or No? § Roald Dahl creeps his reader out in his short story, “The Landlady” which describes a young man moving to a new town, looking for a place to stay.

§ In Roald Dahl’s short, creepy story, “The Landlady, ” he describes how a landlady at a Bed and Breakfast has only had two guests and stuffs her pets and guests.

§ “The Landlady, ” a short story by Roald Dahl describes how a landlady cons her naïve guests, in particular Billy Weaver, into staying at her Bed and Breakfast until it is too late for them to escape her manipulative hold.