3. SUMMARIZING TEXT

• Summarizing


  Reducing text to one-third or one-quarter its original size, clearly articulating the author's meaning and retaining main ideas
• Summarizing


  • An essential skill needed in the workplace and in the community
  • An excellent learning strategy that allows students to monitor their progress in learning course material
• Basic rules for summarizing

  1. Erase things that don't matter

  2. Only write down important points

  3. Erase things that repeat

  4. Trade general terms for specific names

  5. Use your own words to write the summary
• Techniques for summarizing


  • Outlining
  • Somebody Wanted But So Then
  • SAAC Method
  • 5W's, 1H
  • First Then Finally
• Outlining


  A map of your essay that shows what information each section or paragraph will contain and in what order
• Somebody Wanted But So Then

  A technique where each word represents a key question related to a text's essential elements
• SAAC Method


  A method that includes the title, author's name, what the author is doing, and completing the summary with keywords and important details
• 5W's, 1H


  A technique that relies on six crucial questions: Who, What, When, Where, Why, How
• First Then Finally


  A technique that helps summarize events or steps in chronological order or in sequence