handout 3

• Summarizing


  The method of using few words to give the most important information about something, done quickly in a way that does not follow the normal process
• Summarizing


  • Readers sort through the information presented in a text in order to pull out and paraphrase the essential ideas
  • Requires readers to determine what is important, to condense this information, and to state it in their own words
• Summary


  • A series of brief, concise statements, in your own words, of the main idea and the significant supporting details
  • The first sentence should state the main idea or thesis
  • Subsequent sentences should incorporate the significant details
  • Minor details and material irrelevant to the learner's purpose should be omitted
  • The summary should be written in paragraph form and should always be shorter than the material being summarized
  • It should not contain anything that is not in the original, and it must be written in your own words
• Rules in Summarizing


  1. Divide and conquer

  2. Read

  3. Reread

  4. One sentence at a time

  5. Write a thesis statement

  6. Ready to write

  7. Check for accuracy

  8. Revise
• Topic


  The subject matter, what the reading selection is about, usually expressed in a word or phrase
• Main Idea


  • The most important or central thought of a paragraph or a larger section of text, which tells the reader what the text is about
  • The core of the material, the particular point the author is trying to convey
  • Can be stated in one sentence that condenses specific ideas or details in the passage into a general, all-inclusive statement of the author's message