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Lesson 3 Writing Academic Text
Lesson 3 Writing Academic Text
ACADEMIC
TEXTS
Prepared by: Marifel Chavez
Learning Objectives
1. define summarizing and summary
from various writers
2. identify the various techniques in
summarizing
3. summarize various academic texts
WORD OF THE WEEK
altruistic
having or showing an unselfish concern
for the welfare of others;good;
humanitarian
INTRODUCTION
Tell me a story
Suppose you told your friend that you
just watched a great film, and your friend
asks what the story is. How will you tell the
story?
Pre-Test:
Directions. Identify which of the following supports
the principle of summarizing.
A.Retell a story
B.Reduce information to essential ideas
C.Get through an article more quickly
D.Understand easily
Pre-Test:
Directions. Identify which of the following supports
the principle of summarizing.
A.True
B. False
Pre-Test:
Directions. Identify which of the following supports
the principle of summarizing.
What is
Summarizing?
SUMMARIZING
Buckley (2004), in her popular writing
text Fit to Print, defines summarizing as
“reducing text to one-third or one-
quarter its original size, clearly
articulating the author’s meaning, and
retaining main ideas.”
SUMMARIZING
Diane Hacker (2008), in A Canadian
Writer’s Reference, explains that
summarizing involves stating a work’s
thesis and main ideas “simply, briefly,
and accurately” (p. 62).
SUMMARIZING
The purpose of summarizing is to
briefly present the key points of a
theory or work in order to provide
context for your argument/thesis.
SUMMARIZING
Summarizing is useful in many types of
writing and at different points in the
writing process. Summarizing is used to
support an argument, provide context for
a paper’s thesis, write literature reviews,
and annotate a bibliography.
SUMMARIZING
The benefit of summarizing lies in
showing the "big picture," which allows
the reader to contextualize what you are
saying.
SUMMARIZING
In addition to the advantages of
summarizing for the reader, as a writer
you gain a better sense of where you are
going with your writing, which parts need
elaboration, and whether you have
comprehended the information you have
collected.
Why is summarizing
important to you as
a student?
Guidelines in Summarizing
(Barrot & Sipacio, 2015)
Guidelines in Summarizing
(Barrot & Sipacio, 2015)
The Sydney Opera House is one of the most famous architectural wonders of the modern world.
Instantly recognisable both for its roof shells and its impressive location in Sydney harbour, it has become one
of the best known images of Australia. Situated close to Sydney Harbour Bridge, this large performing arts
centre was started in 1959 and completed in 1973. After a competition to choose the design, the Danish
architect Jorn Utzon was chosen. The Opera House includes five theatres, five rehearsal studios, two main
halls, four restaurants, six bars, and several shops. The construction of the Opera House was fairly
controversial as the final cost of the building was much higher than predicted. It was expected to cost $7
million, but in fact, the final cost was $102 million. This was due to difficult weather conditions, problems with
structural design, and changes to contract. The remarkable roof shells were also difficult to construct.
Furthermore, the construction too longer than planned. Completion of the building was initially expected in
four years, in 1963. Unfortunately, because of the many problems and changes which were necessary in the
design, the building was not completed until ten years later, in 1973.It was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth 2
on 20th October 1973, and millions of people attended the ceremony. The event was televised, and included a
fireworks display and classical music performance.
Example 1:
The Sydney Opera House
Summary
The Sydney Opera house has been described as ‘one of the wonders
of the modern world’, is located in Sydney Harbour, Australia. Designed
by Danish Architect, Jorn Utzon, this large performing art centre with
numerous theatres, restaurants and other facilities, took fourteen
years to build at a cost of over $100 million. The construction was seen
as controversial as it was estimated to only cost $7 million but adverse
weather, design difficulties and contractual problems made expenses
spiral out of control. It was inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth II in 1973 at
a ceremony televised to the world.
Adapted from Philpot, S & Curnick, L. 2011. Headway Academic Skills, Level 3. OUP
Example 2:
Japanese Rail Tunnel
Summary
The longest railway tunnel in the world links the islands of
Honshu & Hokkaido. This 54km tunnel was inaugurated in 1988
to deal with the predicted increase in rail traffic. However, the
fall in the cost of flying and the fact that high speed trains
cannot use the tunnel have resulted in the tunnel being less
widely used than expected.
READING STRATEGIES
Gary Goshgarian states that “Critical
reading is an active process of
discovery.” We read for a variety of
purposes. To make reading meaningful
and interactive, reading strategies will be
helpful. Here are the strategies:
1. Previewing
•get an idea what it is about
•read the first sentence of each paragraph
•pay attention to text structures such as
sidebars, photograph captions, text in
bold or italics, headings and subheadings,
charts and graphs, summaries, and other
supporting texts and graphics
2. Set a purpose for reading
•Setting a purpose for reading helps keep
you focused and engaged while reading
•reading with purpose motivates and
helps students who tend to rush, take
their time reading so they won't skip over
key elements in the text
3. Activating Prior Knowledge
•using your knowledge and previous
personal experiences to create meaning
in what you read
•you may activate prior knowledge by
asking yourself questions that help you
remember facts and related ideas
* If you have very little prior knowledge about a topic,
you may consider doing some background reading on
the topic.
4. Making Predictions
•you try to guess what happens next
•making predictions helps you become a
more active reader
* making predictions is usually based on
your schema--what you know about the
world
6. Identifying Main Idea and Details
•The main idea is the “big point” or the
most important idea that the writer is
communicating to the reader
•Supporting details prove the value of the
main idea.
* Information that does not support the
main idea does not belong in the same
paragraph.
7. Asking Questions
•good readers ask questions when they
read
•ask questions about how important the
task you are reading is, how the events
relate to one another, why characters act
in a certain way and how you understand
what you are reading
8.Adjust reading speed
•reading rate should vary according to
your reading purpose
•the nature and difficulty of the material
also calls for adjustments in rate
level of difficulty depends greatly on the
reader’s knowledge
9. Drawing Conclusions
•using information that is implied or
inferred to make meaning out of what is
not clearly stated.
•writers give readers hints or clues that
help them read between the lines, since
not everything is explicitly stated or
spelled out all the time.
10. Review and Clarify Vocabulary
••list down unfamiliar words you
encounter in the text
•reading comprehension depends upon
the meaning readers give words. The
more vocabulary words students know,
the better they can comprehend
•a rich vocabulary also improves students'
ability to communicate through speaking,
listening, and writing
Any question?
Schoology