SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL

English for Academic and

Professional Purposes
Quarter 1
Reading and Writing Academic Texts

Department of Education ● Republic of the Philippines

THINGS TO REMEMBER

Now that you are holding this module, do the following:

1. Read and follow instructions carefully in each lesson.
2. Take note and record points for clarification.
3. Do the activities to fully understand each lesson.
4. Answer all the given tests and activities.
5. Write all your answers in your notebook.
11. summarize various academic texts;
12. formulate thesis statement of the texts; and
13. make an outline of the various academic texts.

LESSON 1
ACADEMIC TEXT STRUCTURES

Learning Competency 1:
Differentiates language used in academic texts from various disciplines
Learning Objectives: At the end of this lesson, the learners are expected to:
1. define academic text;
2. determine text structure of an academic text; and
3. explain the components of the three-part essay structure.

What is an Academic Text?

Academic text is defined as critical, objective, specialized texts written by experts
or professionals in a given field using formal language. This means that academic texts
are based on facts with solid basis. Academic writing, therefore, is generally quite
formal, objective (impersonal) and technical. It is formal by avoiding casual or
conversational language, such as contractions or informal vocabulary. It is impersonal
and objective by avoiding direct reference to people or feelings, and instead
emphasizing objects, facts and ideas. It is technical by using vocabulary specific to the
discipline. To be a good academic writer, you will need to learn the specific styles and
structures for your discipline, as well as for each individual writing task. Some examples
of academic writing are as follow:
Literary Analysis: A literary analysis essay examines, evaluates, and makes an
argument about a literary work. As its name suggests, a literary analysis essay goes
beyond mere summarization. It requires careful close reading of one or multiple texts
and often focuses on a specific characteristic, theme, or motif.
Research Paper: A research paper uses outside information to support a thesis
or make an argument. Research papers are written in all disciplines and may be
evaluative, analytical, or critical in nature. Common research sources include data,
primary sources (e.g., historical records), and secondary sources (e.g., peer- reviewed
scholarly articles). Writing a research paper involves synthesizing this external
information with your own ideas.
Dissertation: A dissertation (or thesis) is a document submitted at the
conclusion of a Ph.D. program. The dissertation is a book-length summarization of the
doctoral candidate’s research.
Academic papers may be done as a part of a class, in a program of study, or for
publication in an academic journal or scholarly book of articles around a theme, by
different authors.
Structure is an important feature of academic writing. A well-structured text
enables the reader to follow the argument and navigate the text. In academic writing a
clear structure and a logical flow are imperative to a cohesive text. These are the two
common structures of academic texts that you need to learn which depends on the type
of assignment you are required: the three-part essay structure and the IMRaD
structure.

The Three-Part Essay Structure

The three-part essay structure is a basic structure that consists of introduction,
body and conclusion. The introduction and the conclusion should be shorter than the
body of the text. For shorter essays, one or two paragraphs for each of these sections
can be appropriate. For longer texts or theses, they may be several pages long.
Introduction. Its purpose is to clearly tell the reader the topic, purpose and structure of
the paper. As a rough guide, an introduction might be between 10 and 20 percent of the
length of the whole paper and has three main parts:
A. The most general information, such as background and/or definitions.
B. The core of the introduction, where you show the overall topic, purpose, your point of
view, hypotheses and/or research questions (depending on what kind of paper it is).
C. The most specific information, describing the scope and structure of your paper.
You should write your introduction after you know both your overall point of view (if it is a
persuasive paper) and the whole structure of your paper. You should then revise the
introduction when you have completed the main body.
The Body. It develops the question, “What is the topic about?” It may elaborate directly
on the topic sentence by giving definitions, classifications, explanations, contrasts,
examples and evidence. This is considered as the heart of the essay because it
expounds the specific ideas for the readers to have a better understanding of the topic. It
usually is the largest part of the essay.
Conclusion. The conclusion is closely related to the introduction and is often described
as its ‘mirror image’. This means that if the introduction begins with general information
and ends with specific information, the conclusion moves in the opposite direction. The
conclusion usually begins by briefly summarizing the main scope or structure of the
paper, confirms the topic that was given in the introduction, ends with a more general
statement about how this topic relates to its context. This may take the form of an
evaluation of the importance of the topic, implications for future research or a
recommendation about theory or practice.

The IMRaD Structure

The sections of the IMRaD structure are Introduction, Methods, Results and
Discussion. The Introduction usually depicts the background of the topic and the central
focus of the study. The Methodology lets your readers know your data collection
methods, research instrument employed, sample size and so on. Results and
Discussion states the brief summary of the key findings or the results of your study.

LET’S PRACTICE

Activity I : Directions: Read the Article written by Sharon Housley in 2012. Then, extract
the essential statements of the Introduction, Body and Conclusion. Write them in your
notebook. Follow the format below.

Impact of Technology on Politics

The continued growth of technology had a significant impact on the political
ratings that candidates achieve. The article Impact of Technology on Politics attempts to
analyze how these two spheres of modern life, technology and politics, interrelate and
what the outcomes are of this interrelationship.
 Political candidates use technology in many ways. Different communication
channels provided by the Internet have the power to influence the growth of different
individuals in their respective spheres. The likes of Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are
powerful communication media platforms that can easily raise the ratings of political
candidates. Housley claims that whether we acknowledge it or not, technology is a
deciding factor in most political races. Through technology, politicians are able to access
funds, gain political pundits, and spend less on campaigning and pushing their
candidacy.
One of the ways in which technology influences politics is the financial side.
Raising funds to use for campaigning is an important factor for political candidates. It
comes with the need to create a vertical response to the whole country or target region.
This is a major hurdle experienced by political candidates. The Internet aided Howard
Dean to get donations that he required to gain access to a large part of the campaign
region. By broadcasting through technological marketing, candidates get suitable donors
to support different parts of their campaigns. Publicity on the Internet is a cheap method,
as they do not have to re-publish, unlike what is provided by the print media. This is
placed in various commonly-accessed links (Housley, Par. 1).
The Internet enables politicians to use podcasting. The act of podcasting can
make anyone a journalist. Through podcasting, politicians are able to portray a
journalistic stature, thereby ensuring that the information is considered credible. Self-
proclamation of politicians through pundits is easily spread through messages. It is,
however, difficult for politicians to guarantee the integrity of the information posted.
The Internet can be accessed by anyone and podcasts can be posted by
anyone. The integrity of information is therefore difficult to preserve, hence, many
potential candidates may have to establish a verifiable connection with various
achievements. All in all, gaining political publicity through podcasts is a common but
expensive method to use, Housley admits. However, it is logical to assume that when
correctly utilized, this is an extremely powerful political tool that pays off completely.
According to Housley, the impact of technology is great on a given generation.
The young, educated, and affluent will relate to technological innovations. A proper
presentation will gain ratings for candidates. Using the most recent technology will surely
attract the youth. The older generation may not impact the raising of presidential bids,
especially if they are done through social media. The older generation uses the Internet
much less. The younger generation relates easily to these media platforms. This
differentiation is used by politicians to gain advantage in their political bids. Politicians
use technology to raise their bids among the youth, while traditional methods are used
for the older generation.
Another way to look at the matter is in relation to thinking about the Internet as a
tool for free advertising. It is no secret that presidential bids are the most expensive, as
they are run to cover the whole region. On the other hand, political videos easily
generate online rating gains, and such political Internet advertisement will reach the
target audience if launched properly. Individuals perform the needed publicity as each
person shares the video, and so on. The extra generated videos are not paid for, while
on social networks even the original posting is free.

It is clear that gaining political publicity through the use of technology has
become easier, especially since technological devices are so accessible and
widespread. The article analyzed is prudent in arranging technological tools into
separate groups that work as a effective means of communicating between a political
figure and the target audience. However, with the use of the Internet, any political figure
can become recognizable within just a few minutes. In only a few hours, public opinion
on a particular political figure is already formed within one of the social groups of voters.
Not just the good, but also a bad reputation can be formed in a blink of an eye using
modern technology. It often happens that the bad “gossip” spreads much faster. With the
huge impact that technology has on societies and public opinion in particular, it is crucial
to be cautious in the use of information about any political figure, or you risk making a
positive advertisement into a negative advertisement with just one click.

STRUCTURE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON POLITICS

Introduction

Body

Conclusion
Activity II : Write a three-part essay structure about education entitled “The Importance
of Education”.

LESSON 2

LANGUAGE USE IN ACADEMIC WRITING

Learning Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the learners are expected to:
1. determine language style in academic writing;
2. differentiate language style used in academic texts from various disciplines; and
3. construct paragraphs using academic language.

What is an Academic Language?

Academic language represents the language demands of school (academics).
Academic language includes language used in textbooks, in classrooms, on tests, and in
each discipline. It is different in vocabulary and structure from the everyday spoken
English of social interactions. Each type of communication (both academic and social)
has its purpose, and neither is superior to the other.
Academic writing is generally quite formal, objective (impersonal) and technical
as illustrated in the diagram below.
 OBJECTIVE
- avoid personal or
direct reference to
people or feelings

FORMAL
-avoid casual or TECHNICAL
conversational such as -use vocabulary specific
contractions and to the discipline
informal vocabulary

Academic Language

It is formal by avoiding casual or conversational language, such as contractions

or informal vocabulary. It is impersonal and objective by avoiding direct reference to
people or feelings, and instead emphasizing objects, facts and ideas. It is technical by
using vocabulary specific to the discipline.
Furthermore, you can make your writing more formal, objective and technical by
following examples below.
Formal Objective Technical

Move information around in the You need to develop a large

sentence to emphasize things vocabulary for the concepts
Choose formal instead of
and ideas, instead of people and specific to the discipline or
informal vocabulary. For
feelings. For example, instead of specialization you’re writing for.
example, ‘somewhat’ is more
writing ‘I believe the model is To do this, take note of
formal than ‘a bit’, ‘insufficient’ is
valid, based on these findings’, terminology used by your lecturer
more formal than ‘not enough’.
write ‘These findings indicate that and tutor, as well as in your
the model is valid’. readings.

Avoid evaluative words that are Be careful about the meaning of

Avoid contractions. For example, based on non-technical technical terms. Often the same
use ‘did not’ rather than ‘didn’t’. judgments and feelings. For word has a different meaning in
example, use ‘valid’ or ‘did not another discipline. For example,
demonstrate’ instead of ‘amazing’ ‘discourse’ is a technical term
 used in multiple disciplines with
or ‘disappointment’.
different meanings.

Avoid intense or emotional Use the key categories and

evaluative language. For
Avoid emotional language. For example, instead of writing
example, instead of strong words ‘Parents who smoke are
such as ‘wonderful’ or ‘terrible’, obviously abusing their children’,
use more moderate words such
as ‘helpful’ or ‘problematic’. write ‘Secondhand smoke has
some harmful effects on
children’s health’.
relationships in your discipline,
that is, the way information and
ideas are organized into groups.
For example, in the discipline of
Law, law is separated into two
types: common law and statute
law.

Show caution about your views,

or to allow room for others to
Instead of using absolute disagree.
positives and negatives, such as Knowing these distinctions will
‘proof’ or ‘wrong’, use more For example, instead of writing ‘I help you structure your writing
cautious evaluations, such as think secondhand smoke causes and make it more technical and
‘strong evidence’ or ‘less cancer’, write ‘There is evidence analytical.
convincing’. to support the possibility that
secondhand smoke increases the
risk of cancer’.

Find authoritative sources, such

as authors, researchers and
theorists in books or articles, who
support your point of view, and
refer to them in your writing. For
example, instead of writing
‘Language is, in my view, clearly
something social’, write ‘As
Halliday (1973) argues, language
is intrinsically social’.

WHAT I CAN DO
Directions: What do you think is the most correct answer in the following instances. Write
your answer in your notebook.
1. Instead of the informal 'I have read', use (I think, The essay has)
2. The phrase 'turn out to be' is informal. Instead, use: ( become,vend up)
3. Instead of 'paid for', use (given, funded)
4. ‘Job' is a little too informal. Instead write (role, gig,)
5. Instead of ‘funny’ use (laughable, hilarious)
6. Instead of 'picked out', use (selected, taken)
7. Rather than “stand for” write (be, represent)
8. The term 'music fans' is informal. Instead, use (audience, goers)
9. As a substitute for 'killing', use (assassination, political murder)
10. Instead of 'given off', use (created, done)

LESSON 3
ACADEMIC READING STRATEGIES

Learning Competency 2.
Uses knowledge of text structure to glean the information he/she needs.

Learning Objectives: At the end of the lesson, learners are expected to:
1. identify the different reading strategies as tool in academic writing;
2. evaluate one’s purpose for reading; and
3. use knowledge of text structure to glean information he/she needs

What are the Different Reading Strategies?

Strategies differ from reader to reader. The same reader may use different
strategies for different contexts because their purpose for reading changes. Ask yourself
“why am I reading?” and “what am I reading?” when deciding which strategies to try.

What are the Purposes of Reading?

People read different kinds of text (e.g., scholarly articles, textbooks, reviews) for
different reasons. Some purposes for reading might be
• to scan for specific information
• to skim to get an overview of the text
• to relate new content to existing knowledge
• to write something (often depends on a prompt)
• to critique an argument
• to learn something
• for general comprehension

So, it is important that you adjust your reading strategies to your purpose of reading.
Here’s how to do it.

Before Reading

 Establish your purpose for reading

 Speculate about the author’s purpose for writing
 Review what you already know and want to learn about the topic (see the guides
below)
 Preview the text to get an overview of its structure, looking at headings, figures,
tables, glossary, etc.
 Predict the contents of the text and pose questions about it. If the authors have
provided discussion questions, read them and write them on a note-taking sheet.
  Note any discussion questions that have been provided (sometimes at the end of
the text)

During Reading

 Annotate and mark (sparingly) sections of the text to easily recall important or
interesting ideas
 Check your predictions and find answers to posed questions
 Use headings and transition words to identify relationships in the text
 Create a vocabulary list of other unfamiliar words to define later
 Try to infer unfamiliar words’ meanings by identifying their relationship to the
main idea
 Connect the text to what you already know about the topic
 Take breaks (split the text into segments if necessary)

After Reading

 Summarize the text in your own words (note what you learned, impressions, and
reactions) in an outline, concept map, or matrix (for several texts)
 Talk to someone about the author’s ideas to check your comprehension
 Identify and reread difficult parts of the text
 Define words on your vocabulary list and practice using them

ASSESSMENT

Multiple Choice
Directions: Choose the best strategy to use in the following conditions. Write the letter of
your answer in your notebook.
1. Determine what you think will happen in the text.
 A. Visualize B. Predict C. Connect D. Clarify
2. Create mental images of the settings, characters, and events in the text.
A. Connect B. Visualize C. Clarify D. Evaluate
3. Stop and ask yourself questions to see if the text makes sense.
A. Connect B. Visualize C. Clarify D. Evaluate
4. Think about what you already know about the text. Find ways to relate the text to
yourself, other texts, and the world around you.
A. Predict B. Visualize C. Clarify D. Connect
5. Think about the text as a whole and form opinions about what you read.
A. Evaluate B. Question C. Predict D. Connect
6. Stopping when you are confused to reread or look up a word you don't know.
A. Connect B. Clarify C. Evaluate D. Predict
7. When you give your opinion of a book or story, you are using the strategy.
A. Question B. Evaluation C. Summarize D. Clarify
8. Making pictures in your mind as you read is an example of .
A. Predicting B. Connecting C. Visualization D. Clarifying
9. Wondering about why a character acted in a certain why is using the comprehension
skill of .
A. Visualizing B. Summarizing C. Predicting D. Questioning

10. "This story reminds me of something I heard on the news," is an example of which
strategy?
A. Visualizing B. Connection C. Clarifying D. Summarizing

LESSON 4
VARIOUS TECHNIQUES IN SUMMARIZING A
VARIETY OF ACADEMIC TEXTS
Competency 3: Uses various techniques in summarizing a variety of academic texts.
Learning Objectives: At the end of the lesson, the learners shall be able to:
1. define summarizing and summary from various writers;
2. identify the various techniques in summarizing; and
3. summarize various academic texts.

What is Summarizing?
According to Buckley (2004), in her popular writing text Fit to Print, summarizing
is reducing text to one-third or one-quarter its original size, clearly articulating the
author’s meaning, and retaining main ideas.
According to 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”.
From dictionaries, it is defined as taking a lot of information and creating a
condensed version that covers the main points; and to express the most important facts
or ideas about something or someone in a short and clear form.
From the definitions, take a look on the pool of words and phrases :

reducing text simply. Briefly, and accurately

clearly articulating condensed version
thesis most important facts or ideas
main ideas short and clear form
Various techniques in summarizing a variety of academic texts

1. Read the work first to understand the author’s intent. This is a crucial step because an
incomplete reading could lead to an inaccurate summary. Note: an inaccurate summary
is plagiarism!
2. One of the summarization techniques you can do is to present information through
facts, skills and concept in visual formats. You can provide the cause and effects charts,
time lines, and Venn diagrams, templates for outlines, use flow charts or infographics.
3. To avoid difficulty, you need first to know the main points and the supporting details.
You can exclude any illustrations, examples or explanations.
4. You need to analyze the text to save time in thinking what you will do.
5. Think what information you will put in your summary. Be sure to cover the main points
and arguments of the document.
6. One of the best things to do in auto summarizing is restating the words into different
one. You should avoid using the original words of the author instead; use your own
vocabulary but be sure to retain the information.
7. You will fully understand what the document is when you organize all ideas.
8. One of the things you can do is to write down all information in a coherent and precise
form. Keep in mind that a summary is a condensed version of the original paper, so
avoid making it long.
9. You can also decide to represent information through using dimensional constructions
in representing concepts, skills or facts.
10. Paraphrasing is one of the skills you can do in writing a summary. With it, do not use
the same words with the author.
With the tips above, you will no longer worry whenever you need to summarize
because it is your one stop solution to having a fantastic summary that offer nice details
to readers. Follow the tips and you will not make mistakes.
Here’s how you start writing your summary.
Example 1:
Japanese Rail Tunnel
Due to an increase in traffic between the various island which make up Japan,
and predictions of a continuing growth in train travel, a rail tunnel was built to connect
the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. The Seikan Tunnel in Japan is today the longest
tunnel in the world, with a length of almost 54km. When the tunnel was opened in 1988,
all existing trains went through it. However, newer Japanese bullet trains have never
used the tunnel because of the cost of extending the high speed line through it.
Consequently, the train journey from Tokyo to Sapporo still takes about ten hours. In
contrast, the journey by air takes only three and a half hours. This has combined with the
fall in the cost of flying, has meant that more people travel by plane than train and the
tunnel is not used as much as forecasters had predicted.
• Increase in traffic
• connect Islands (Honshu & Hokkaido )
• Predictions and continuing growth
• The longest rail tunnel
• opened 1988
• 54km
• Opened in 1988
• Bullet trains
• Never used tunnel
 • Fall in the cost of flying
• Not used as much as forecasters predicted

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.

Example 2
The Sydney Opera House
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 milllion, 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.
• Most famous architectural wonders of the modern world
• Recognisable both for its roof shells
• Location in Sydney harbour
• Performing arts centre
• Started in 1959 and completed in 1973
• Competition: the Danish architect Jorn Utzon
 • Five theatres, five rehearsal studios, two main halls, four restaurants, six bars, and
several shops.
• Controversial: expected $7 milllion / the final cost $102
• Difficult weather conditions, problems with structural design, and changes to contract.
• Inaugurated by Queen Elizabeth 2 on 20th October 1973

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 Utzo, 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.

Another 5 Easy Techniques in Summarizing Various Academic Texts

Technique

1: Somebody Wanted But So Then

“Somebody Wanted But So Then” - is an excellent summarizing strategy for stories.
Each word represents a key question related to the story's essential elements:

 Somebody: Who is the story about?

 Wanted: What does the main charter want?
 But: Identify a problem that the main character encountered.
 So: How does the main character solve the problem?
 Then: Tell how the story ends.
Here is an example of this strategy in action:

 Somebody: Little Red Riding Hood

  Wanted: She wanted to take cookies to her sick grandmother.
 But: She encountered a wolf pretending to be her grandmother.
 So: She ran away, crying for help.
 Then: A woodsman heard her and saved her from the wolf.

After answering the questions, combine the answers to form a summary:

Little Red Riding Hood wanted to take cookies to her sick grandmother,
but she encountered a wolf. He got to her grandmother’s house first and pretended
to be the old woman. He was going to eat Little Red Riding Hood, but she realized
what he was doing and ran away, crying for help. A woodsman heard the girl’s
cries and saved her from the wolf.

Technique 2: SAAC Method

The SAAC method is another useful technique for summarizing any kind of text
(story, article, speech, etc). SAAC is an acronym for "State, Assign, Action, Complete."
Each word in the acronym refers to a specific element that should be included in the
summary.

 State: name of the article, book, or story

 Assign: the name of the author
 Action: what the author is doing (example: tells, explains)
 Complete: complete the sentence or summary with keywords and important
details

Here is an example of SAAC in action:

 State: The Boy Who Cried Wolf
 Assign: Aesop (a Greek storyteller)
 Action: tells
 Complete: what happens when a shepherd boy repeatedly lies to the villagers
about seeing a wolf
Use the four SAAC cues to write out a summary of "The Boy Who Cried
Wolf" in complete sentences:
The Boy Who Cried Wolf, by Aesop (a Greek storyteller), tells what
happens when a shepherd boy repeatedly lies to the villagers about seeing a
wolf. After a while, they ignore his false cries. Then, when a wolf really does attack,
they don’t come to help him.
Technique 3: 5 W's, 1 H
The 5 W's, 1 H strategy relies on six crucial questions: who, what, when, where,
why, and how. These questions make it easy to identify the main character, the
important details, and the main idea.

 Who is the story about?

 What did they do?
 When did the action take place?
 Where did the story happen?
 Why did the main character do what he/she did?
 How did the main character do what he/she did?
Try this technique with a familiar fable such as "The Tortoise and the Hare."

 Who? The tortoise

 What? He raced a quick, boastful hare and won.
 When? When isn’t specified in this story, so it’s not important in this case.
 Where? An old country road
 Why? The tortoise was tired of hearing the hare boast about his speed.
 How? The tortoise kept up his slow but steady pace.

Then, use the answers to the 5 W's and 1 H to write a summary of in complete
sentences.
Tortoise got tired of listening to Hare boast about how fast he was, so he
challenged Hare to a race. Even though he was slower than Hare, Tortoise won
by keeping up his slow and steady pace when Hare stopped to take a nap.

Technique 4: First, Then, Finally

The "First Then Finally" technique helps students summarize events in
chronological order. The three words represent the beginning, main action, and
conclusion of a story, respectively:

 First. What happened first? Include the main character and main event/action.
 Then. What key details took place during the event/action?
 Finally. What were the results of the event/action?
Here is an example using "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."
First, Goldilocks entered the bears' home while they were gone. Then,
she ate their food, sat in their chairs, and slept in their beds. Finally, she woke up to
find the bears watching her, so she jumped up and ran away.
Technique 5: Give Me the Gist
When someone asks for "the gist" of a story, they want to know what the story is
about. In other words, they want a summary—not a retelling of every detail. To introduce
the gist method, explain that summarizing is just like giving a friend the gist of a story,
and have your students tell each other about their favorite books or movies in 15
seconds or less. You can use the gist method as a fun, quick way to practice
summarizing on a regular basis.

When summarizing is useful?

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. The benefit of
summarizing lies in showing the "big picture," which allows the reader to contextualize
what you are saying. 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.

ASSESSMENT

Directions: Simple recall: For numbers 1 and 2, write the letter of the correct answer in
your notebook.
1. Which of the following statements in SUMMARIZING is false?
A. The Summary is what the passage is mostly about.
B. The Summary is what all or most of the sentences or paragraphs are about.
 C. The Summary is usually found in more than just one sentence of the passage.
D. The Summary is one isolated thought in a passage.
2. Which of the following statements in SUMMARIZING is true?
A. The Summary is a thought that is true but is not in the passage.
B. The Summary is what the passage is mostly about.
C. The Summary is specific, detailed information contained in the passage.
D. The Summary is always found in the first sentence of the passage.

Choose the letter that presents the best summary in each of the following paragraphs:

3. When some people think about Texas, they think of cowboys on the open range-
herding cattle up a dusty trail. However, Texas has much more than open prairie with
large herds of cows. There are the mountains of West Texas, the piney hills of east
Texas, and the emerald waters off the coast of Padre Island. Texas also has large
coastal harbors with numerous sailboats, powerboats, inland lakes, rivers, swamps of
southeast Texas with alligators and other exotic wildlife.
A. There are a lot of cows in Texas.
B. There are many different, varied parts of Texas.
C. Texas is one of the biggest states in the United States.
D. There are alligators in the swampland of southeast Texas.
4. Tomorrow is Jill's birthday. She is excited because she gets to pick where she will eat
dinner. Will it be Mexican food at the Big Enchilada House? Or will it be fried chicken at
the Chicken Shack, or a big cheeseburger at Al's Hamburger Palace. She just couldn't
decide. Then there was always the Pizza Shop with that great pepperoni pizza. How
would she ever decide? Maybe she would just flip a coin.
A. Jill has many restaurants to choose from for her birthday.
B. Jill loves Mexican food.
C. The Pizza Shop has the best pizza in town.
D. Jill will choose a place by flipping a coin.
5. It started when they got to the bears. Peter felt tired and his stomach hurt. He dragged
himself over to see the elephants, which were eating from a stack of hay. Normally, the
elephants were his favorite. Without much interest, Peter followed his classmates to the
camels, which were busy swatting flies with their tails. Peter knew he should be having
fun at the zoo, but he just felt terrible and all he wanted to do was lie down and rest.
Even the lions and tigers did not interest him now.
 A. Peter's favorite animals were the elephants.
B. The camels were swatting flies with their tails.
C. It was really hot at the zoo.
D. Peter didn't enjoy the zoo because he felt really bad.
6. For the walls, Jenny thought she would use a bright yellow paint. She would pick a
border that had mostly bright red and green colors, and maybe a little bit of blue. She
already had found some curtains that were sky blue with streaks of red, blue and yellow
that she thought would go great with the walls. And finally, she had picked a carpet that
was mostly blue with specks of red and yellow. Jenny couldn't wait till she was done
decorating her room. It was really going to look awesome.
A. Jenny likes bright colors.
B. Jenny was going to paint her room.
C. Jenny was picking out colors and materials to decorate her room.
D. Yellow is a good color to paint your walls.
7. Right now, Jason was playing right field. He really wanted to play third base. Earlier
this year, coach had put him in left field and second base in a game, but never at third
base. Once in practice, coach let him play third base, but he kept missing ground balls.
When he did stop one, he made a bad throw to first base. Maybe if he kept practicing,
Jason would be good enough to play third base. That was his dream.
A. Jason really wanted to play third base.
B. Jason was the best player on his team.
C. Jason had trouble catching ground balls.
D. Jason was too lazy to practice.
8. San Francisco is located on the coast of California in an area often called the Bay
Area. The weather is generally very mild, seldom getting really cold or really hot. Its mild
climate is one reason many people live there. It seldom snows in San Francisco and
generally does not get below freezing during the winter. Even in the middle of summer,
temperatures may be in the mid-80s with a cool breeze from the bay keeping the
weather very comfortable.
A. San Francisco has many neat things to do.
B. It seldom snows in California.
C. Many people choose to live in California.
D. The weather in San Francisco is generally very mild.
9. Julie watched the ants as they carried small crumbs down the trail to the anthill. She
thinks ants are very hard working and industrious little creatures. They always seemed
busy, and you never saw an ant just laying around doing nothing. They were carrying
food, building tunnels, or defending the anthill. One thing you could say about ants is
that they sure aren't lazy.
A. Ants carry many things.
B. Some ants may bite you.
C. Ants are hard workers.
D. Some ants help take care of the queen.
10. The first book Chris read in fifth grade was about a lost kitten. Then he read a book
about a family of bears, and then he read about a wild kangaroo in Australia. It seems
every book Chris reads about animals. Last week he found a good book about snakes
and reptiles, and another book about elephants. Today Chris went to the library, and he
checked out a book about dolphins, whales and other animals that live in the sea.
A. Chris likes kangaroos.
B. Chris is in the fifth grade.
C. Chris reads a lot of books about animals.
D. Dolphins and whales live in the sea.