Reading

and
writing skills

PRELIMARY

Name: ______________________________________
Grade and Section: ___________________________
Strand:______________________________________
Teacher: Ms. Caroline V. de Taza
*Continuation*

SUMMARIZING

Summarizing a text, or distilling its essential concepts into a paragraph or two, is a useful study tool as
well as good writing practice. A summary has two aims: (1) to reproduce the overarching ideas in a text,
identifying the general concepts that run through the entire piece, and (2) to express these overarching ideas using
precise, specific language. when you summarize, you cannot rely on the language the author has used to develop
his or her points, and you must find a way to give an overview of these points without your own sentences
becoming too general. You must also make decisions about which concepts to leave in and which to omit, taking
into consideration your purposes in summarizing and also your view of what is important in this text

Here are some methods for summarizing: First, prior to skimming, use some of the previewing

techniques.

1. Include the title and identify the author in your first sentence

2. The first sentence or two of your summary should contain the author's thesis, or central concept, stated in your
own words. This is the idea that runs through the entire text-the one you’d mention if someone asked you: "What
is this piece/article about?” Unlike student essays, the main idea in a primary document or an academic article
may not be stated in one location at the beginning. Instead, it may be gradually developed throughout the piece
or it may become fully apparent only at the end.

3. When summarizing a longer article, try to see how the various stages in the explanation or argument are built
up in groups of related paragraphs. Divide the article into sections if it isn't done in the published form. Then,
write a sentence or two to cover the key ideas in each section.

4. Omit ideas that are not really central to the text. Don't feel that you must reproduce the author's exact
progression of thought. (On the other hand, be careful not to misrepresent ideas by omitting important aspects of
the author's discussion).

5. In general, omit minor details and specific examples. (In some texts, an extended example may be a key part
of the argument, so you would want to mention it).

6. Avoid writing opinions or personal responses in your summaries (save these for active reading responses or
tutorial discussions).

7. Be careful not to plagiarize the author's words. If you do use even a few of the author's words, they must appear
in quotation marks. To avoid plagiarism, try writing the first draft of your summary without looking back at the
original text.

Example:

Original Text

"The Nothern Lights"

There are times when the night sky glows with bands of color. The bands may begin as cloud shapes and then
spread into a great arc across the entire sky. They may fall in the folds like a curtain drawn across the heavens.
The lights usually grow brighter, then suddenly dim. During this time the sky glows with pale yellow, pink, green,
violet, blue, and red. These lights are called the Aurora Borealis. Some people call them the Northern Lights.
Scientists have been watching them for hundreds of years. They are not quite sure what causes them. In ancient
times people were afraid of the Lights. They imagined that they saw fiery dragons in the sky. Some even
concluded that the heavens were on fire.

Summary

The Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights, are bands of color in the night sky. Ancient people thought that these
lights were dragons on fire, and even modern scientists are not sure what they are.
 Outlining
Techniques in Selecting and Organizing Information
Week 7
Second Semester
A.Y. 2020-2021

Name: ___________________________________ Date: __________________

Grade and Section: ________________________ Teacher: Caroline de Taza

Summarizing

Activity 1

Direction: Summarize the following texts using the different steps in summarizing a text. Write your answer
on the space provided. (20 points)

Original Text Summarized Text

1. “The movement toward education by
computer is developing fast. Massive
Open Online Courses, called MOOCs,
are changing how people learn in many
places. For years, people could receive
study materials from colleges or
universities and take part in online
classes. But such classes were not
designed for many thousands of
students at one time, as MOOCs are.”
(MOOCS Are Moving Forward , Voice
of America,
learningenglish.voanews.com)
2. Alexander Fleming is well-known for
his accidental discovery of penicillin.
In 1940, after returning home from a
vacation, he discovered mold growing
on a laboratory petri dish. Noting that
the mold was adept at killing the
disease in the same dish, he actively
tried to replicate it. Eventually, this
resulted in the innovation of the
penicillin drug.
Activity 2

Direction: Try to recall one of the novels or short stories you discussed in one of your previous classes in English.
Choose one selection out of the several stories or novels you tackled throughout your school life. Try to
summarize the story using your own words. Write the title of the story/novel. (30 points)

Prepared by: Checked by: Approved by:

CAROLINE V. DE TAZA ROMALYN V. CABABAT LEA S. LONTOC, Ed.D

Adviser School Principal School President/ Director