MODULE 3

Techniques in Summarizing Variety of Academic Text

Summarizing
-is how we take larger selections of text and reduce them to their bare essentials: the gist, the key ideas, the main points
that are worth noting and remembering.
-Webster's calls a summary the "general idea in brief form"; it's the distillation, condensation, or reduction of a larger
work into its primary notions.

BASIC RULES:
A. Erase things that don’t matter.
Delete trivial material that is unnecessary to understanding.

B. Erase things that repeat.

-Delete redundant material. In note taking, time and space is precious. n down, then don’t write it again!
-If a word or phrase says basically the same thing you have already written down, then don’t write it again!

C. Trade, general terms for specific names.

-Substitute superordinate terms for lists.
Example:
flowers for daisies
tulips for roses
-Focus on the big picture. Long, technical lists are hard to remember. If one word will give you the meaning, then
less is more.

D. Use your own words to write the summary.

-Write the summary using your own words but make sure to retain the main points.

TECHNIQUES:
1. Somebody Wanted But So Then
-this strategy helps students generalize, recognize cause and effect relationships, and find main ideas.
2. SAAC Method
-this method is particularly helpful in summarizing any kind of text.
-it is an acronym for “State, Assign, Action, Complete

3. 5 W's, 1 H
-this technique relies on six crucial questions: who, what, when where, why, and how.
-these questions make it easy to identify the main character, important details, and main idea.

4. First Then Finally

-this technique helps students summarize events in chronological order.
5. Give Me the Gist
-this type of techniques is like giving a friend the gist of a story. In other words, they want a summary – not a
retelling of every detail, events in chronological order.

MODULE 4
THESIS STATEMENT OF AN ACADEMIC TEXT

THESIS STATEMENT
-is a short statement which provides an insight into what the essay is going to be about.

POSITION:
A thesis statement takes a clear stance on a topic, presenting an argument about it.

PLACEMENT:
Generally, the thesis statement is placed at the end of the introduction of an essay.

EVIDENCE-BASED:
The thesis statement doesn’t include evidence, but it needs to be supported by evidence in the essay.

Elements of a Thesis Statement

1. Topic. The topic of your paper.
2. Argument/Claim. This depends on the type of paper you are writing. If it is an argumentative paper, then this should
express your opinion. If it is a research or explanatory paper, this should explain the purpose of your paper.
3. Evidence. The support for your argument/claim.

Example 1: (argumentative)
1. Topic – The Harry Potter book series
2. Argument – stole many fantastical elements from The Lord of the Rings series
3. Evidence – giant spiders, dangerous hooded undead creatures (Dementors and Nazgul), and a wise mentor.

Example 2: (Research/explanatory)
1. Topic – Cheese
2. Argument – has healthy tendencies
3. Evidence – calcium helps bones and teeth, boosts the growth of good bacteria in the gut, and the protein helps cells
repair themselves
MODULE 5
OUTLINING

- is a tool we use in the writing process to help organize our ideas, visualize our paper's potential structure, and
to further flesh out and develop points. It allows the writer to understand how he or she will connect information to
support the thesis statement and the claims of the paper.
-it is a helpful guide in organizing your paper. Outlines give a visual structure to your work and are used to show
relationships and hierarchies within your content.
-to outline, you must create a linear, organized plan for your paper that shows the main ideas that you will
discuss as well as their relationships within the paper.

Organizing your idea in an outline:

• Begin by answering the question that leads to your thesis statement.
• Use the two or three main ideas from this technique as your main heading.
• Write subtopics for each main idea.
• Write the supporting details for each of the subtopics.

Use various outlines based on the structure you prefer:

• Sentence outline – Using complete sentences as entries.
• Topic outline – Using words and phrases as entries.
• Paragraph outline – Using paragraphs as entries.

Guidelines in Writing an Outline:

• Place the title at the center above the outline.
• Every level of the outline must have at least two items (I and II, A and B, 1 and 2).
• Put a period after each numeral and letter.
• Indent each new level of the outline.
• All items of one kind (roman numerals, capital letters, Arabic numerals) should line up with each other.
• Capitalize the first letter of each item.
• The terms Introduction, Body, and Conclusion do not have to be included in the outline. They are not topics; they
are merely organizational units in the writer’s mind.

Basic outline form

Example Sentence Outline
Example of Topic Outline

Several aspects must be considered in writing a topic outline

1. Recall that all headings and subheadings must be words or phrases, not sentences.
2. Also, the wording within each division must be parallel.
3. Finally, as in any outline, remember that a division or subdivision cannot be divided into one part; therefore, if there is
an "A" there must be a "B," and if there is a "1" there must be a "2."

Activity 3
Directions: Read the story below and answer the questions that are presented
below.
Bad Temper

There once was a little boy who had a bad temper. His father gave him a
bag of nails and told him that every time he lost his temper, he must hammer a nail into the back of the fence.

At first, the boy had driven thirty-seven nails into the fence. Over the next few weeks, as he learned to control his anger,
the number of nails hammered daily gradually dwindled down. He discovered it was easier to hold his temper than to drive those
nails into the fence. Finally, the day came when the boy didn't lose his temper at all. He told his father about it and the father
suggested that the boy now pull out one nail for each day that he was able to hold his temper. The days passed and the boy was
finally able to tell his father that all the nails were gone.

The father took his son by the hand and led him to the fence. He said, "You have done well, my son, but look at the
holes in the fence. Consequently, the fence will never be the same. When you say things in anger, they leave a scar just like this
one. You can put a knife in a man and draw it out. It won't matter how many times you say I'm sorry, the wound is still there. In
other words, a verbal wound is as bad as a physical one.

1. The story is about a boy who had a

a. bad temper c. bad attitude towards his friends
b. severe sickness d. bad attitude towards to his father
2. What does his father gave him to control his temper?
a. a bar of gold c. a basket of fruits
b. a bag of nails d. a bar of chocolates
3. How many nails that the boy had driven in the first day?
a. 30 nails c. 34 nails
b. 36 nails d. 37 nails
4. “They leave a scar just like this one” the father said to his son. What does the underlined word mean?
a. mark c. message
b. wound d. picture
5. The last sentence of the story means that____________________
a. You can never hurt someone through words
b. You can hurt someone through the things you said
c. You will be wounded if you speak
d. You can hurt someone if you’re not going to speak

Activity 4
Direction: Create a thesis statement based on the following information.

Activity 5 (NOTEBOOK)
Direction: Arrange the main ideas and subordinate ideas in order to create an outline. Write your answers on a separate sheet
of paper.
PERFORMANCE TASK # 2 (BOND PAPER)

Direction: Read the article and make an outline. Be guided by the rubric for outlining.

Wrigley’s Chewing Gum

(1) Wrigley’s chewing gum was actually developed as a premium to be given away with other product rather than as a primary
product for sale. As a teenager, William Wrigley Jr. was working for his father in Chicago selling soap that has been
manufactured in his father’s factory. The soap was not very popular with merchants because it was priced at 5 cents, and this
selling price did not leave a good profit margin for the merchants. Wrigley convinced his father to raise the price to then cents
and to give away cheap umbrellas as a premium for the merchants. This worked successfully, confirming to Wrigley that the use
of premium was an effective sales tool.
(2) Wrigley then established his own company, in his company he was selling soap as a wholesaler, giving baking soda away as
a premium, and using a cook book to promote each deal. Over time, the baking soda and cook book became popular than the
soap, so Wrigley began a new operation selling baking soda, he soon decided on chewing gum. Once again, when Wrigley
realized that the demand for premium was stronger than the demand for the original product, he created the Wm. Wrigley Jr.
Company to produce and sell chewing gum.
(3) Wrigley started out with two brands of gum, Vassar and Lotta gums, and soon introduced Juicy Fruit and Spearmint. The
latter two brands grew in popularity, while the first two were phased out. Juicy Fruit and Spearmint are two of Wrigley’s main
brands to this day.

Rubric for grading:

Format - 10
Organization/Development - 10
Focus and Quality of Presentation - 10
Total – 30