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 Purposes of Reading?

• 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
 Different Reading Strategies
a. Before Reading

b. During Reading

c. After Reading
 Different Reading Strategies
a. 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
• 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)
 Different Reading Strategies
a. 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)
 Different Reading Strategies
a. 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
 LESSON IV

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.
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.
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.
Various techniques in summarizing a variety of academic texts

• 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.
Various techniques in summarizing a variety of academic texts

• 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
 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.
 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.
 5 Easy Techniques in Summarizing
Various Academic Texts Technique
Technique 1 : Somebody Wanted But So Then
Technique 2: SAAC Method
Technique 3: 5 W's, 1 H
Technique 4: First, Then, Finally
Technique 5: Give Me the Gist
Technique 1 : Somebody Wanted But So Then
It 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.
Technique 1 : Somebody Wanted But So Then
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
Technique 2: SAAC Method
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?
Technique 3: 5 W's, 1 H

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.
Technique 3: 5 W's, 1 H

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, 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.