VARIOUS

TECHNIQUES
IN
SUMMARIZIN
G A VARIETY
OF ACADEMIC
TEXTS
 Learning Objectives
1. Define Summarizing And Summary
From Various Writers;
REMINDER
2. Identify The Various Techniques In S
Summarizing; And This is a reminder.

3. Summarize Various Academic Texts. And this is another

reminder.
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 clearly articulating thesis
● main ideas
● “simply, briefly, and accurately”. condensed version
● most important facts or ideas
● short and clear form.
Various techniques in summarizing a
variety of academic texts
● 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!
● 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.
● To avoid difficulty, you need first to know the main points and the supporting
details. You can exclude any illustrations, examples or explanations.

● You need to analyze the text to save time in thinking what you will do.

● Think what information you will put in your summary. Be sure to cover the main
points and arguments of the document.

● 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.
● You will fully understand what the document is when you organize all ideas.

● 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.

● You can also decide to represent information through using dimensional

constructions in representing concepts, skills or facts.

● Paraphrasing is one of the skills you can do in writing a summary. With it, do not
use the same words with the author.
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 ● Bullet trains
● connect Islands (Honshu & ● Never used tunnel
Hokkaido ) ● Fall in the cost of flying
● Predictions and continuing ● Not used as much as
growth forecasters predicted
● The longest rail tunnel
● opened 1988
● 54km
● Opened in 1988
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.
 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.
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
LET’S TRY !
● 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?
The Tortoise and the Hare
Once upon a time, there lived a hare. The hare could run very fast. It
was proud of its speed. One day, the hare saw the tortoise walk very
slowly. The hare laughed at the tortoise and said, “You are such a
slowcoach!” “My dear friend! You are so proud of your speed. Let’s
have a race to see who is faster,” the tortoise said.
So, the hare and the tortoise had a race. The hare ran very fast and very
far. After a while, the hare turned back to see where the tortoise was.
The tortoise was walking very slowly and it was far behind the hare.
“The tortoise will take a very long time to come near me,” the hare
thought.
The Tortoise and the Hare
The hare started feeling bored. He thought to take a nap. In
the meantime, he began to eat the grass. After eating, he
went to sleep. The tortoise slowly but steadily passed the
hare. The hare suddenly woke up and saw the tortoise just
crossing the finishing line.
The hare started running very fast. But it was too late. The
tortoise already won the race. The hare was extremely
disappointed to find his competitor already there as a
winner.
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?
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.
Importance of Education
Education is a process that involves the transfer of knowledge, habits and
skills from one generation to another through teaching, research and training.
It can be in a formal or informal setting. Formal education involves
institutionalized learning based on a curriculum. In today’s society,
education and learning play an indispensable role in shaping the lives of
individuals and the society at large. The most effective way of boosting
economic growth, reducing poverty and improving people’s health is by
investing in education.
 Human labor is essential for economic growth. A highly
educated labor force further stimulates economic growth.
Additionally, a highly educated labor force can easily adapt to
new working environments and conditions. In view of that, it is
evident that education serves as the driving force for innovation
of new products and services. Educated workers exchange ideas
in the work place and come up with new ideas that help in the
growth of the economy.
 Education reduces poverty in a number of ways. One way is by
creating employment opportunities for educated people. Through
employment, one is able to afford a decent living. Education helps to
increase economic security, create income opportunities and improve
livelihoods of the economically disadvantaged by providing sustainable
environmental management mechanisms. Education further alleviates
poverty through skills acquired in the learning process. Skills such as
carpentry, plumbing and masonry are relevant in non-formal
economies. One can acquire these skills through technical and
vocational training.
Educated people are health conscious and live longer than their counterparts because
they engage in healthy habits such as eating a balanced diet, exercising regularly and
going for medical check ups. By investing in education, one will also be investing in
their health. Education serves to create room for technological advancements in the
field of medicine and agriculture. Advanced technology used for conducting surgery
has replaced traditional methods. This has seen an improvement in people’s general
health and an increased life expectancy. Most developing countries have a low life
expectancy compared to developed countries. This can be attributed to high illiteracy
levels present in developing countries. This translates to poor health and poor eating
habits.
 In conclusion, education is the only means
of alleviating poverty, improving people’s
health and increasing economic growth.
Improving literacy levels in marginalized
societies will go a long way in improving
human living standards.