Basics Of summarizing

Objectives:
Ø
Determine the purpose of
summarizing;
Ø
Discuss the features of
summarizing;
Ø
Apply effective strategies in
summarizing;
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Evaluate summaries.
Self-audit
Usually Sometimes Seldom Never

1.I establish my reading purpose before I summarize.

2.I make sure that I fully understand the text before I

summarize.

3.I use my own words in my summary.

4.I include only the key ideas when summarizing.

5.I highlight key words and phrases and make

annotations when summarizing.

6.I refrain from adding comments in summarizing.

7.I vary sentence structure when writing a summary in

paragraph.

8.I use reporting verbs to my summary.

9.I cite sources.

10.I eliminate redundant ideas from the summary.

Let’s learn…..
Suppose you told your friend that you
just watched a great film and your
friend asks what the story is.
What would you do?
Would you tell the whole story? Or just
simply give the gist of the story.
What is summarizing?
As an important skill in critical reading,
summarizing is often used to determine the
essential ideas in a book chapter, an article.
These essential ideas include the gist or main
idea, useful information, or key words or
phrases that help you meet your reading
purpose. Summarizing is generally done after
reading.
What is summarizing?
Summarizing is an important skill because it helps you…….
ü
deepen your understanding of the text;
ü
Learn to identify relevant information or key ideas;
ü
Combine details or examples that support the main ideas/s;
Concentrate on the gist or main idea and key words
ü

presented in the text; and

ü
Capture the key ideas in the text and put them together
clearly and concisely.
What is not summarizing

You are not summarizing when you……

Ø
write down everything;
Ø
write down ideas from the text word-for-word;
Ø
write down incoherent and irrelevant ideas;
Ø
write down ideas that are not stated in the text;
or
Ø
write down a summary that has the same length
or is longer than the original text.
Guidelines in summarizing

1. Clarify your purpose before you read.

2. Read the text and understand the meaning. Do not stop
reading until you understand the message conveyed by the
author. Locate the gist or main idea of the text, which can
usually be found either at the beginning, in the middle, or in
the end.
3. Select and underline or circle the key ideas and phrases while
reading; another strategy is to annotate the text.
4. Write all the key ideas and phrases you identified on the
margins or on your notebook in a bullet or an outline form.
Guidelines in summarizing

5. Without looking at the text, identify the connections of these

key ideas and phrases using a concept maps, graphic
organizers or thinking maps.
6. List your ideas in sentences into a paragraph. Use
appropriate transitional devices to improve cohesion.
7. Combine the sentences into a paragraph. Use appropriate
transitional devices to improve cohesion.
8. Ensure that do not copy a single sentence
from the original text.
9. Refrain from adding comments about the text.
Stick to the ideas it presents.
10. Edit the draft of your summary by eliminating
redundant ideas.
11. Compare your output with the original text to
ensure accuracy.
12. Record the details of the original source
(author’s name/s, date of publication, title,
publisher, place of publishing, and URL [if
online]). It is not necessary to indicate the page
number/s of the original text in citing sources in
summaries.
13. Format your summary properly. When you
combine your summaries in a paragraph, use
different formats to show variety in writing.
Formats in summarizing
There are three (3) formats that you may use in writing
summaries are idea heading, author heading, and date heading.
1. Idea Heading Format
In this format, the summarized idea comes before the citation.
Example:
Benchmarking is a useful strategy that has the potential
to help public officials improve the performance of local
services (Folz,2004; Ammons,2001). Once the practice of a
particular city is benchmarked, it can be a guidepost and the
basis for the other counterparts to improve its own.
2.Author heading format

In this format, the summarized idea comes after the

citation. The author’s name/s is/are connected by an
appropriate reporting verb.
Example:
The considerable number of users of FB has led educators to
utilize FB for communicating with their students(Grant, 2008; as
cited in Donmus, 2010). The study of Kabilan and Abidin
(2010) shows that the students perceived FB as an online
environment to expedite language learning specifically
English. Donmus (2010) asserts that educational games
on FB fecundate learning process and make students’
learning environment more engaging. As regards literacy,
this notion reveals that FB could be used s a tool to aid
individuals execute a range of social acts through social literacy
implementation (ibid). Blackstone and Hardwood (2012)
suggest the facilitative strength of FB as it elicits greater
achievement on collaboration among students.
3. Date Heading Format
In this format, the summarized idea comes after the date when
the material was published.

Example:
On the other hand, active participation of the citizens in
development contributes to a sound and reasonable government
decisions. In their 2004 study on the impact of
participatory development approach, Irvin and Stansbury
argue that participation can be valuable to the
participants and the government in terms of the process
and outcomes of decision making.
Using reporting verbs when summarizing

A reporting verb is a word used to discuss another person’s

writings or assertions. They are generally used to incorporate the
source to the discussion in the text. To illustrate, see the sample
text below. The reporting verbs are italicized.

Having a syntactically correct sentence is not enough to create

meaning. As Noam Chomsky pointed out, a sentence can be
perfect in terms of syntax and still not make sense. He showed
this by coming up with the famous sentence, “Colorless green
ideas sleep furiously” (Chomsky, 1957).
Using reporting verbs when summarizing

In summarizing, you are highly encouraged to vary the verbs you

use to make your writing more interesting and to show importance
to each of your sources. You can use either the past or the present
tense depending on your meaning. Using the past tense usually
indicates that view the idea to be outdated and therefore want to
negate it. On the other hand, using the present tense generally
indicates that you view the idea to be relevant or agreeable.
Checking for Understanding
Write S if the statement describes good summarizing and N if
not.
1. Sean copied everything from the book.
2. Tomas extracted the key ideas in the text.
3. Red concentrated on the important details.
4. Anita looked for key words and phrases.
5. Sen simplified ideas.
6. Kai revised the main idea.
Checking for Understanding

7. To add more information, Alexa added her analysis and

comments to the ideas of the author.
8. Mary wrote down the general and specific ideas of the text.
9. Sean added some of his related research to the information
presented in the text.
10. Lanie extended the message of the text and included some
of her interpretations.
GROUP ACTIVITY
Look and go to this link: http://www.gov.ph/report/sona-technical/. Select one
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technical report, and answer the questions in the table below.

Questions Answers

What are the key ideas or

information? Identify at least three.

What are the important details that support

each key idea or information?

Using you answers, write a summary

of the technical report on a separate
sheet of paper.
Film showing
“ The Dirty Minds”

Write a summary of its plot about the movie. Make sure to follow the
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format below:
Times New Roman, 12
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1.5 Spacing
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1” margin on all sides

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Short bond paper

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