Course Resources

The Important Thing Summary

This summarizing strategy uses main ideas from a passage.

• The important thing about (TOPIC) is (author’s point.) Main idea sentence. Main idea sentence. Main idea sentence. The important thing about (topic) is (author’s point.)

Note: there may be more or fewer main idea sentences depending upon the structure of the reading.Here is an example:

• The important thing about the Writing Process is that it has four steps. Begin by prewriting to get your ideas down. Focus yourself and compose your rough draft. Next, proofread and edit your work. Last, revise. You can repeat these last two steps until you are satisfied with your work, or at least can say “it’s good enough!” The important thing about the Writing Process is that it has four steps.

The Sentence Summary

A sentence summary is a method of summarizing where you sum up a text or section of text in only one sentence. This works best with a paragraph or shorter text.The sentence you write should reflect the author’s point in the section you are summarizing.

Sentence Summary Frames for Common Text Structures

• Description/Definition:
  • A __________________ is a kind of _______________ that…
• Compare/Contrast:
  • ___x____ and ____y___ are similar in that they both…, but ___x___…, while ___y____…
• Sequence:
  • _________ begins with…, continues with… ends with
• Problem-Solution:
  • _________ wanted…, but…., so…
• Cause/Effect:
  • _________ happens because….

Variation on the Sentence Summary

For longer texts, use the sentence summary strategy to develop a summary sentence for each paragraph or section. Assemble these sentences together with appropriate transitions to form a coherent summary paragraph.

Bulleted List Summary

Bulleted lists are commonly used in slide presentations, articles, to do lists, and they are an efficient way to notate textual material for later review.

This is a bulleted list.

• Topic
• Important Point
• Important Point
• Important Point
• Etc.

Microsoft Word and Google Docs offer a number of options for bullet point styles.

You may notice bulleted lists are used extensively in this text.

The Inference Summary

An inference is an informed assumption you make based upon the combination of information you are given (text, speech, visuals) and your own experience.

Try this strategy to develop an Inference Summary of a text. Take notes using the structure shown in the table below. Then summarize this information in a paragraph. This example only uses one excerpt, but typically you should use several excerpts.

Title:Why Do People Deny Science?Author: Judith Shulevitz

The New Republic, Oct 21, 2013

Pages/Chapter/Section: p. 16

In the article, “Why Do People Deny Science,” New Republic science editor, Judith Shulevitz, attempts to explain why it is that people are denying what science tells us about things like climate change. She reports the work of Yale psychologist, Daniel Kanehman, who notes that people tend to disregard objectively viewing the body of scientific research, instead choosing to pay attention to that research which support their existing views in order to “fit in.”

The Frayer Model

The Frayer Model is a type of graphic organizer used for developing definitions of entire concepts or of individual vocabulary terms. Make these on a large index card or half sheet of paper.

You can find a really great template for the Frayer Model here: http://www.adlit.org/pdfs/strategy-library/frayer.pdf

Outline

Topic or Chapter Title

1. 1. Introduction
      1. Focus Statement/thesis:
         1. Main Points (as outlined in the thesis statement):
            1.  
            2.  
            3.  
         2. Body Paragraphs (based on main points)
            1. 1. Details and examples
               2.  
               1.  
               2.  
   2. Conclusion

MS Word has automated numbering options to help you to set up this kind of outline.

Mapping

You can find templates and examples for mapping online. It’s best to use your own system though. One word of caution with mapping – it can be messy! Plan on making more than one draft of your map.

Comparison/Contrast

The best method for graphing Comparison and Contrast is a Venn diagram. You can find a good one here: https://www.eduplace.com/graphicorga...r/pdf/venn.pdf