Summarizing

Summarizing

Writing objective summaries

Objective summary

An objective summary is a brief description of the most important details in a text. It does not include opinions or unimportant details.

Open Ended

Let’s try it - Read this section of text, then pull out the most important information or the central idea of each paragraph..

We love dogs, all types of dogs: small dogs, big dogs, yappy dogs, lap dogs. Each year we spend billions of dollars on our canine pals, making sure our lovable mutts have enough to eat and lots of toys to play with.

What is the main idea of this paragraph?

Answer

Humans love dogs.

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For their part, dogs love us. They lick our faces, protect our homes, and come when we call them (sometimes).

What is the main idea of this paragraph?

Answer

Dogs love humans.

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But where did our favorite four-legged companions come from? How and when did dogs get to be our best friends? Some scientists believe they have found some of the answers.

What is the main idea of this paragraph?

Answer

Where do dogs come from?

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Scientists have long known that dogs evolved from wolves. Just when the transformation from wolf to dog actually took place, however, remained a mystery.

Some said dogs evolved as a separate species 135,000 years ago in two parts of the world. One group of dogs developed in Europe and Asia from Asian wolves. Another group evolved in North, Central, and South America from American wolves.

Now, researchers say, those theories are wrong. New studies suggest that domesticated, or tamed, dogs first appeared 15,000 years ago in eastern Asia. They also say that every modern dog, from the Taco Bell Chihuahua to Frank, the adorable pug in the movie Men in Black II, descended from approximately five female Asian wolves, the mothers of all modern dogs.

What is the main idea of these paragraphs?

Answer

• Dogs evolved separately 135,000. One group in Europe and Asia and another group in the Americas.

• New studies find tamed dogs first appeared 15,000 years ago in Asia. All dogs descended from Asian wolves.

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How did scientists come to those conclusions? Scientist Jennifer Leonard and a team of researchers began investigating the origins of dogs by collecting the bones of canines that once lived in North, Central, and South America before Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492.

Researchers then extracted a bit of DNA from the cells in those bones. DNA is the substance that makes up the genes of living things. Genes determine a dog's inherited characteristics, such as eye and fur color.

The scientists then compared the DNA samples to the DNA of modern dogs and wolves not only in North and South America, but also in Europe and Asia. Scientists found that the genes of the ancient American dogs were similar to the genes of dogs born in Europe and Asia. Scientists also concluded that every breed of dog, from English setters to Labrador retrievers, descended from wolves that lived in Europe and Asia and migrated to North and South America.

What is the main idea of these paragraphs?

Answer

• Scientist collected the bones of dogs that arrived in the Americas before 1492.

• They extracted DNA from the cells of those bones.

• Scientist compared the DNA of historic dogs with the DNA of modern dogs in Europe. Asia and the Americas. The genes of the ancient American dogs were similar to the genes of the European and Asian dogs. Every breed of dog descended from wolves in Europe and Asia and migrated to the Americas.

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Scientists suspect dogs first set paw in North America by following settlers across a land bridge that once linked northern Asia and North America.

"We can't say in detail how [the dogs got to America]; that's something for the future," said Peter Savolainen, a scientist in Sweden. "But what's certain is that by 9,000 years ago, [dogs] were in America and all over Europe and Asia. "

What is the main idea of these paragraphs?

Answer

Asian dogs crossed a land bridge to make it to the Americas.

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No one knows exactly how dogs became domesticated. Some researchers believe that they accomplished that task themselves over a number of generations by hanging around human campsites sniffing for scraps of food. Those that were not afraid of people ate well, survived, and multiplied.

Other researchers say that humans manipulated every aspect of canine behavior by breeding dogs for certain traits.

Either way, dogs developed an uncanny ability to pick up human signals, endearing the pups to humans, scientists say. As the years passed, humans and dogs became fast friends, a relationship that has lasted thousands of years.

Today, there are 78.2 million owned dogs in the United States. In a recent survey of U.S. dog owners, 94 percent said they own dogs for companionship.

Answer

• Some researchers believe wolves became domesticated by hanging around humans and eating their scraps.

• Some researchers say humans manipulated canine behavior by breeding them for certain traits.

• Dogs have the ability to pick up human signals and as a result humans and dogs have developed a close relationship that has lasted thousands of years

• There are many dog owners in the U.S. that say they own a dog for companionship.

Objective Summary

The section we just read was about how much we love dogs and how much they love us. But where do dogs come from? Scientist came to believe dogs originated in eastern Asia. Researchers  collected bones of canines from North, Central and South America. They extracted DNA from bones and compared the DNA from the old bones to DNA from modern dogs and wolves.  They  found that the genes of the ancient American dogs were similar to the genes of dogs born in Europe and Asia. They also concluded that dogs descended from wolves that lived in Europe and Asia and migrated to North and South America. Scientist believe dogs made their way to North America through a land bridge that once connected Asia and North America. Scientist aren’t exactly sure how dogs became domesticated. Some believe wolves would hang around campsites for scraps, enabling them to survive, reproduce and multiply. Others believe humans manipulated canines and their behavior by breeding them for certain traits. Either way, a large amount of humans and dogs have become friends and there are millions of dog owners throughout the U.S.