11 GEN - Summary writing

Good summaries include...?

• brief explanation of text

• main points of text

• general explanation

• main facts/info in a text

• all the details of a text

In a summary you want to avoid..?

• adding all the details from the text

• giving your opinion

• a brief explanation of main points

• explaining mistakes in the text

• agreeing with the text

What steps should you take to write a summary

• Use your memory of the text

• rewrite in your own words

• note important points while you read

• read text in detail

A summary should have

• Main argument

• introduction

• counter argument

• main body

• conclusion

The definition of a summary is

• a detailed opinion weighing up pros and cons

• a brief statement or account of the main points of something

• an account of events in chronological order

• an in depth analysis of hidden meaning

Tomorrow is Jill's birthday. She is excited because she gets to pick where she will eat dinner. Will it be Mexican food at the Big Enchilada House? Or will it be fried chicken at the Chicken Shack, or a big cheeseburger at Al's Hamburger Palace. She just couldn't decide. Then there was always the Pizza Shop with that great pepperoni pizza. How would she ever decide? Maybe she would just flip a coin.

The Summary of this passage is:

• Jill has many restaurants to choose from for her birthday.

• Jill loves Mexican food.

• The Pizza Shop has the best pizza in town.

•  Jill will choose a place by flipping a coin.

Summaries help me...

• understand what I'm reading

• write about what I read

• include the key points of a text

• all of the above

It started when they got to the bears. Peter felt tired and his stomach hurt. He dragged himself over to see the elephants, which were eating from a stack of hay. Normally, the elephants were his favorite. Without much interest, Peter followed his classmates to the camels, which were busy swatting flies with their tails. Peter knew he should be having fun at the zoo, but he just felt terrible and all he wanted to do was lie down and rest. Even the lions and tigers did not interest him now. The Summary of this passage is:

• Peter's favorite animals were the elephants.

• The camels were swatting flies with their tails.

• It was really hot at the zoo.

• Peter didn't enjoy the zoo because he felt really bad.

Does the meaning of the text change when you write an objective summary?

• No, it's shorter but has the same meaning.

• Yes, of course the meaning changes because someone else is writing it.

• It depends on the material and who originally wrote it.

• none of the above

Read the following passage and then answer the question.

As soon as she arrived at grandmother's house, Jessica ran into her bedroom to look at the blue quilt. It covered her grandmother's bed and was Jessica's favorite. It had patches of dark blue, medium blue, and light blue, with pictures of birds and flowers on every other patch. Jessica liked to take naps with the quilt wrapped around her. She loved the way it felt so soft and warm against her skin. Whenever she was visiting grandma, just looking at the quilt made Jessica happy.

• Jessica's grandmother has a pretty blue quilt.

• Jessica took naps at her grandmother's house.

• Jessica loved her grandmother's quilt.

• The quilt was warm.