Writing an Objective Summary

What are the two things an objective summary should never have?

• The main idea or theme

• The word "I" and your opinion
• Facts and Statistics
• The author's name and title of the article

What does "objective" mean?

• No opinions or reactions, just the facts.
• Giving your personal reflections on the topic. 
• No statistics used to support the idea.
• Having plenty of evidence to support your opinion.

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. 

An objective summary should

• include quotes from the text.

• be brief, accurate, and objective.

• include all details from the text, whether they are relevant or irrelevant

• be brief, accurate, and subjective

What is a summary?

• a short explanation of a text

• a persuasive argument about a text

• a movie based off of a book

• a theme or universal lesson

Which of the following questions should you definitely answer in a summary of the novel My Funny Friend Fiona?

• What’s Fiona’s neighbor’s favorite color?

• What happens to Fiona?

• Is My Funny Friend Fiona a boring book?

• How long did it take you to read My Funny Friend Fiona?

What detail should be cut from the following summary?

My Funny Friend Fiona is a novel about a girl named Fiona. It’s really quick to read, and you should read it because it’s the funniest book in the world.

• the name of the main character

• the fact that the book is a novel

• the title of the book

• the opinion that it's the "funniest book in the world"

What can you summarize?

• only novels

• only non-fiction

• movies

• anything you read, watch, or hear

The article “The Three Men Who Invented the Telephone” is about three different men who contributed to the invention of the telephone. Which of the following should you include in a summary of this article?

• details about how smartphones and cell phones work

• a detail about where the phrase “put someone on hold” came from

• a brief explanation of how each man was involved in the invention of the telephone

• your opinion about who really invented the telephone

What order do you put the "5 W's" in when writing a summary?

• Chronological order

• The order they are found in the text

• neither answer

• both answers