Summarizing/Paraphrasing

Summarizing A summary is a short piece of writing about a longer piece. A summary includes only the most important details or main ideas.

How to summarize: 1. Pick out the main idea. Ask yourself, “What is this mostly about? What is the most important piece of information?” 2. Ignore supporting details. These are anything that helps to describe the main idea or give additional information. 3. Rewrite ONLY the main idea(s) in your own words.

Just focus on the 5 Ws and the H! Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? To Summarize, answer these questions!

Mallory took a road trip around the state of Texas this summer with her family. They visited Houston, Austin, and Dallas. Her family wanted to see as many historical landmarks as possible. Near Houston, the toured the Old Spanish Cemetery, Fort Houston, and Sabine Pass. In the Austin area, they visited Austin College and the Mary Street Stone House. In the Dallas area, they went to the Flippen Homestead, the Alexander Mansion, and the Matthews-Atwood House. I ask myself, “What is this paragraph mostly about? What is the main idea?

Who? Mallory What? Road trip Where? Texas When? Summer Why? Historical Landmarks How? N/A Now, I can write my brief summary. Mallory took a road trip to Texas this summer and visited many historical landmarks.

Guided Practice “I tied them silently together, twining cords of willow from the ogre’s bed; then slung a man under each middle one to ride there safely, shielded let and right. So three sheep would convey each man. I took the woolliest ram, the choicest of the flock, and hung myself under his kinky belly, pulled up tight, with fingers twisted deep in sheepskin ringlets for an iron grip. So, breathing hard, we waited until morning…”(767)

Guided Practice What is the main point? What is happening? Restate it in 1-2 sentences. Odysseus hid himself and his men in between sheep to escape detection by the Cyclops.

Group Work With your group, you will choose an article from a magazine and read it together. You will then identify the 5 W’s and the H of the article. Then you will write a 20-word summary of the article. ONLY 20 WORDS!!

Paraphrasing What is paraphrasing? Paraphrasing is taking a section of a text and restating it in your OWN words.

Paraphrase Practice Paraphrase the old saying, “Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.” Don’t just write: “Wait until the chickens have hatched before counting them.” Instead, examine the idea behind the phrase and restate it in more direct terms. “Never assume you’ll get something you want until you have it.

Paraphrase Practice As we have all read it, let’s paraphrase an excerpt from Romeo and Juliet. “Two households, both alike in dignity / In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, / From ancient grudge break to new mutiny/ Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean” (Shakespeare 3). In the beautiful city of Verona, where our story takes place, a long-standing hatred between two families erupts into new violence, and citizens stain their hands with the blood of fellow citizens.

Group Work Your group will receive a sheet of paper with song lyrics. As a group, you will paraphrase the song lyrics. Get ready to perform!

Quick Review What is summarizing? How long should a summary be if we are looking at a short passage? How is it different from a paraphrase? summarizing guidelines