1. 7th Grade Advanced Language Arts
Objective Summary
7th Grade Advanced Language Arts
Ms. Currie

2. What is it?
To write an objective summary is to paraphrase or summarize a passage you have read and express the same meaning.
Often, a paraphrase is briefer and clearer than the original language.
Excludes personal views or attitudes.

3. A brief account or review of something
Summary:
A brief account or review of something
Objective:
Without personal opinions or judgements
Subjective:
Based on personal opinion

4. Sometimes, when you take all the personal opinions and judgements out of a statement, you discover there are only a handful of facts.

5. I couldn’t believe it! I never thought anything like this could happen in our neighborhood, but wouldn’t you know, the instant I came around the corner, I could see smoke billowing from my neighbor’s backyard. I bet it’s an enemy warhead! Or a gas line explosion! Or you know what? It could be the smoking remains of an alien spaceship!

6. The only objective summary that you could write about the previous passage is that there was smoke coming from your neighbor’s bayckard.

7. Another Example:
In this selection from Japanese Fairy Tales, Yei Theodora Ozaki relates the story of a farmer and a badger.
Long, long ago, there lived an old farmer and his wife who had made their home in the mountains, far from any town. Their only neighbor was a bad and malicious badger. This badger used to come out every night and run across to the farmer’s field and spoil the vegetables and the rice which the farmer spent his time in carefully cultivating. The badger at last grew so ruthless in his mischievous work, and did so much harm everywhere on the farm, that the good-natured farmer could not stand it any longer, and determined to put a stop to it. So he lay in wait day after day and night after night, with a big club, hoping to catch the badger, but all in vain. Then he laid traps for the wicked animal……
All the blue words are opinions!!

8. When we paraphrase, it’s okay to state the opinions of the author and characters in the story. We just need to avoid adding OUR OWN opinions when we’re writing an objective summary, otherwise our paraphrase becomes subjective.

9. Subjective Summary Example:
Yei Theodora Ozaki thought that the badger who kept eating the farmer’s crops was doing it just to bother the farmer, but I think the badger was hungry and needed something to eat.
The green words are a personal opinion and does not belong in an objective summary!

10. Objective Summary Example:
Yei Theodora Ozaki recorded a Japanese fairy tale about a farmer and a badger. She writes that the badger destroyed the farmer’s crop and characterized the badger as malicious.

11. How to Write an Objective Summary
Stick to the facts. Is what you’re writing a fact and NOT a judgement? If it’s a personal judgement or opinion, leave it out.
Choose what’s important. Don’t choose random facts; include only what matters most. If you don’t need a fact to get the main point across, leave it out.

12. 3. Put it in order. What’s a clear way to explain what you just read
3. Put it in order. What’s a clear way to explain what you just read? Start at the beginning and make sure everything is in the right order, all the way to the end. 4. Check your facts. When you’re done, check what you’ve written against what you’ve just read. Can you find a source for everything you’ve written? If not, leave it out!

13. Check Your Understanding
Fill in the blank: A paraphrase is usually briefer and ________ than the original text.
What is the opposite of subjective?
If something is free from personal opinion or judgement, is it objective or subjective?
What is another name for an objective summary?

14. Is the following sentence an objective or subjective summary
Is the following sentence an objective or subjective summary? I didn’t like any of the racers I saw at the track this weekend.
True or false: A personal opinion is your personal attitude or taste.
Is the following sentence objective? The Declaration of Independence says that we were all created equal and should all be free.
True or false: An objective summary should clearly state your own opinions.

15. Write a brief objective summary of “A Thirsty Pigeon”
A pigeon who was very thirsty saw a goblet of water painted on a signboard. Without stopping to see what is was, she flew to it with a loud whir, and dashing against the signboard, jarred herself terribly. Having broken her wings, she fell to the ground, and was caught by a man, who said, “Your zeal should never outrun your caution.”

16. Paraphrase “A Thirsty Crow”
A thirsty crow once spied a pitcher, and flew to it to see if by chance there was any water in it. When she looked in, she saw that there was water, but that it was so far from the top that she could not reach it, though she stretched her neck as far as she could. She stopped, and thought to herself, “How shall I get that water? I am perishing with thirst, and there must be some way for me to get some of it.” Some pebbles were lying on the ground, and, picking them up in her beak, she dropped them one by one into the pitcher. They sank to the bottom, and at last the water was pushed up by them to the top, so that the Crow could easily drink it. “Where there is a will, there’s a way,” said the Crow.

17. Check Your Answers Clearer Objective Paraphrase No True Yes False
Objective Summary: A thirsty pigeon flew at a goblet of water painted on a sign and injured herself. The man who picker her up warned her not to let her zeal outrun her caution.
Paraphrase: A thirsty crow dropped pebbles into a pitcher to raise the level of water so she could drink it. The crow conveys the lesson “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”