SUMMARIZING

Reading and Learning Strategy

• A summary is a brief statement or account of something.
Summarizing is also essential skill that is needed in the
workplace and in the community. In some cases, writing a
summary is an excellent learning strategy that allows
students to monitor their own progress in learning course
material. Summarizing is how we take larger selections of
text and reduce them to their bare essentials: the gist, the
key ideas, the main points that are worth noting and
remembering.
• According to Buckley definition
summarizing is reducing text to
one-third or one-quarter its
original size, clearly articulating
the author’s meaning, and
retaining original ideas. 

• The purpose is to briefly present

the key points of a theory or work
in order to provide context for
your argument/thesis.”
 Purpose
• Effective summarizing leads to an increase in student learning.

• Summarizing requires students to focus on the main ideas of a

text and to decide what is important without omitting key ideas.

• The goal of summarization is to capture the essence of the text

clearly and concisely.

• Using summarizing maps, mind maps and other graphic

organizers helps students learn the skill of summarizing.

• Maps/organizers help students represent information visually in

a clear, logical manner, it helps them organize the key ideas as
well as aiding the recall of information.
How to Sum Up Effectively
• Read the information source several times, in fact, read so many times as needed
for you to fully understand the material

• Look up unfamiliar words and then if they’re too difficult for understanding you may
rephrase them with your own words

• Construct the sentences clearly, don’t forget to include the main points you want to
deliver: for this jot down on the piece of paper the main concept

• Keep it brief: don’t lose the original essence but try to make it look more laconic,
reduce and delete ruthlessly all the unessential sentences.

• In the paragraph don’t be tempted by the desire to stick your own interpretation,
draw the distinct like between your opinion and someone’s thoughts.

• Don’t bore your readers, vary the introduction of your sources, f. g “according to”
next time can be substituted by “some authors or sources conclude that…and
other variants.”
 4 Signs Your Summary
Strategy is A Good One
• Comprehensive. It must include all the helpful facts,
findings, author’s most valuable ideas.

• Accurate. Make sure you didn’t twist the main meaning

while making an outline, there’s no room for a
misinterpretation.

• Neutral. The most common mistake is to include your own

point of view, try to restrain from personal comments and
evaluations when you just need to sum up the source.

• Independent. When your text can be understood without

actually reading the initial source then it is a success.
Example
METHOD 1
METHOD 2
METHOD 3
PRACTICE
 Summarize this text by using METHOD 1

Yellowstone National Park is mainly located in Wyoming,

although three percent is located in the state of Montana. The
Continental Divide of North America runs diagonally through the
southwestern part of the park. The park sits on the Yellowstone
Plateau, which is an average elevation of 8,000 feet above sea
level. This plateau is bounded on nearly all sides by mountain
ranges. There are 290 waterfalls that are at least fifteen feet in the
park, the highest being the Lower Falls of the Yellowstone River,
which falls 308 feet.
 Summarize this text by using METHOD 2
There are many types of lethal venom in the animal
kingdom, but perhaps no stranger carrier than the platypus.
The platypus is one of few venomous mammals. Males carry a
venom cocktail in their ankle spurs that paralyzes victims with
excruciating pain. Stranger still, the platypus is the only
mammal that uses electroreception. What this means is that
the platypus uses its bill to sense the electricity produced by
the muscular movements of its prey. The platypus neither
sees, hears, nor smells its prey while hunting but, rather,
pursues it through electroreception. Perhaps most odd, the
platypus is the only mammal that lays eggs rather than giving
birth to live young. The platypus is an odd creature
indeed.
 Summarize this text by using METHOD 3
If you are reading this right now, you are taking part in the wonder of literacy. Because of printed
words, people can send information across both time and space. Ideas are put in writing and sent to
readers across thousands of miles and years. Because of writing, the words of distant people can
influence events, offer knowledge, and change the world. Much of the credit for the development of this
phenomenon can be attributed to one man.
Johannes Gensfleisch zur Laden zum Gutenberg, better known as Johannes Gutenberg, was born in
the German city of Mainz. Though most of Gutenberg’s early life is a mystery, historians believe that he
studied at the University of Erfurt in 1418 and spent much of his young adult life practicing the
profession of his father: goldsmithing. Gutenberg borrowed money from investors in 1439 and found
himself in financial trouble.
In the year 1439 the city in which Gutenberg lived was planning to exhibit its large collection from
Emperor Charlemagne (a famous ruler who had united much of Western Europe around 800 AD). The
exhibit was expected to bring many visitors to the town, so Gutenberg took investments and created
polished metal mirrors which were to be sold to the visitors (it was a common belief at that time that
mirrors were able to capture holy light from religious relics). The mirrors which Gutenberg produced
probably would have sold well, but due to severe flooding the event was delayed by one year. The
impatient investors demanded that Gutenberg return their investments, but he had already spent the
money on producing the unsaleable mirrors. He was trapped in a difficult situation. Gutenberg decided
to share his greatest secret with them.
This secret would forever change the world, all of history, and even the process of keeping history.
It’s been argued that Gutenberg’s idea was one of the greatest of all mankind. This one idea would lead
to the spread of countless others. It would play a key role in the development of the Renaissance,
Reformation, the Age of Enlightenment, and the Scientific Revolution. This idea would bring learning to
the masses. Gutenberg had created the mechanical printing press with movable type.