summarywritingskills-steps.pptVIP

SUMMARY SKILLS Writing a good summary demonstrates that you clearly understand a text and that you can make your readers understand what you are trying to say. A summary can be tough to write at first as you might include too much or too little information. However, with the help of this 8-step method, you will be able to summarise texts quickly and successfully for any class or subject. SUMMARY SKILLS STEP 1: BREAK DOWN DIGEST First, skim through the text you are required to summarise and divide it into sections. Be sure to focus on any headings and subheadings. Also, you should take note of terms in bold and make sure you understand them before you read.? SUMMARY SKILLS STEP 2: READ Now that you have prepared, go ahead and read the selection. Read straight through. At this point of time, you do not need to stop to look up anything that gives you trouble — just get a feel for the author’s tone, style, and main idea. SUMMARY SKILLS STEP 3: RE-READING Rereading should be active reading. Make sure that you underline topic sentences and key facts. Label areas that you want to refer to as you write your summary. Also, label areas that should be avoided because the details — although they may be interesting — are too specific or unrelated. Identify areas that you do not understand and try to clarify those points.? SUMMARY SKILLS STEP 4: ONE SENTENCE AT A TIME You should now have a firm grasp on the text that you will be summarising. In the previous steps, you have divided the selection into sections and located the author’s main ideas and points. Now, write down the main idea of each section in one well-developed sentence. Make sure that what you include in your sentences are key points, not minor details.?? SUMMARY SKILLS STEP 5: WRITE A THESIS STATEMENT [HYPOTHESIS] This is the key to any well-written summary. Review the sentences that you wrote in STEP 4. From the sentences, you should be able to create a thesis statement that clearly communicates what t