SUMMARIZING

Practice

Directions
1. We will read each nursery rhyme.
2. Summarize the nursery rhyme in as few words
as possible. ( 1 sentence)
3. Include key information.
 1
The itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the water spout
Down came the rain and
Washed the spider out
Up came the sun and
Dried up all the rain
And the itsy bitsy spider
Climbed up the spout again.
A spider fell in the spout but got
up again.
 2
Humpty Dumpty
Sat on a wall.
Humpty Dumpty
Had a great fall.

All the King's horses

And all the King's men
Couldn't put Humpty
Together again.
Humpty Dumpty fell and could not
be put back together.
 3
Old Mother Hubbard
Went to the cupboard
To give her poor dog a bone.
But when she got there
The cupboard was bare,
And so the poor dog had none.
Mother Hubbard had no food
to feed her dog.
 SUMMARY
• Includes only the main ideas
of a published source

• Reduced version of the

original
SUMMARY

•Do not add ideas

of your own
SUMMARY

•Condenses
information 15 to
30% of the
original text
 Summary

Short account of the central ideas of a text

Summaries are not a place for…

 Opinions
 Background knowledge
 Personal information
Should It Go in My Summary?
Only major ideas and necessary information should go
into a summary.
Ask yourself:

“Do you need this information to understand the

text?”
 Main Idea and Key Points

 The main idea is what the text is

about.
 Key points are arguments or
information that is used to
support the main idea.
 Key points may be developed or
elaborated with supporting
details.
 How To Summarize
1. Read the text.
2. Don’t let big words scare you.
3. Ask, “What was this text about?”

Your Answer…
 Should be a complete sentence or two
 Should cover main point and key ideas
 Should be in your own words
 Shouldn’t just be a word or two
 1
When one hears the term “reality” applied to a television
show, one might expect that the events occurred naturally or,
at the least, were not scripted, but this is not always the
case. Many reality shows occur in unreal environments, like
rented mansions occupied by film crews. These living
environments do not reflect what most people understand to
be “reality.” Worse, there have been accusations that events
not captured on film were later restaged by producers. Worse
still, some involved in the production of “reality” television
claim that the participants were urged to act out story lines
premeditated by producers. With such accusations floating
around, it’s no wonder many people take reality TV to be about
as real as the sitcom.
Example Response 1
This is about how reality shows are real and some
are staged.

+ Covers the main idea

- Does not cover key points
Example Response 2
This is about how reality TV is fake because they
are filmed in unreal environments.

+ Covers the main idea

+ Covers a key point
- Misses two other key points
Example Response 3
This passage was mainly about how reality applies
to television and claims that the participants were
pushed to act out the story lines. But people
understand that even reality television sometimes
doesn’t reflect reality.
+ Covers the main idea and a key idea
- Has opinions / background knowledge
- Misses other key ideas
Example Response 4
This passage was mainly about unreal environments
and television. It claims that the participants were urged
to act out story lines and about reality TV.
+ Covers two key ideas
- Does not cover the main idea clearly
- Uses too much text from the passage
Example Response 5
This passage is about how supposed reality shows
are actually fake because of unreal locations, scripts,
and fake scenes.
+ Covers the main idea
+ Covers all key ideas
+ Is in the author’s own words
+ Does not include opinions or background information
Original Passage
What is plagiarism? In minor cases, it can be the quotation of a
sentence or two, without quotation marks and without citation (e.g.
footnote) to the true author. In most serious cases, a significant
fraction of the entire work was written by someone else but the
plagiarist removed the author’s name and substituted his/her name,
perhaps did some re-formatting of the text, then submitted the
work for credit in a class (e.g term paper or essay), as part of the
requirements for a degree (e.g., thesis or dissertation), or as a part
of a published article or book.
Reference
Standler, R. B. (2000). Plagiarism in colleges in USA. Retrieved August 8, 2006 from http://www.
rbs2.com/plag.htm
Paraphrased Version
According to Standler (2012), plagiarism can occur in small cases,
which happens when small parts of a passage are used without
enclosing them in quotation marks and citing the author. It can
also occur in more grave situations. In these instances, big chunks
of the original text are used. There are changes in the format, but
the original author is not attributed to and the work is claimed as
the plagiarist’s own and submitted to comply with academic
requirements or as a part of a material for publication.
Summarized Version

According to Standler (2012), plagiarism can be

defined as using ideas, data or any relevant
information of another without giving proper
credit or acknowledgment.
West German researchers have a solution to cholesterol clogged blood
vessels. It is garlic. Old wives have for centuries claimed that garlic cures
many ills from snake bites to toothache. Now, according to Professor Hans
Reuter, of Cologne, there is proof that garlic helps to clear the fat
accumulating in the blood vessels of those who eat rich food, so reducing
the danger of heart attacks. Tests showed that volunteers fed on butter
containing 50 grams of garlic oil had a cholesterol level considerably lower
than that of a control group fed on butter without garlic. In another
experiment, patients ate three grams of raw garlic a day. After four weeks
their cholesterol level fell markedly. According to Professor Renter, garlic not
only drives out unwanted fats in blood. Tests indicated that the herb also
kills other bacteria, among them those causing diphtheria and tuberculosis.
 Criteria 5 4 3

The summary accurately reflects the message

of the original text.

The summary reworded the key ideas in the

original text without compromising the
accuracy or content.
Spelling, capitalization and punctuations are
correctly used.

Sentences are well structured.