Summarizing techniques

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Various Techniques
in Summarizing
Academic Texts

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Lesson Objectives:
● Identify the basic rules in summarizing.
● Apply the various techniques in summarizing
academic texts.
● State the importance of summarizing academic
texts.
● Summarize academic texts using the
appropriate summarizing technique

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01
Summarizing is an 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.

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BASIC RULES IN
SUMMARIZING A TEXT?
A. Erase things that don’t
matter. Delete trivial material
that is unnecessary to
understanding.

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B. Only write down important
points. If it is not something that
will help you understand or
remember, then don’t write it
down. Think of it this way . . . If you
had to pay money for every word
you write down, which words would
you choose to include in your notes?

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C. Erase things that repeat.
Delete redundant material. In
note taking, time and space are
precious. If a word or phrase
says basically the same thing
you have already written down,
then don’t write it again!

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D. Trade, general terms for specific
names. Substitute superordinate
terms for lists (e.g., flowers for
daisies, tulips for roses). Focus on
the big picture. Long, technical lists
are hard to remember. If one word
will give you the meaning, then less
is more.

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E. Use your own words to write
the summary. Do not just copy
the sentences from the original
text. However, do not inject
your opinion in your summary.

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Techniques in Summarizing
Academic Texts
― Irene M. Pepperberg

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1. Outlining
An outline is a map of your essay. It shows what
information each section or paragraph will contain and
in what order.
I. Main Idea
A. Supporting Details
B. Supporting Details
II. Main Idea
A. Supporting Details
B. Supporting Details

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2. Somebody Wanted But So Then
Each word represents a key question related to a text’s
essential elements:
Somebody—Who is the text about?
Wanted—What did the main character want?
But—What was the problem encountered?
So—How was the problem solved?
Then—How did it end?

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3. SAAC Method
This method is particularly helpful in learning the
format of a summary. This includes the title and
author’s name.
State— The name of the article, book, movie
Assign—the name of the author
Action—what the author is doing (ex. Tells, explains)
Complete—complete the sentence or summary with
keywords and important
details.

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4. 5W’s, 1 H
This technique relies on six crucial questions: Who, What,
When, Where, Why, How. These questions make it easy to
identify the main character, important details and main
idea. Your summary may not necessarily follow this order
if it contains all these information.
Who is the text about?
What did he/she do?
When did it happen?
Why did he/she do it?
How did he/she do what he/she did?

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5. First Then Finally
This technique helps summarize events or steps
in chronological order or in sequence.
First– What happened first?
Then– What key details took place during
the event/action?
Finally– What were the results of the
event/action?

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Thank you!
Do you have any questions?