A paragraph has two essentialcomponents:1) The main idea expressed in topicsentence.2)Additional sentences providing supporting details.

Identify the main idea ineach paragraph. Clickon the sentence that statesthe main idea.

Lantern fish live near the bottomof the ocean where it is very dark, so they carry their own lights. The lights look like tiny glowing pearls.They are called photophores. A lanternfish can flash its photophores on and off.

1)The light looks like tiny glowing pearls.2) Lantern fish live near the bottom of the ocean where it is very dark, so theycarry their own lights.

OOPS! TRY AGAIN.

A backswimmer has a rounded back and itsunderside is flat. When it floats on its back it looks like a little boat. It rows itself along in the water using its two hind legs like oars.The backswimmer spends most of its timeupside down.

1) The backswimmer spends most of its time upside down.2) A backswimmer has a rounded back and its undersideis flat.

OOPS! TRY AGAIN.

When Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke, people listened. Poor people, rich people, white people, black people,people from other countries-they all listened. Many helped him work, march, sing, and pray for justice. He asked people not to fight with each other. Hesuggested peaceful ways to solve problems. Martin Luther King, Jr. had a special talent for leadership.

1) Many people listened to Martin Luther King, Jr.

2) Martin Luther King, Jr. was an influential leader.

OOPS! TRY AGAIN.

Next time you see lightning, count the number of secondsthat pass until you hear thunder. The lightning is a mile away for every five seconds that you count. In this way, you can “measure” how far the lightning is from you. Scientists know that the speed of light is faster than the speed of sound. So calculating the difference between the two speeds, they have developed this easy five-second formula.

1) You can figure out how far away lightning is.

2) The lightning is a mile away for every five seconds that you count.

OOPS! TRY AGAIN.

“Quick-Fix Workshop”

Communications Centre

What is a Summary?

A summary is a shortened version of an original text. It includes the thesis and major supporting points, and should reveal the relationship between the major points and the thesis.

What is a Summary?

A summary is a shortened version of an original text. It includes the thesis and major supporting points, and should reveal the relationship between the major points and the thesis.

What you Need

1. A big, ugly, overwhelming text: to dissect and shrink.

2. A Hi-lighter: to locate the text’s important parts.3. Paper: to write down the main point, purpose of

the text, major points and documentation information.

4. A ruthless, but respectful attitude: to conquer the mess.

BEGIN

Step 1: Topic

• Locate the topic.• The topic is a word or phrase that says what the

text is about.

• Try to be as specific as possible about the topic.

Step 2: Purpose

• What is the purpose of the text.

• Does it tell a story (narrate)? Inform? Persuade or raise readers' awareness of an issue?

Step 3: What is the Thesis?

• Look for the thesis (what the author is saying about the topic).

• Look first in the introduction, then in the conclusion; writers often write explicit thesis statements.

• Write the thesis in your own words (and make sure it matches your sense of the author's purpose).

Step 4: Divisions in the Text

• Look for the major divisions of the text. In your own words, summarize each division in one sentence.

• (That may mean summarizing each paragraph, but often several paragraphs go together).

• Make a list of all major points.

Step 5: Organizing Sentences

• Work with the sentences you have created to produce a summary.

• Be ruthless: a good summary is SUCCINCT (you may leave some information out -- as long as it is ‘extraneous’)

• Make sure you reveal the relationships between the ideas. Are therecontrasts or comparisonsbetween some of the ideas?

REMEMBER

• Summaries are short restatements of a work's main points.

• When writing a summary, be sure to record the work's major ideas.

• Summaries condense a text's main ideas into a few concise sentences.

• A summarized work is always much shorter than the original.

• A summary of a work's thesis and supporting points should be written in your own words.

Tips

• When summarizing, avoid examples, asides, analogies, and rhetorical strategies.

• Only quote and paraphrase words and phrases that you feel you absolutely must to reproduce exactly the author's or authors' full meaning.

• Keep in mind that your summary must fairly represent the author's or authors' original ideas.

Checklist1. Reread your source until you fully understand it. 2. Write a one sentence restatement of the source's main

idea without looking at the source. 3. Use the text’s main idea as your summary's topic

sentence. 4. Pull out the text’s main ideas.5. Write the summary in your own words. Avoid looking at

your source while writing your summary. 6. If you must include some of the source's original words

and phrases, quote and paraphrase accurately. 7. Document the source's author, title, date of publication

and any other important citation information.

The Difference Between Paraphrasing and Summarizing

• To paraphrase means to express someone else's ideas in your own language. To summarize means to distill only the most essential points of someone else's work.

• Think about how much of the detail from your source is relevant. If all your reader needs to know is the ‘bare bones’, then summarize.