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ENGLISH 6. Writing a Summary SOURCE: STRAUCH, Ann O. Writers at work : the short composition . Cambridge, 2005.
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ENGLISH 6 Writing a Summary SOURCE: STRAUCH, Ann O. Writersat work: the short composition. Cambridge, 2005. Haveyoueverexplained to a friendwhathappened in a movieyousawor in a storyyouread? Haveyoueversummarized for a friendthemostimportantideas in a magazine articleor a textbookchapteryouread?
Read a storyand a newspaperarticle • Readthestoryandnewspaperarticle. Afteryoureadthetwoselections, work with a partneranddiscussthefollowingquestions for eachpiece: • What is themainidea? • What are themostimportantdetails? • What are theleatimportantdetails? • LISTING IMPORTANT POINTS • Making a listofimportantpointswill help you prepare to write a summaryaboutanarticleorstory. Afteryouhavelistedpoints, eliminateanyunnecessaryones.
Lookatthelistofpointsaboutthestory “Oneat a Time”. Eliminatetheunnecessaryones. • A man is on a beach in Mexico. • He’sthrowinglivestarfishbackintothe ocean. • It’s a desertedMexicanbeachatsunset. • It’slowtide. • Themankeepstossingthem out intothe ocean. • He doesn’twantthem to dieonthebeach. • A secondman approaches him. • Thesecondmansaysthere are toomanystarfish to tossback. • Throwingonly some ofthembackwon’tmakeanydifference. • Thefirstman tosses anotherstarfishbackintothewater. • He makedthepointthat it hasmade a difference to theonehehasjusttossedback.
Analyzesummaries • Readthefollowingsummariesof “Oneat a Time” and “Why Mona Lisa Smiles”. Discussthequestions: • Whatinformationdidthesummarywriters include in thefirstsentence? • Werethedetailstheychose to include thesame as theonesthatyousaidwerethemostimportant? • Findseveraldetails in theselectionsthatwerenotmentioned in thesummaries. Whywerethesedetailsnotincluded?
SUMMARY OF “ONE AT A TIME” • “Oneat a Time” by Jack Canfieldand Mark V. Hansen, fromtheir book ChickenSoup for the Soul, tellsthestoryof a manwhowants to makethe world a betterplace. Theman is on a beach in Mexicoand is throwingstarfishbackintotheocean to savetheirlives. A secondman approaches him. Thesecondmansaysthatthere are toomanystarfish to tossback, sothrowingonly some ofthembackwon’tmake a difference. As thefirstman tosses anotherstarfishbackintothewater, hemakesthepointthat it hasmade a difference to theonehehasjusttossedback.
SUMMARY OF “WHY MONA LISA SMILES” • In theLos Angeles Times article “Why Mona Lisa Smiles” by Diane Partie Lange (April 14, 2003), theauthorreportsonthefindingsof Marianne LaFrance. LaFrance is a psychology professor at Yale Universitywhoanalyzedsmilestudies. Shefoundthat, in general, womensmile more thanmen. Whenwomenandmen are watched, womensmile more thanmen. Thedifferencebetweenmenandwomen is thegreatest in teen years. Teenage girls smilemuch more thanteenage boys. Ontheotherhand, thedifferencesbetweenmenandwomen are less in certainsituations. Whenwomenandmen are notwatched, thedifferencesbetweenthemdisappears. Thedifferencesalsodisappear for menandwomen in thesameoccupationor social role.
IMPORTANT STEPS • Themainidea • In a summary, a clearmainideasentence includes thetitle, theauthoror source, andthemainideaoftheselection. Thetitleofanarticleorstory is in quotationmaks. Thenameof a book, magazine, ornewspaper is underlinedor in italics. • Summarizing • Thebodyof a summarybrieflyexplainsthe original selection. Followthese extra guidelines. • Thesummarybodyshouldbemuchshorterthantheselection. • Use yourownwords. Ifyouquoteexactphrasesorsentencesfromthe original, use quotationmarks. • Revising • Usually it is important to include specific, supportingdetails in thebodyof a composition. Ontheotherhand, youonlyneed to include themostimportantpoints in a summary. Thus, delete unnecessarydetailswhenrevising.