Reading and summarizing strategies

1. Reading and summarizing strategies How to make a good press file?

2. Progressive strategies • Skimming • Scanning • Diagrams • Written/ Oral summary

3. 1) Skimming • Pre-reading task: to anticipate what the text is about. • How do you do that? • By looking carefully at its title. • By focusing on the opening (closing) sentence of a paragraph = key sentence (topic sentence) because it often tells what the § is about.

4. Step 1: Looking at the title: understanding Newspaper headlines • Specific and distinctive vocabulary • Exercises p.109

5. Step 2: focusing on topic sentences • ‘Dying to work’ – Jim Impoco – p.110 • Take 2 minutes to underline the topic sentence(s) of each §

6. TOPIC SENTENCES • §1: ‘Tokyo-A TV special said it all…’ • §2: ‘…obsessed with a deadly phenomenon known as Karoshi. That’s the Japanese word for ‘death by overwork’’. • §3: ‘defines’ …. ‘’all work and no play can really wreck one’s health’. • §4: ‘hardly a week goes by without a grim report’…. ‘number of victims’… ‘the average Japanese clocked 2,150 hours… compared with….’

7. §5: ‘Some Japanese want change’. • §6: ‘to raise public awareness’… ‘Yet the government and most Japanese companies rarely acknowledge Karoshi and provide no special compensation to survivors’. • §7: The recent media attention probably won’t slow down the production much.

8. What do we know so far? • Text is about a phenomenon in Japan called ‘Karoshi’ = death by overwork • Definition of Karoshi + impact on one’s health • Consequences for workers (Number of victims) + comparison with other countries • Possibility for the situation to change – raise awareness + reaction > government and companies • Not much result

9. 2) Scanning • General idea of what the text is about  deeper understanding of the text • How do you do that? • By getting a better idea of how the text is structured/organized • By identifying the signalling devices = discourse markers used by the writer to serve different types of functions (generalising, exemplifying…) • By focusing on connectives (linking words): markers used to link sentences and ideas • By preparing a diagram – end of scanning process.

10. a) Signalling devices (p.112) • Generalising • Focusing • Stating a series • Exemplifying • Specifying • Rephrasing • Contrastive alternatives • Summarising

11. b) Connectives • A connective can be: • A conjunction: always followed by a subclause (subj + verb) e.g. She phoned while I was having a bath • A preposition: always followed by a noun/ a verb in the –ing form. e.g. –I’d rather have coffee instead of tea - Start working instead of dreaming! • An adverb: between two grammatically independent sentences (S+V. Adv, S+V) e.g. It was raining. However, we went for a walk.

12. Some remarks… - He started early in the morning in order NOT to be late/ so as not to be late *He started early in the morning not to be late. • Unless + positive verb: You can’t watch this film unless you’re 18 * You can watch this film unless you’re not 18.

13. Besides vs. Beside • Besides = adverb (or preposition= in addition to) e.g. - I need the money. Besides, when I agree to do something, I do it. - Who was there besides you? (in addition to you) • Beside = only peposition (next to) e.g. Wendy came up and sat beside me.

14. After (conjunction/preposition) but no adverb!!!  after that, afterwards!!! e.g. I came back home after work/ I had finished. BUT: I came back home. After that/afterwards, I had a bath. • In any case / At any rate • In my opinion/ In my view *According to me!!!! Never! -

15. Some translations… • Are you coming? Definitely! • You can drive my car provided that you are careful. • The cost of transportation is a major expense for an industry. Hence, factory location is an important consideration. • Seeingthat he was ill, the meeting was cancelled. • Don’t forget your umbrella. Otherwise you’ll get wet.

16. Signalling devices and connectives in ‘Dying to work’ §1: - §2: despite  contrast §3: even §4: but/ despite contrast compared with  comparison §5: since then  time indication §6: yet  contrast as, or §7: Alas  disappointment All in all  summarising

17. Preparatory stage to diagram – based on skimming and scanning • Give a heading to each § in your own words! • Look for keywords • Ban conjugated verbs (use corresponding nouns, past participle or –ing form instead) • Look for similarities between the headings (in order to group similar ideas later on)

18. ‘Dying to work’ §1: ------------------------------------------------------- §2: ------------------------------------------------------- §3:-------------------------------------------------------- §4:-------------------------------------------------------- §5:-------------------------------------------------------- §6:----------------------->< --------------------------- - ------------------ - ------------------ - ------------------ §7:--------------------------------------------------------

19. ‘Dying to work’ - key §1: illustration of the phenomenon §2: ‘death by overwork’ – new obsession §3: definition + consequences on health §4: thousands of victims + more working hours than in France/USA §5: will to change. E.g. hotlines §6: Actions (publication of a book) vs. Resistance from government and companies - problem rarely acknowledged - no compensation - restrictive definition of overwork §7: no change

20. Progressive steps: recap Skimming (title + topic sentences) Scanning (signalling devices + connectives) Preparatory stage to diagram

21. 3)Diagram • Definition: visual display of the structure/content of a text - designed to show the relationship and the hierarchy of ideas. Take distance from the original text! Don’t hesitate to change the order of ideas (e.g. causes before consequences)

22. Key principles 1) Visual: main issues should clearly come out! • Ban conjugated verbs/ full sentences • No shopping list of ideas BUT structure! 2) No empty headline: *introduction/ conclusion  no information provided! * Connectives  display visually (columns for comparison, arrows for consequences…)

23. Key principles (II) 3) One page – but not too sketchy: more than a plan – the main issues should be developed enough for independent reader. 4) Own title – sums up what the whole article is about/ what to expect in the article - in your own words – ban conjugated verbs.

24. Let’s try…‘Dying to work’ p. 114 • In groups of ¾ • Prepare a coherent diagram for the text ‘Dying to work’

25. Diagram ‘Dying to work’ - key Karoshi Death from overwork in Japan (a nation of workaholics) • Extent of the phenomenon • Number of victims: tens of thousands (dead/seriously ill) • Number of working hours per week (more than anywhere else in the world) • Will to change > population/media • Setting up hotlines • Publication of a book on the phenomenon • Resistance > government and companies • Problem rarely acknowledged • Very restrictive definition of ‘overwork’  • No compensation for the victims/families >< • NO CHANGE! • Production lines not slowed down • busy hotlines

26. 4) oral/written summary • Summary: shorter version of the original text, focusing on the main ideas (+ possibly organized in a different structure) Base yourself on your diagram = main ideas + clear structure  Should be around 20 lines • A good summary should not contain any • Unnecessary details • Direct quotations • Personal opinion

27. Structure of a summary • Introduction: Summary of the summary - based on your personal title + making use of the following introducing sentences: The article/ text deals with the problem of… tackles the problem of… raises the question of… develops the importance of… focuses on the importance of…. is based upon the idea that…. The purpose of this text is to…. NOT: the article talks about/ speaks about!!!!!!

28. Development: Golden rule: one §/ main idea Introduce each idea distinctly: • The first/second/next question that arises is… • Let us now consider…. • Another striking fact about…. • It is also argued/maintained/ claimed/pointed out that…. • The main point that is developed is… • Another recurring problem today is… • It is generally agreed that… • It is pretty striking that…

29. Conclusion: Based on the original article - not on your own opinion – stick to the text! • To conclude,/ to sum up,/ In short,/ In brief,/ Briefly,… • As a (matter of) conclusion,/ In a nutshell,/ To cut a long story short,…

30. Extra tips for a good oral summary… *Use expressions (connectives, signalling devices…) to introduce, connect, conclude! • Put the symbols of your diagram into words *Make clear pauses between the different parts/ideas *Respect the structure: introduction/development/conclusion *Mind your communicative skills: natural and normal pace? * Mind your language: grammar/ pronunciation/ vocab/ fluency…