BASICS OF SUMMARIZING

Summarizing is important skill because it helps you:

Deepen your understanding of the text
Learn to identify relevant information or key ideas
Combine details r examples that support the main idea
Concentrate on the gist or main idea and key words presented in the text; and
Capture the key ideas in the text and put them together clearly and concisely.

You are not summarizing when you:

Write down everything
Write down the ideas from the text word-for-word
Write down incoherent and irrelevant ideas;
Write down ideas that are not stated in the text; or write down a summary that has the
same length or is longer than the original text

GUIDELINES IN SUMMARIZING
1. Clarify your purpose before you read
2. Read the text and understand the meaning
3. Select and underline or encircle the key ideas and phrases while reading
4. Write all the key ideas and phrases you identified on the margins or on your notebook in
bullet or in outline form.
5. Without looking at the text, identify the connections of these key ideas and phrases
using a concept map.
6. List your ideas in sentence form in a concept map.
7. Combine the sentences into a paragraph. Use appropriate transitional devices to
improve cohesion
8. Ensure that you do not copy a single sentence from the original text
9. Refrain from adding comments about the text. Stick to the ideas it presents
10. Edit the draft of your summary by eliminating redundant ideas
11. Compare your output with the original text to ensure accuracy
12. Record the detail of the original source.
13. Format your summary properly. When you combine your summary in paragraph, use
different formats to show variety writing.
FORMATS INSUMMARIZING
1. Idea heading format
-in this format the summarized idea comes before the citation
Ex.
Benchmarking is a useful strategy that has the potential to help public officials
improve the performance of local services (Folz, 2004; Ammons, 2001). Once the
practice of a particular city is benchmarked, it can be a guidepost and the basis for
the other counterparts to improve its own.
2. Author heading format
-in ths format, the summarized idea comes after the citation. The authors name/s
is/are connected by an appropriate reporting verb.
Ex.
The considerable number of users of FB has led educators to utilize FB for
communicating with their students (Grant 2008; as cited in Donmus 2010). The
study of Kabila, Ahmad and Abidin (2010) shows that the students perceived FB
has an online environment to expedite language earning specifically English.
Donmus (2010) asserts that educational games on FB fecundate learning process
and make students learning environment more engaging. As regards literacy, this
notions reveals that FB could be used as a tool to use individuals execute a range of
 social acts through social literacy implementation (ibid). blackstone and Hardwood
(2012) suggests the facilitative strength of fb as it elicits greater engagement on
collaboration among students.
3. Date Heading Format
4. in this format, the summarized idea comes after the date when the material was
published.
Ex
On theother hand, active participation of the citizens in development contributes
to a sound and reasonable government decisions. In their 2004 study on the impact
of participatory development approach, Irvin and Standsbury argue that
participation can be valuable to the participants and the government in terms of
the process and outcomes of decision-making.

USING REPORT VERBS WHEN SUMMARIZING

A reporting verb is a word used to discuss another persons writing or assertions. They
are generally used to incorporate the source to the discussion in the text.
Ex.
- The reporting verbs are italized
Having a syntactically correct sentence is not enough to create meaning. As Noam
Chomsky pointed out, a sentence can be perfect in terms of syntax and still not sense.
He showed this by coming up with the famous sentence, colorless ideas sleep
furiously (Chomsky, 1957)
- In summarizing, you are highly encouraged to vary the verbs you used to make your
writing more interesting and to show importance to each of your sources. You can use
either the past or the present tense depending on your meaning. Using the past tense
usuallyindicates ypu view the idea to be outdated and therefore want to negate it. On
the other hand, using present tense generally indicate that you view the idea to be
relevant or agreeable.

Hyland (1999) lists a frequency or reporting verbs used according to discipline.

discipline Reporting verbs from left to right, most common to least commmon
Biology describe find report show suggest Observe

Marketing suggest Argue Find demonstrate propose Show

linguistics suggest Argue Show Explain Find Pont out

Sociology Argue Suggest Describe Note Analyze Discuss

Philosophy Say Suggest Argue Claim Point out Hold think

Overall Suggest Argue Find Show describe propose Report