How to write a CNN summary for Gretchen Himes’ ESL 251:
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Find a recommended story on my website under 251 Summary Examples and Links.
http://faculty.deanza.edu/himesgretchen/
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Listen to the story and take notes - focus on understanding the main idea.
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If a story is too hard:
o Try another story from the list.
o Try to find written articles or other videos about the same story even if they are in
your own language.
o Ask another person to discuss the story with you. This does not mean having the
other person translate the whole story for you. Instead, tell the person what you
think it means first and then ask for his or her opinions. Discuss the meanings of
words and phrases with the other person.
o Talk with your teacher about the story.
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Pick out the main ideas of the story. Decide which information is just details and can be
left out.
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Shorten the story to just a few sentences. Most CNN stories can easily be summarized
in three to ten sentences.
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Do not change the meaning, bring in information from other stories, or give your opinion.
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Organize the information in a logical order (chronological, compare & contrast, order of
importance)
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Write the summary in paragraph form. Don’t just make a list or an outline.
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Start the summary by giving the title and the reporter’s name. Sometimes a reporter’s
name is not given. (In “Cat Saves Life, Thwarts Dog Attack”, CNN repeats a KHOU story
about Cherry Woods, who was mauled by pit bulls….)
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Use phrases such as first, second, ‘then,’ ‘next,’ ‘after that,’ ‘therefore,’ and ‘due to’ to tie
the ideas together. Avoid just sticking sentences together without such transitional
devices.

Retell the story in your own words. Do not copy special words or phrases if you can
avoid doing so. You will need to use some specialized words from the stories that cannot
easily be restated another way. (‘Cat,’ ‘bake sale,’ ‘rappel,’ and ‘sticky notes’ are
examples of words that you cannot easily change.) But most words and phrases you
must say your own way using your own words, no matter how much better you think the
original words are. (Woods’ husband said that the dogs “hit her high in the left thigh and
took her down.” Yes this shows vividly what happened, but you don’t need so much
detail. You need to change it to something like, “the dogs bit her in the leg and knocked
her down.”)
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