Writing an Objective
Summary
See if you can tell what the
difference is between this slide:
In “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”, Harry Potter is the most
miserable, lonely boy you can imagine. He’s shunned by his relatives,
the Dursley’s, that have raised him since he was an infant. He’s forced
to live in the cupboard under the stairs, forced to wear his cousin
Dudley’s hand-me-down clothes, and forced to go to his neighbour’s
house when the rest of the family is doing something fun. Yes, he’s just
about as miserable as you can get.
Harry’s world gets turned upside down on his 11th birthday, however.
A giant, Hagrid, informs Harry that he’s really a wizard, and will soon
be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry also
learns that, in the wizarding world, he’s a hero. When he was an
infant, the evil Lord Voldemort killed his parents and then tried to kill
Harry too. What’s so amazing to everyone is that Harry survived, and
allegedly destroyed Voldemort in the process.
And this slide:
''Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" is a red-blooded
adventure movie, dripping with atmosphere, filled with the
gruesome and the sublime, and surprisingly faithful to the novel.
A lot of things could have gone wrong, and none of them have:
Chris Columbus' movie is an enchanting classic that does full
justice to a story that was a daunting challenge. The novel by J.K.
Rowling was muscular and vivid, and the danger was that the
movie would make things too cute and cuddly. It doesn't. Like
an "Indiana Jones" for younger viewers, it tells a rip-roaring tale
of supernatural adventure, where colorful and eccentric
characters alternate with scary stuff like a three-headed dog, a pit
of tendrils known as the Devil's Snare and a two-faced immortal
who drinks unicorn blood. Scary, yes, but not too scary--just
scary enough.
Why do we summarize:
Sometimes when we read, there is so much
information in the text that we have to decide what is
most important and worth remembering.
This is an important skill to have for writing essays and
research papers. This is also a good skill to have to help
us break down and understand more difficult material.
Remember, what is most interesting is not always what
is most important.
After we determine what is
most important:
List the key points, important events, and the main
idea of your story or article.
We then have to decide how to put the information
into a format that is concise and clear.
In your own words, you will summarize the story or
article in a paragraph.
You should have a topic sentence and a concluding
sentence which will state the main idea of the article.
How to write a summary:
Focus on the central ideas from the text
Omit supporting or minor details
Write only enough to convey the central idea (4-5
sentences maximum)
Organize the information clearly
Restate the information in your own words- DO NOT
COPY FROM THE TEXT-THIS IS PLAGIARIZING
Do not include any opinions or personal thoughts
Step #1: 3-Part Topic Sentence
A. Name it: identify the title of the text and the author
B. Verb it: use one of the following “summary” verbsshows, describes, explains, discusses, lists, explores,
illustrates, teaches, compares, states
C. Central Idea (CI): identify the central idea, or
thesis, of the text
Step #2: 3-5 Essential/Key
Ideas
If the article does not have subheadings:
Pick 1-2 essential details from the beginning, middle, and
end of the text
o
If the article does have subheadings:
Pick 1-2 essential details from the introduction section and
from each subheading.
“Stomp Out Bullying” Article
Let’s read the article and then discuss how we would
summarize it.
How would we write the topic sentence?
What would our essential/key ideas be?
3-Part Topic Sentence for
“Stomp Out Bullying”
Name It
Verb It
Central Idea
“Stomp out
Bullying” by
Jennifer Dignan
shows
Why bullying is a
problem and how it
can be solved
Key Details:
Thousands of teens are bullied every day.
Many schools and organizations have established antibullying programs to stop this problem.
To stop bullying, individuals should speak up when
they are bullied or when they see bullying happen.
(Notice I wrote these statements in my own words.)
Summary example:
The article “Stomp Out Bullying” by Jennifer Dignan
shows why bullying is a problem and how it can be
solved. The article discusses how one out of four teens
is bullied. In fact, many schools and organizations have
established anti-bullying programs to address this
problem. To help stop bullying, students should speak
up when they are bullied or when they see bullying
happen.
(I added transitions to make my ideas flow together in a
logical manner that makes sense for my reader.)