Summarizing
Language Tool (2024) Summarizing is the reflection of
any body of text by a reader that captures the main points the author wishes to
convey in a refined way and in the words of the reader.
Summarizing is a way for students to express
understanding of the content they read or was exposed to in a body of text. A
student is not just shortening a large body of text into fewer words but is
also making decisions as to what is categorized as essential information and is
simultaneously stating their understanding of the information as they deliver
it in their own words which is like asking them what happened in a story read
by a teacher. Students can be taught how to summarize by providing a short article
that is interesting to the students. They can be asked to read it together as a
class. Questions about the article can be asked to identify the key features of
the article starting with the main points. They should write their responses in
their notebooks and should be encouraged to answer in complete sentences and in
their own words. One keyway to teach this is to instruct them to write in the
past tense. A teacher may take a sample sentence from the article and analyze it
to determine how it may be shortened and have the students think of ways to do
this. It is also important to inform them not to add their point of view about
the article. The teacher should specify the word count which should range from
100 to 150 words in the summarized paragraph.
References:
Language Tool (2024) Everything You Need to know about Writing a Summary How To Write a Summary: 5 Easy Steps (languaget
by: Prakash Seebarran
ool.org)
Just as you've stated, summarizing texts isn't merely shortening information but understanding and organizing the main points. Selecting articles that students find intriguing is important to encourage engagement with the pieces. I agree with the fact that teachers should always provide opportunities to demonstrate summarization rather than tasking them with the responsibility of attempting it themselves.
ReplyDeleteThe process of summarizing is not just to shorten a paragraph but also putting it into a reader's own words which means it is their interpretation of the information. This is especially important in journalling.
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