Eapp Week 4

VARIOUS TECHNIQUES
IN SUMMARIZING A
VARIETY OF ACADEMIC
TEXTS
LORIELE P. LANTION
WHAT IS AN
ACADEMIC LANGUAGE?
Academic language represents the language demands of school
(academics). Academic language includes language used in
textbooks, in classrooms, on tests, and in each discipline. It is
different in vocabulary and structure from the everyday
spoken English of social interactions. Each type of
communication (both academic and social) has its purpose, and
neither is superior to the other.
Academic writing is generally quite formal, objective
(impersonal) and technical as illustrated in the diagram below.
Obje ct ive
- a vo id p e r s o n a l o r
d ir e ct r e fe r e n ce t o
p e o p le o r fe e lin g s
Fo rm al
Te ch n ical
- a vo id ca s u a l o r
co n ve r s a t io n a l s u ch - u s e vo ca b u la r y
a s co n t r a ct io n s a n d s p e cific t o t h e
in fo r m a l vo ca b u la r y d is cip lin e
ACADEMIC
LANGUAGE
It is formal by avoiding casual or
conversational language, such as contractions
or informal vocabulary. It is impersonal and
objective by avoiding direct reference to people
or feelings, and instead emphasizing objects,
facts and ideas. It is technical by using
vocabulary specific to the discipline.
PRE-WRITING ACTIVITY
Try to recall one of the novels or short stories you discussed in
one of your previous classes in English; choose one selection out of
the several you tackled throughout your school life. Then, on a
separate sheet of paper, try to rewrite the story using your own
words.
• Did you find the retelling of the story difficult? Why or why not?
• What strategies did you employ in order to retell the story? Did you
find these strategies helpful? Why or why not?
What is
Summarizing?
According to Buckley (2004), in her
popular writing text Fit to Print,
summarizing is reducing text to one-third
or one-quarter its original size, clearly
articulating the author’s meaning, and
retaining main ideas.
According to Diane Hacker (2008), in
A Canadian Writer’s Reference, explains
that summarizing involves stating a
work’s thesis and main ideas “simply,
briefly, and accurately”.
From dictionaries, it is defined as
taking a lot of information and
creating a condensed version that
covers the main points; and to
express the most important facts or
ideas about something or someone
in a short and clear form.
VARIOUS TECHNIQUES IN
SUMMARIZING A VARIETY OF
ACADEMIC TEXTS
1. Read the work first to understand
the author’s intent. This is a
crucial step because an incomplete
reading could lead to an inaccurate
summary.
Note: an inaccurate summary is

plagiarism!
2. One of the summarization techniques
you can do is to present information
through facts, skills and concept in visual
formats.
You can provide the cause and effects
charts, time lines, and Venn diagrams,
templates for outlines, use flow charts or
infographics.
3. To avoid difficulty, you need first to
know the main points and the supporting
details. You can exclude any illustrations,
examples or explanations.
4. You need to analyze the text to save time

in thinking what you will do.
5. Think what information you will put in your
summary. Be sure to cover the main points and
arguments of the document.
6. One of the best things to do in auto

summarizing is restating the words into different
one. You should avoid using the original words of the
author instead; use your own vocabulary but be sure
to retain the information.
7. You will fully understand what the document is
when you organize all ideas.
8. One of the things you can do is to write down

all information in a coherent and precise form.
Keep in mind that a summary is a condensed
version of the original paper, so avoid making it
long.
9. You can also decide to represent
information through using dimensional
constructions in representing concepts, skills or
facts.
10. Paraphrasing is one of the skills you can do

in writing a summary. With it, do not use the
same words with the author.
With the tips above, you will no longer
worry whenever you need to summarize
because it is your one stop solution to
having a fantastic summary that offer nice
details to readers. Follow the tips and you
will not make mistakes.
Another 5 Easy Techniques in
Summarizing Various
Academic Texts
Technique 1: Somebody Wanted But So Then
“Somebody Wanted But So Then” is an excellent summarizing
strategy for stories.
Each word represents a key question related to the story's essential
elements:
Somebody: Who is the story about?

Wanted: What does the main charter want?
But: Identify a problem that the main character encountered.
So: How does the main character solve the problem?
Then: Tell how the story ends.
Here is an example of this strategy in action:
Somebody: Little Red Riding Hood

Wanted: She wanted to take cookies to her sick grandmother.
But: She encountered a wolf pretending to be her grandmother.
So: She ran away, crying for help.
Then: A woodsman heard her and saved her from the wolf.
After answering the questions, combine the answers to form a
summary:
Little Red Riding Hood wanted to take cookies to her sick

grandmother, but she encountered a wolf. He got to her
grandmother’s house first and pretended to be the old woman. He
was going to eat Little Red Riding Hood, but she realized what
he was doing and ran away, crying for help. A woodsman heard
the girl’s cries and saved her from the wolf.
Technique 2: SAAC Method
The SAAC method is another useful technique for summarizing
any kind of text (story, article, speech, etc). SAAC is an acronym
for "State, Assign, Action, Complete." Each word in the acronym
refers to a specific element that should be included in the
summary.
State: name of the article, book, or story

Assign: the name of the author
Action: what the author is doing (example: tells, explains)
Complete: complete the sentence or summary with keywords and important
details
This method is particularly helpful for students who
are learning the format of a summary and need reminders to
include the title and author's name. However, SAAC does not
include clear guidance about which details to include, which
some students might find tricky.
If you use SAAC with your students, remind them of
the types of details that belong in a summary before
instructing them to work independently.
Here is an example of SAAC in action:
State: The Boy Who Cried Wolf

Assign: Aesop (a Greek storyteller)
Action: tells
Complete: what happens when a shepherd boy repeatedly lies to
the villagers about seeing a wolf
Use the four SAAC cues to write out a summary of "The Boy
Who Cried Wolf" in complete sentences:
The Boy Who Cried Wolf, by Aesop (a Greek

storyteller), tells what happens when a shepherd boy
repeatedly lies to the villagers about seeing a wolf. After a
while, they ignore his false cries. Then, when a wolf really does
attack, they don’t come to help him.
Technique 3: 5 W's, 1 H
The 5 W's, 1 H strategy relies on six crucial questions: who, what, when,
where, why, and how.
These questions make it easy to identify the main character, the important
details, and the main idea.
Who is the story about?

What did they do?
When did the action take place?
Where did the story happen?
Why did the main character do what he/she did?
How did the main character do what he/she did?
Try this technique with a familiar fable such as "The Tortoise
and the Hare."
Who? The tortoise

What? He raced a quick, boastful hare and won.
When? When isn’t specified in this story, so it’s not important in
this case.
Where? An old country road
Why? The tortoise was tired of hearing the hare boast about his
speed.
How? The tortoise kept up his slow but steady pace.
Then, use the answers to the 5 W's and 1 H to write a
summary of in complete sentences.
Tortoise got tired of listening to Hare boast about

how fast he was, so he challenged Hare to a race. Even
though he was slower than Hare, Tortoise won by
keeping up his slow and steady pace when Hare stopped
to take a nap.
Technique 4: First, Then, Finally
The "First Then Finally" technique helps students summarize

events in chronological order. The three words represent the
beginning, main action, and conclusion of a story, respectively:
First. What happened first? Include the main character and main
event/action.
Then. What key details took place during the event/action?
Finally. What were the results of the event/action?
Here is an example using "Goldilocks and the Three Bears."
First, Goldilocks entered the bears' home while

they were gone. Then, she ate their food, sat in
their chairs, and slept in their beds. Finally, she
woke up to find the bears watching her, so she
jumped up and ran away.
Technique 5: Give Me the Gist
When someone asks for "the gist" of a story, they want to

know what the story is about. In other words, they want a
summary—not a retelling of every detail. To introduce the gist
method, explain that summarizing is just like giving a friend
the gist of a story.
When summarizing is useful?
Summarizing is useful in many types of writing and at different
points in the writing process. Summarizing is used to support an
argument, provide context for a paper’s thesis, write literature
reviews, and annotate a bibliography. The benefit of summarizing lies
in showing the "big picture," which allows the reader to contextualize
what you are saying.
In addition to the advantages of summarizing for the reader, as a
writer you gain a better sense of where you are going with your
writing, which parts need elaboration, and whether you have
comprehended the information you have collected.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT:
In this digital age when copying
has been made so easy, how do
you exercise originality?
Thank you!
CREDITS:
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VARIOUS TECHNIQUES

Note: an inaccurate summary is

4. You need to analyze the text to save time

6. One of the best things to do in auto

8. One of the things you can do is to write down

10. Paraphrasing is one of the skills you can do

Somebody: Who is the story about?

Somebody: Little Red Riding Hood

Little Red Riding Hood wanted to take cookies to her sick

State: name of the article, book, or story

State: The Boy Who Cried Wolf

The Boy Who Cried Wolf, by Aesop (a Greek

Who is the story about?

Who? The tortoise

Tortoise got tired of listening to Hare boast about

The "First Then Finally" technique helps students summarize

First, Goldilocks entered the bears' home while

When someone asks for "the gist" of a story, they want to

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