LESSON 4

VARIOUS TECHNIQUES IN SUMMARIZING

A VARIETY OF ACADEMIC TEXTS

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.

From the definitions, take a look on the pool of words and phrases

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.
Example 1:
Japanese Rail Tunnel
Due to an increase in traffic between the various island which make up Japan,
and predictions of a continuing growth in train travel, a rail tunnel was built to
connect the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. The Seikan Tunnel in Japan is today
the longest tunnel in the world, with a length of almost 54km. When the
tunnel was opened in 1988, all existing trains went through it. However, newer
Japanese bullet trains have never used the tunnel because of the cost of extending
the high speed line through it. Consequently, the train journey from Tokyo to Sapporo
still takes about ten hours. In contrast, the journey by air takes only three and a half
hours. This has combined with the fall in the cost of flying, has meant that more
people travel by plane than train and the tunnel is not used as much as forecasters
had predicted.
• Increase in traffic
• connect Islands (Honshu & Hokkaido )
• Predictions and continuing growth
• The longest rail tunnel
• opened 1988
• 54km
• Opened in 1988  Bullet trains
• Never used tunnel
• Fall in the cost of flying
 • Not used

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.

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, and have your students tell each other about their favorite books or
movies in 15 seconds or less. You can use the gist method as a fun, quick way to
practice summarizing on a regular basis.

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.

www . umani t ob a.c a/student/aca de m i c l ea r n i ng

References

Buckley, J. (2004). Fit to Print: The Canadian Student’s Guide to Essay Writing. (6th
ed.) Toronto: Nelson. Hacker, D. (2008). A Canadian Writer’s Reference. (4th ed.)
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s.