Creating meaning out of reading

1. Summary vs. Response

2. Summary
• A rewritten, shortened version of a text
• Use your own words to express the main
ideas.

3. Rules for summaries
1. Cite the author and title of the text.
2. Reduce the length of the original by about two-
thirds, although the exact reduction will vary,
depending on the content of the original.
3. Concentrate on the main ideas and include
details only infrequently.
4. Change the original wording without changing
the idea.
5. Do not evaluate the content or give an opinion in
any way (even if you see an error in logic or fact).

4. More rules for summaries
6. Do not add ideas (even if you have an abundance
of related information).
7. Do not include any personal comments (that is,
do not use I, referring to self).
8. Use quotations only infrequently. (If you do use
quotations, however, enclose them in quotation
marks.)
9. Use some author tags (“says York,” “according to
York,” or “the author explains”) to remind the
reader(s) that you are summarizing the material of
another writer.

5. Okay, now try writing a summary

6. Summary
• A rewritten, shortened version of a text
• Use your own words to express the main
ideas.

7. TIPS- A strategy for writing summaries
T- Topic What is the topic of this article? What is the
article mostly about, in one or two words?
I - Main idea
What is the main idea of the article? What is the author telling
us about this topic? (What is his/her opinion?)
P - Points or examples What information does the author
use to support his/her main idea? Write down three examples
or supporting details.
S - Summary Write a brief summary of this article. What
are the most important parts of this piece? What are the most
important ideas?

8. Read over article
• Look for examples of grammatical errors.

9. Important Signal Phrases
• According to...
• In her article...
• In the opinion of (author’s name)...
• (Author’s name) suggests that...
• (Author’s name) argues that...

10. TIPS- A strategy for writing summaries
T- Topic What is the topic of this article? What is the
article mostly about, in one or two words?
I - Main idea
What is the main idea of the article? What is the author telling
us about this topic? (What is his/her opinion?)
P - Points or examples What information does the author
use to support his/her main idea? Write down three examples
or supporting details.
S - Summary Write a brief summary of this article. What
are the most important parts of this piece? What are the most
important ideas?

11. Review:
• Main idea

12. Main idea
• Topic + opinion

13. Let’s look back over the article
• What was the topic?
– Write this in the first box

14. • What was the main idea?
– Start with “According to…”
– Give the author’s name and the article’s title.
– According to Kyle Wiens in the article “I Wont Hire
People Who Use Poor Grammar. Here’s Why,” if
you want to have a job, you have to know good
grammar.

15. • What were the main points for each
paragraph?
Topic + Opinion

16. 1: People I hire must have good grammar.
2: People I hire must pass a grammar test.
3: My companies write detailed documents
4: On the internet, your writing is your face.
5: All job positions must have good grammar.
6: Grammar tells you how much a person cares.
7: People with good grammar care about mistakes.
8: Programming is writing.
9: People with good grammar pay attention to detail.
10: People I hire must have good grammar.

17. What do you think is the author’s
purpose?
• When hiring someone?
• When writing the article?

18. Based on the author’s purpose, which points are
most important to the article?
1: People I hire must have good grammar.
2: People I hire must pass a grammar test.
3: My companies write detailed documents
4: On the internet, your writing is your face.
5: All job positions must have good grammar.
6: Grammar tells you how much a person cares.
7: People with good grammar care about mistakes.
8: Programming is writing.
9: People with good grammar pay attention to detail.
10: People I hire must have good grammar.

19. In the last box, write a summary.
• State the topic + main idea.
– Start with “According to…”
– Give the author’s name and the article’s title.
• Then state the three points you think best
demonstrate the main idea.

20. According to Kyle Wiens, in “…,”
employees should have perfect
grammar.

21. Writing a response
• Response: Like a summary, but you
incorporate your views.
• Do you agree or disagree with the author?
• Is he wrong about something? You can
respond with criticism.
• Or you can just pull out the points you think
are the most interesting and explain why.
• Or you can relate it to your own experience
or memories.

22. Write a Response paragraph in
response to the article.
Do you think someone should be rejected from a
job because of grammar?
See if you can give an example of a real-life
situation where grammar is or is not important.
Based on this information, what are your grammar
goals for English 269? How does grammar fit into
your own purpose as a writer in this class and in the
rest of your life?