Summarizing

A Bite-Sized Bit of EOC Prep

Summarizing

When you summarize you tell just the important parts of a text.

You do not retell everything, give unimportant details, or copy from the original text.

Summarizing is an important skill in every subject, not just English.

How to Summarize• Focus on the main ideas

• Pay attention to the key details

• Just write the necessary information

Imagine telling a friend about a movie you just saw. The movie was an hour long, but what you tell your friend wouldn’t take an hour. You’d just tell the important parts…who did what…where and when it happened…why things happened.

How to Answer These Questions Correctly

1. Focus on the who, what, when, where, why and how.

2. Highlight or underline the main ideas of a passage as you read it.

3. Don’t give unimportant details, just the ones that are required for understanding.