Procedure for 25-Word Summary

Purpose: 

 

Learning how to write a 25-word summary helps focus and prioritize what is important in a chunk of text.

 

Procedure:

 

1.  Read the text several times independently.

2. Underline the main ideas.

3. Circle the key words that relate to the main ideas you have underlined.  Be sure to include the words that the author has bold faced.

4. Using the underlined main ideas, write a summary sentence in your own words that captures the main idea of the passage. This may be more than one  sentence.

5. Edit the sentence to avoid weak or poorly worded structures.  This is another opportunity for  students to use sophisticated language structures such as appositive phrases, participial phrases, stacked adjectives, and parallel structures as well as revise repeated words and ideas.

6. Count the words to ensure that the summary has 25 or fewer words.

7. Turn to a table partner and share your 25-word summary. Compare and discuss the similarities and differences.

8. Group discussion and then submit the summaries for the instructor’s review.