EAPP Handout 2  Writing down ideas that are not stated in the text

 Writing down summary that has the same length or

Understanding and Locating the Thesis Statement
Thesis Statement
- presents or describes the point of an essay
- written in a declarative sentence
Strategies in Locating the Thesis Statement
 Read the title of the text and make inferences on its
purpose.
 If the text has no abstract or executive summary,
read the first few paragraphs as the thesis
statement is usually located there.
 In other cases, you may also check the conclusion
where authors sum up and review their main points.
Understanding and Locating the Topic Sentences
Topic Sentence
- presents or describes the point of the paragraph
- the main idea of the paragraph
- it can be located in the beginning, middle, or last
part of a paragraph.
Strategies in Locating the Topic Sentence
 Read the first sentence of the paragraph very
carefully because most authors state their topic
sentence in the beginning of the paragraph.
 Browse the sentences in the paragraph to identify
what they describe. The sentence that best
describes the topic of the paragraph is the topic
sentence.
 Find the concept or idea being tackled.
 Identify the purpose of the paragraph. The sentence
that presents or describes the purpose is the topic
sentence.
 Observe the writing style of the author. Focus
specifically on where he/she usually places his/her
is longer than the original text
Guidelines in summarizing
1. Clarify your purpose before you read.
2. Read the text and understand the meaning.
3. Select and underline or circle the key ideas and
phrases while reading.
4. Write all the key ideas and phrases in bullet or
outline form.
5. Identify the connection of key ideas using concept
map; list the ideas in sentence form.
6. Combine the sentences into a paragraph.
7. Ensure that you do not copy a single sentence
from original text.
8. Refrain from adding comments about the text.
9. Edit the draft or your summary by eliminating
redundant ideas.
10. Compare your output with original text to
ensure accuracy.
11. Record the details of the original text (author’s
name/s, date of publication, title, publisher, place
of publishing, and URL if online).
12. Format your summary properly.
Formats in Summarizing
1. Idea Heading Format – the summarized idea
comes before the citation
2. Author Heading Format – the summarized idea
comes after the citation.
3. Date Heading Format – the summarized idea
comes after the date when the material was
published.
Paraphrasing and Direct Quoting
Comparing Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Direct Quoting
the
source word for

to the original
Cited part appears
Is usually a short

between quotation

Must be attributed

topic sentence.
Direct Quoting

part of the text

Basics of Summarizing
What is Summarizing?
Matches

source

- often used to determine the essential ideas (this

marks
word

includes the gist or main idea, useful information,

or key words or phrases that help you meet your
reading purpose.


- generally done after reading, however, it can be

the source for

from

retains and fully

source into your

Changes the words

communicates the

to the original
Involves putting a

or phrasing of a
but
Does not match

Must be attributed
original meaning

done as well while reading a text.

Paraphrasing

Summarizing is an important skill because it helps you

own words

 deepen your understanding of the text;

passage,
passage

source

 learn to identify relevant information or key ideas;

word

 combine details or examples that support the main

idea/s;


 concentrate on the gist or main idea and key words

overview, so is
putting
the main idea/s
the source for

to the original
into your own

much
but
including only the

shorter than the

Does not match

Presents a broad

Must be attributed

presented in the text; and,

 capture the key ideas in the text and put them
Summarizing

main point/s

together clearly and concisely.

original text
Involves

What is Not Summarizing?

usually
words,

source

 Writing down everything

word

 Writing down ideas from the text word-for-word

 Writing down incoherent and irrelevant ideas



When to Use Paraphrasing, Summarizing, and Direct
Quoting

author’s expertise in
2. Quote directly when

your discussion with

it is paraphrased or
show less impact if

you want to begin

author’s stand; or
conveys powerful
1. Quote a text that
Direct Quoting

message or will

argument, or
highlight the
summarized

your claim,

discussion.
you want to avoid or

the main idea of the

text and write it in
1. Summarize a text

quotation; or use
2. Summarize when

your own words.

minimize direct
Summarizing

that has long

sections

you want to avoid or

message or use your

text with one or two

rewrite the author’s

own words to state

1. Paraphrase a short

the author’s ideas.

2. Paraphrase when
paragraph with a
maximum of five

minimize direct
Paraphrasing

sentences or a

quotation; or

words by not
changing the
sentences.

Guidelines in Paraphrasing
1. Read the text and understand its meaning
2. Underline or highlight the key words or main idea
of the text.
3. Recall the key words or main idea of the text.
4. Write in your own word what you understood
about the ideas in the text.
5. Get original text and compare it with your
paraphrase.
6. Check the meaning if the same as the original text.
7. Check the sentence structure.
8. Refrain from adding comments about the text.
9. Compare your output to the original text to
ensure accuracy and remove redundant ideas.
10. Record the details of the original source.
11. Format your paraphrase properly.
Guidelines in Direct Quoting
1. Copy exactly the part of the text that you want to
use.
2. Use quotation marks to show the beginning and
ending of the quote.
3. Record the details of the original source.
4. Format your quotation properly. If your direct
quotation is at least 40 words, it should be
indented.