1. CRITICAL SUMMARY ASSIGNMENT
READING FOR UNDERSTANDING;
WRITING TO SHOW UNDERSTANDING

2. A Critical Summary is a READING assignment!!!
The PRIMARY goal is to demonstrate your reading understanding
Reading means finding the author’s point & purpose
If you do not understand then you can not explain—strong reading MUST come first!!!

3. Keys to Strong Reading
Understand the TITLE—the title reveals the MAIN IDEA & will give you a guiding question.
Search for facts, descriptions, statistics or explanations that help explain the MAIN IDEA that the title creates

4. Keys for Strong Reading (cont)
3. After each paragraph question what information within the paragraph helps explain the author’s main point. 4. Highlight key vocabulary and unknown ideas that you need to look up (google reading)

5. Keys for Strong Reading (cont)
5. Re-read paragraphs that contain A LOT of information to make sure you understand the building blocks of the article. 6. Read the conclusion twice and ask What idea or thought is this author ending with?

6. Suggested Reading Strategies
Create a “quick thought” for each paragraph—identify the paragraph’s main point
Question why the author would mention a specific statistic, description or detail
Infer how any one detail that stands out to you connects back to the title

7. Suggested Reading Strategies
Identify confusing statements or unknown language—use google to help unlock understanding
Analyze (break down) what idea or understanding your highlighted details help build up
Connect by providing your personal reactions
Connect paragraph topics together to build the “big picture”

8. Organizing my Reading
Once you have finished, read each detail again to review the article ideas
Group the details into categories—short articles may only have one category; long articles may have 3 or 4 (maybe more) categories
Number the details to create a “order of explanation”

9. Preparing to Write
First, understand your GOAL – Explain the author’s main point or purpose.
Second, know the order you will mention the details once you start writing.
Third, make sure you can EXPLAIN the article ideas, not just repeat them.

10. Preparing to Write—Explanation Tool
For every fact or detail you have in this left column (or highlighted in the article)
Be able to explain what that detail means in this right column (or a separate notebook)

11. Explanation Tool
The goal of this tool is to help you move past “repeating” information
Your goal is to explain the article ideas, which means you must understand each item & the big picture

12. Objective Summary Paragraph – First Section
Your first sentence should mention the article title, the author, and the main article point or idea.
An objective summary means NO “I THINK” OR “I CONNECT” OR “TO ME” TYPE STATEMENTS!
An objective summary only covers the main article ideas and explains them to a reader who HAS NOT! read the original article.

13. Objective Summary Paragraph – First Section
Article details need to be in YOUR WORDS, otherwise you need to…
Use quotes for information that is used word-for-word
Use “source tags” like “The author says” “the article goes on to say” & “the article/author mentions that” to help connect ideas within your summary

14. Objective Summary Paragraph – First Section
Remember, the main goal of the objective summary is to explain the article’s main point
Information needs to be explained for readers who have not read the article
There should be no “I think” or “I would” or “I feel” statements in this section
By the end of the objective summary the reader of your critical summary should understand the basics of the original article

15. Write a Strong, Extension Paragraph
After you summarize the article, explain what you learned and how it might connect to what you have studied or to what you already know…
Include your FEELINGS into this paragraph.
Tell WHY the article made you feel that way.
You can also include any lingering questions you might have after reading the article.

16. Write a Strong, Extension Paragraph
DO NOT create a list of random, passive thoughts. If each sentence is an “I think” sentence, you have a list
Explain your personal thoughts—don’t just mention those thoughts
Reflect on WHY this article was written—why did the author think it was worth the time it took to write??

17. Extension Paragraph Tips
Question why this article information is relevant in our world today
Disagree with ideas within the article and explain your stance
Connect the material to a topic we have been covering in class and explain that connection

18. Extension Paragraph Tips
Analyze the article information by reflecting on HOW the article built its main point
Explore any emotion or personal connection the article may have triggered
Forecast how this information might impact our future (as a class, as a student, as a population, as a world…)

19. Your Goals… In writing the summary you have two main goals:
1. let other people know what the article was about in a brief way—they should be able to read the summary in under 3 minutes.
2. let other people know what you thought about the article you read—especially about what you have learned from reading.

20. Formatting the Critical Summary
Until you become a “master” of this writing style, label the first section Objective Summary in bold as a heading
When you start your Extension label that Extension in bold as a heading.
Remember to include your name, hour and date as a heading at the top of the page

21. Be sure to CITE YOUR SOURCE
At the bottom of your paper, cite your source in APA format.
(Sometimes the articles provide this for you.)
Use sites such as to help you if you forget.

22. Example paper
Name hr. 1 9/12/2014 Captivated by Critters: Humans are Wired to Respond to Animals (my paragraphs would go here) California Institute of Technology. (2011, September 9). Captivated by critters: Humans are wired to respond to animals. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 6, 2014 from /09/ htm