As you read the story or chapter, pay attention to transitions — most often changes in setting, characters, or time. When you notice a transition, stop and write down the main ideas or events of the previous section.
When you are finished with the story or chapter, reread the notes you took as you went along.
Add any main ideas you missed. Remove any ideas that did not end up being important.
Go back and reread any parts of the story or chapter that you didn’t fully understand the first time. Having a sense of the chapter as a whole should help fill in the blanks in your understanding. Add any main ideas to your notes.
Start your paragraph with a one-sentence summary of the story or chapter. (In “The Stolen Party,” Liliana Heker tells the story of a girl who believes she is a party guest but ends up being a maid.)
Turn the main ideas you wrote down into complete sentences and write them in order. You may combine some main ideas into one sentence if they are related.
Use transition words to connect the ideas. (Once she arrives at the party, … Later, … Heker then describes the setting as … )
Review your paragraph. Check that it fully summarizes the chapter and flows smoothly.
Finally, proofread for mechanics.
As you read the article, either take 2-column notes or write the main idea of each paragraph down the side of the article.
If the article is divided into sections, try to write down one main idea for each section.
Based on the main ideas you identified, paraphrase the main idea of the entire article in one sentence. Then recheck all your main ideas. You should start to see how the article fits together as a whole.
Add any main ideas you missed. Remove any ideas that did not end up being important.
Go back and reread any parts of the article that you didn’t fully understand the first time. Having a sense of the chapter as a whole should help fill in the blanks in your understanding. Add any main ideas to your notes.
Start your paragraph by stating the main idea of the article. (In her article “The Blessings and Curses of Impulsiveness,” Raychelle Cassada Lohmann explains…)
Turn the main ideas you wrote down into complete sentences and write them in order. You may combine some main ideas into one sentence if they are related.
Use transition words to connect the ideas. (Lohmann next argues that… ; Lohmann supports that idea by explaining…)
Review your paragraph. Check that it fully explains the author’s reasoning. If you notice any holes in the logic, add a bit more detail from the article.
Finally, proofread for mechanics.
Choose from the following options as you read the article.
Option 1: Take 2-column notes. The main ideas will be the author’s claims and the details will be the evidence that the author uses to support each claim.
Option 2: Write the author’s claims down the side of the article. Highlight or circle the evidence used to support each claim. Draw arrows from the evidence to the summarized claim.
Based on the claims you identified, paraphrase the author’s position, main argument, or thesis in one sentence. What does the author want to convince you of?
Recheck the claims and evidence you noted while reading. You should start to see how the article fits together as a whole, and how each piece of the article has a specific purpose in supporting the overall thesis.
Add any main ideas you missed. Remove any ideas that did not end up being important.
Go back and reread any parts of the article that you didn’t fully understand the first time. Having a sense of the chapter as a whole should help fill in the blanks in your understanding. Add any main ideas to your notes.
Start your paragraph by stating the thesis of the article. (In her article “The Blessings and Curses of Impulsiveness,” Raychelle Cassada Lohmann argues…)
In order, summarize the author’s claims as well as the evidence that supports those claims.
Use transition words to connect the ideas. (Lohmann next argues that… ; Lohmann supports that idea by explaining…) It should be clear how the logic in the article progresses.
Review your paragraph. Check that it fully explains the author’s reasoning. If you notice any holes in the logic, add a bit more detail from the article.
Finally, proofread for mechanics.