English 103 - Composition and Critical Thinking » Fall 2020 » Reading Strategies: Summarizing

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Question #1
All of the following are examples of summaries EXCEPT
A.   a chapter overview.
B.   a recipe in a cookbook.
C.   a movie critique.
D.   a book review.
Question #2
An effective summary will include _______.
A.   enough information to give the reader a clear understanding of the original text
B.   an overview of the bias in the text
C.   direct quotations from the original text
D.   citations for all sources consulted in the original text
Question #3
Directions: For the following question use this excerpt from Hannah Berry's analysis, "The Fashion Industry: Free to Be an Individual." As young women, we have always been told through the medium of advertisement that we must use certain products to make ourselves beautiful. For decades, ads for things like soap, makeup, and mouthwash have established a sort of misplaced control over our lives, telling us what will make us attractive and what will not. Recently, however, a new generation of advertisement has emerged in the fashion industry, one that cleverly equates the products shown in the ads with the quest for confident individuality. Ads such as the two for Clarks and Sorel discussed below encourage us to break free from the standard beauty mold and be ourselves; using mostly imagery, they remind us that being unique is the true origin of beauty. The main idea of this excerpt is _______.
A.   beauty advertisements encourage individuality in young women
B.   how certain products can make young women more beautiful
C.   advertisements for the fashion industry
D.   advertisements that unfairly dictate beauty standards
Question #4
Directions: For the following question use this excerpt from Hannah Berry's analysis, "The Fashion Industry: Free to Be an Individual." As young women, we have always been told through the medium of advertisement that we must use certain products to make ourselves beautiful. For decades, ads for things like soap, makeup, and mouthwash have established a sort of misplaced control over our lives, telling us what will make us attractive and what will not. Recently, however, a new generation of advertisement has emerged in the fashion industry, one that cleverly equates the products shown in the ads with the quest for confident individuality. Ads such as the two for Clarks and Sorel discussed below encourage us to break free from the standard beauty mold and be ourselves; using mostly imagery, they remind us that being unique is the true origin of beauty. A summary of this selection would include all of the following sentences EXCEPT:
A.   Advertisements have often told us that to be considered beautiful, young women must learn which beauty products to use and how to use them effectively.
B.   For years, advertisements have controlled young women's views about beauty.
C.   Some new advertisements are now featuring fashions that encourage individuality.
D.   For example, ads by Clarks and Sorel promote uniqueness.
Question #5
Directions: For the following question use this excerpt from Michaela Cullington's report, "Does Texting Affect Writing?" A September 2008 article in USA Today entitled "Texting, Testing Destroys Kids' Writing Style" summarizes many of the most common complaints about the effect of texting. It states that according to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 25% of high school seniors are "proficient" writers. The article quotes Jacquie Ream, a former teacher and author of K.I.S.S .— Keep It Short and Simple, a guide for writing more effectively. Ream states, "[W]e have a whole generation being raised without communication skills." She blames the use of acronyms and shorthand in text messages for students' inability to spell and ultimately to write well. Ream also points out that students struggle to convey emotion in their writing because, as she states, in text messages "emotions are always sideways smiley faces." The main idea of this excerpt is _______.
A.   a former teacher's view of the recent generation of students
B.   the lack of emotion in today's generation of students
C.   an article in USA Today that discusses the complaints of texting
D.   the effects of texting on students' writing ability
Question #6
Directions: For the following question use this excerpt from Michaela Cullington's report, "Does Texting Affect Writing?" A September 2008 article in USA Today entitled "Texting, Testing Destroys Kids' Writing Style" summarizes many of the most common complaints about the effect of texting. It states that according to the National Center for Education Statistics, only 25% of high school seniors are "proficient" writers. The article quotes Jacquie Ream, a former teacher and author of K.I.S.S .— Keep It Short and Simple, a guide for writing more effectively. Ream states, "[W]e have a whole generation being raised without communication skills." She blames the use of acronyms and shorthand in text messages for students' inability to spell and ultimately to write well. Ream also points out that students struggle to convey emotion in their writing because, as she states, in text messages "emotions are always sideways smiley faces." A summary of this selection would include all of the following sentences EXCEPT:
A.   The National Center for Education Statistics tracks the writing skills of public high school students.
B.   Jacquie Ream believes that the use of shorthand codes while texting is affecting students' writing and spelling ability.
C.   Jacquie Ream feels that today's students lack effective communication skills.
D.   Jacquie Ream, the author of K.I.S.S., Keep It Short and Simple, is a former teacher and a writing expert.
Question #7
Restating a text's main ideas in your own words, leaving out most examples, is called _______.
A.   summarizing
B.   looping
C.   paraphrasing
D.   clustering
Question #8
Summarizing a text can help you to do all of the following EXCEPT
A.   understand what a text is saying.
B.   determine the main ideas of a text.
C.   add more supporting details to make your point.
D.   see relationships among ideas.
Question #9
When writing a summary, you should do all of the following EXCEPT
A.   mention ideas in the order they occur.
B.   begin with a sentence that states the thesis or main idea.
C.   explain the key ideas in your own words.
D.   include your own opinion about the subject.
Question #10
While summarizing, you will most likely _______.
A.   restate the text line by line
B.   include transitional words that begin a new idea
C.   include background information on the main topic covered in the text
D.   leave out examples that support key ideas

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