Article of the WeekSteps to Building Reading Comprehension

Week 1: Close Reading StrategiesArticle: The Warren Harding Error, excerpt from Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

Task: Annotate the excerpt using close reading skills

Week 1: Close Reading Strategies● Terms: Look up words or terms you don’t know (or

determine their meaning based on context). Define terms that are important to the understanding of the text.

● Ask questions (something you don’t understand or an outside question that pops up) TALK TO THE TEXT…

-What does the author mean by this...?- -I wonder what would happen if…? -Ask yourself, so what? Why is this important?● Make connections (personal or to another text, movie,

show, song)● Summarize STOP! Make meaning of what you just read● Visualize: Illustrate what the author is trying to say.

Week 2: Main Points/Central IdeaArticle: Are Leaders Born or Made? Scientists Suspect it’s a Little of Both, by Eric Sorensen

Task: Annotate using close reading strategies, and identify main points and the central idea of the text.

Week 2: Main Points/Central IdeaFor all AOWs, you always annotate the text using the close reading strategies# Each paragraph O Identify and define key terms ? Ask questions-----> Make connections] Summarize each section Visualize by drawing a picture

This week we will add on the skills of identifying the main points and the central idea

Week 2: Main Points/Central Idea

Main points: Smaller concepts explained throughout and article. Every paragraph or section, stop and summarize what the author is saying to identify the main point.Central idea: the point that the author is making. You can think of a central idea as a thesis statement, or the takeaway message the author is trying to make. At the end of the article, look over the main points and determine the central idea.

Week 3: Tone, Audience, PurposeArticle: “What a Homeless Man Taught Me About Leadership,” by Tim McDonald

Task: Annotate, identify main points/central idea, and determine tone, audience, and purpose

Week 3: Tone, Audience, PurposeTone: Author's attitude about the topic. Can be expressed through the words and details he/she selects. ● i.e. Informal, sarcastic, judgmental,

sincere● HINT: If you struggle here, google

“tonal words” for many more examples

Week 3: Tone, Audience, PurposeAudience: The specific group the author is writing for. The author could be writing for several different groups. Be as specific as possible.● i.e. students, psychologists, doctors, people of a

certain ethnicity or race

DO NOT write “everyone.” If you feel the author is writing to the general public, give some specific groups within the general public that he/she may be targeting.

Week 3: Tone, Audience, PurposePurpose: The reason the author writes about the topic ● i.e. to inform, persuade, entertain,

to argue a certain point● Hint: Ask yourself, what is the

author’s main goal in writing this article.

Week 4: Academic SummaryArticle: Mandela’s Death Leaves South Africa Without Its Moral Center, by Lydia Polgreen

Task: Annotate, identify main points/central idea, tone, audience, and purpose in order to write a clear academic summary of the article

Week 4: Academic SummaryAn academic summary is a short, accurate description, in your own words, of the content of a source. An academic summary does not include your own opinion. It is a clear description of the main points of a text.

Format

● Include a title for the summary.

● Format your summary as one single paragraph.

● You will be writing a draft in class, but the graded copy will be posted to your blog.

Starting your Academic Summary•Give your summary a clear title.

•In the first sentence, formally introduce the name of the author, the title of the text you are summarizing, the genre/tone, and the author’s central idea.

Sample First Sentence

In his inspirational article, “What a Homeless Man Taught Me About Leadership,” Huffington Post columnist Tim McDonald emphasizes that leadership is not about fame, money, or leading the masses, but rather about connecting with and helping people on a daily basis.

Tone Title of article

Author

Central Idea

Body of your Academic Summary● Present the main points and necessary supporting points

● Use occasional “author tags” (e.g., “according to Rogers ” or “ as Rogers says”) to remind the reader and yourself that you are

● Do not alter the author’s meaning.

● Select material for inclusion carefully. Do not exceed the length limit

o Omit less important points and supporting detail

o Generalize long examples or sections in the text.

Sample Body of the paragraphMcDonald begins by explaining his interaction with a homeless man in his neighborhood, which reminds him that leadership is not about fame or money, but rather how you treat people. The author then turns to Facebook to post about his interaction and discuss this idea with others. He learns that many of his friends interact with homeless people in their own neighborhoods, and then highlights the idea that everyone should stop and notice these people. McDonald stresses that sharing positive actions with others can be more powerful than the action itself. In order to be a leader, people just need to help others; if everyone did this, these small acts would lead to much bigger effects. McDonald concludes with the idea that homelessness doesn’t define a person and that we all need to get to know one another in order to all be leaders in society.

Tips● Do not include:

o Your opinions about the ideas summarized or the quality of the writing

o Unnecessary repetition and restatements

o Extensive quotations.

o Minor points and details: stick to the major points; don’t mention specific details and examples—focus on getting at the idea that those examples support

End with an MLA citation

McDonald, Tim. "What a Homeless Man Taught Me About Leadership." Huffington Post. N.p., 15 Feb. 2014. Web.

Use Easybib or BibmeOWL at Purdue is also a great resource

Academic Summary ReteachAn academic summary is a short, accurate description, in your own words, of the content of a source. An academic summary does not include your own opinion or any outside information. It is a clear description of the main points of a text.

Step 1: Read the article

CAREFULLY read the article:● Annotate using close reading

strategies● Determine ALL main points● Determine central idea● Determine tone, audience, and

purpose

Central Idea

Must be specific and tell us something about the content of the article● Non-example: The central idea of

this article is about Nelson Mandela.

Check the central idea that you wrote for the article, and make sure it is

thorough.

Central Idea

Good example: Nelson Mandela was a truly inspirational leader and a great man and his death was felt by people of all ages and races, all over the world.

Adjust your central idea if it is lacking.

Step 2: Title and First sentence•Give your summary a clear title.

•In the first sentence, formally introduce the name of the author, the genre/tone, the title of the text you are summarizing, and the central idea of the text.

First sentence non-examples● Nelson Mandela was a great leader

of South Africa.● In her NYT article titled “Mandela’s

Death Leave South Africa Without Its Moral Center,” Lydia Polgreen writes about Nelson Mandela’s life.

Why are these not good examples?

Practice

Write a potential first sentence for an academic summary of the Mandela article.

Sample First SentenceIn her reverent article, “Mandela’s Death Leaves South Africa Without Its Moral Center,” Lydia Polgreen of the New York Times remembers Nelson Mandela as a truly inspirational leader and a great man and explains that his death is felt by people of all ages and races, all over the world.

toneTitle of article

Central Idea

Author

Step 3: Body of the Paragraph/Main points

In order to write a good summary, it is CRUCIAL that you accurately and thoroughly determine ALL the main points of the article.Then, you transfer each of those main points into a sentence in your summary.

Practice

Look back at your Mandela article:

Do you have all of the following main points summarized in your own words?

Read main points on handout

PracticeEach of these main points is then transferred into a sentence in the actual summary.

Practice writing the first main point on your own

Author Tags

Finally, use AUTHOR TAGS (Polgreen emphasizes, Polgreen examines) to connect the main points and create cohesion in your paragraph.

Read sample together

Academic Summary AssessmentNext Thursday, you will have a chance to redeem yourself:● Academic Summary assessment of a

new article, written in class.● Worth 40 points (double) in the

writing category.