Distinguish Fact from Opinion

Facts are grounded in reality and are independent of a person's

beliefs or feelings. They are supported by empirical evidence and can be
verified through observation, experimentation, or reliable sources.
An opinion, on the other hand, is a personal belief, feeling, or judgment
that someone holds. Opinions are subjective and can't be proven true or
false. They are dependent on personal viewpoints and can vary greatly
among individuals.
Comparing (1)
Examples about facts:
 Dogs are mammals.
 Albany is the capital of New York State.
 Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth.
Each of these statements is true. Furthermore, each statement
is verifiable and not debatable, provided that definitions are agreed upon.
Opinions, unlike facts, are neither true nor false. An opinion can
express a belief, attitude, value, judgment, or feeling.
Examples about opinions:
 Dogs are the best mammals in existence.
 Albany is the most interesting city in New York State.
 World War II was a terrible war.
Each of these statements expresses an opinion. Note that each is
debatable. In other words, one can potentially agree or disagree with
(debate) a statement of opinion.

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Comparing (2)
Fact Examples:
1. "The Eiffel Tower is in Paris." This is a fact because it can be
verified by looking at a map or visiting Paris. It's a statement based
on a geographical truth.
2. "Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius at sea level." This statement is
a scientific fact, validated through countless experiments and
observations. It remains constant and doesn't change based on
personal belief or feelings.
3. "Barack Obama was the 44th President of the United States." This
is a historical fact that can be confirmed by looking at records or
reliable sources. It is a universally accepted truth.
Opinion Examples:
1. "The Eiffel Tower is the most beautiful building in the world." This
statement is an opinion because the term "beautiful" is subjective.
What one person finds attractive or pleasing might not be the same
for someone else.
2. "Pizza is the best food." This statement is an opinion as it is based
on personal preference. Food preference varies greatly among
individuals, making it subjective.
3. "Autumn is the best season of the year." This is an opinion because
what constitutes the 'best' season can vary greatly from person to
person, based on their personal experiences, preferences, and
perceptions.

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 * Key Differences between Fact and Opinion
No. Fact Opinion
1. Verifiable and objective Unverifiable and subjective
2. Universal and doesn't vary from person to person Can vary greatly among individuals
3. Based on evidence Based on beliefs or feelings
4. Remains true irrespective of belief Can change based on belief or new information

5. Quantifiable and measurable Not quantifiable or measurable

6. Deals with reality and actual existence Deals with personal interpretations and judgments

7. Not influenced by personal emotions or biases Often influenced by personal emotions or biases

8. Can be proven true or false Cannot be definitively proven true or false

9. Can be replicated in investigations or experiments Cannot be replicated as they are personal

10. Can be accepted universally Acceptance varies from person to person

Delving into Fact and Opinion Signal Words

Fact Signal Words and their use in sentences:
1. Demonstrated: "Scientists have demonstrated that exercise helps
improve brain function."
2. Proven: "It's a proven fact that smoking causes lung cancer."
3. Verified: "The news was verified by multiple reliable sources."
4. Observed: "It was observed that the patient's condition improved
with the new treatment."
5. Confirmed: "The study confirmed that diet plays a role in heart
health."

Opinion Signal Words and their use in sentences:

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 1. Believe: "I believe that cats are better pets than dogs."
2. Think: "I think chocolate ice cream is the best dessert."
3. Feel: "I feel that we should have more public holidays."
4. Seems: "It seems like the concert will be a lot of fun."
5. Possibly: "She could possibly be the best candidate for the job."

Recognize Signal Words

A signal word is also known as a transition word, which maen words
and phrases that show the connection between ideas. Signal words
help listeners navigate conversations and anticipate what is next. They
also help listeners understand the logical relationships between ideas.

Example

I love drinking coffee. It keeps me awake at night. These sentences

imply that the writer loves drinking coffee because it keeps her awake at
night. To add more specificity, the signal word “because” can be used.
To change the relationship

Function of Signal Words:

One of the main functions of signal words is to indicate the beginning

or the end of a conversation. The following sample dialogue can happen
in an informal conversation. It has several signal words indicating the
beginning or end of the topic.

Signal Words Function

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So, tell me, did you These signal words indicate the beginning of a
ever get... new topic for conversation.

Anyway, it was good These transition words signal the end of the topic
seeing you. as well as the conversation.

The following table shows some of the most common signal words
indicating the beginning and end of topics.

Signal Words to Begin a Topic Signal Words to End a Topic of Conversation

To begin with Moving on

To start off Is that all?

First of all Is that everything?

Firstly Well, that is all I have to say about

That reminds me Does anyone have any questions?

You just reminded me To recap

I need to talk to you about In short

Let us start with Last but not least

I just thought of That is it for today

I was going to tell you about It was nice talking to you

* The signal words can be classified into:

1. Emphasis Words:

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 Among the most valuable signals for you to know are emphasis words,
through which the writer tells you directly that a particular idea or detail
is especially important. The following are emphasis words:
important to note, most of all, a significant factor, a primary
concern, a key feature, the main value, especially valuable, most
noteworthy, remember that, a major event, the chief outcome, the
principal item, pay particular attention to, the chief factor, a vital
force, above all, a central issue, a distinctive quality, especially
relevant, should be noted, the most substantial issue.
2. Addition Words:
Addition words tell you that the writer’s thought is going to continue in
the same direction. He is going to add on more points or details of the
same kind. Look over some addition words:

also, another, finally, first, first of all, for one thing, furthermore, in
addition, last of all, likewise, moreover, next, and, second, the third
reason

Example

A computer is often called a “thinking machine,” and in many ways it

is just that. Computers perform difficult and timesaving mathematical
computations, as well as problems in logic and reasoning. In addition,
computers run other machines and answer questions. Also, they are used
to guide astronauts on takeoff.

3. Comparison Words:

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Comparison words signal that the author is pointing out a similarity
between two subjects. They tell you that the second idea is like the first
one in some way. Look over the following comparison words:

Like, likewise, just, equally, in like manner, in the same

way, alike, similarity, just as, as in a similar fashion

4. Contrast Words:

Contrast words signal a change in the direction of the writer’s thought.

They tell you that the author is pointing out a difference between two
subjects or statements. Look over the following contrast words:

But, however, in contrast, yet, differ, difference, variation, still, on

the contrary, conversely, otherwise, on the other hand

Example

In classes taught by men with roughly equal proportions of male and

female students, male students were responsible for about 75% of all
class discussion. Similarly, with women as instructors, female student
participation rose from 25% to 42%; in contrast, male participation
slipped from 75% to 58%.

5. Illustration Words:

Illustration words tell you that an example or illustration will be given to

make an idea clear. Such words are typically used in textbooks that
present a number of definitions and examples of those definitions. Look
to the following illustration words:

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For example, to illustrate, specifically, once, for instance, such as

Example

Black English used to be considered simply poor English until linguists

realized that the so-called errors were actually consistent alternative
grammatical forms, some of which originated in African linguistic
patterns. For example, the word “be” in Standard English is primarily
used as part of the infinitive “to be.” But in Black English, “be” can also
be used to indicate a repeated action or existential state (Labov,
1972). To illustrate this, in Black English one can say “I am sick” or “I
be sick.” The first means “I am sick at this present moment.” The second
includes the recent past as well as the present; to express the second
concept in Standard English, one might say, “I have been sick for a
while.”

6. Cause-and-Effect Words:

Cause-and-effect words signal that the author is going to describe results

or effects. Look over the following cause-and-effect words:

Because, therefore, sothat, cause, reason, effect, thus, consequently,

since, as a result, if . . . then, result in

Catherine Demetros, M.Ed.

the above Writer Shows the signal words in this diagram:

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 Identify Meaning from Context

Identify meaning from context means to infer “guess” from a context

or a text or to use extra information in a sentence or passage that help
you understand the meaning of an unknown word. Context clues
essentially let you learn new words without outside assistance, like from
a teacher or dictionary.
In other word the term context clues is used as a way of referring to the
bits of information within a text that can serve as hints to help a reader

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understand the meaning of an unfamiliar or unusual word or passage. In
effect, context clues can be anything that helps you to figure out or guess
the meaning of a word or passage when you’re unsure of its
meaning. Context clues can be part of the same sentence or they may be
part of the text that comes before or follows. Because most of our
vocabulary is gained through reading, it is important that we are able to
recognize and take advantage of context clues.
There are some varieties of different forms that help in understanding
the context clues such as:
:Antonyms or contrast .1
Antonyms are words that have opposite meanings
Here are some words of antonyms:
 Up and down
 Light and heavy
 Dead and alive
 Male and female
 Angry and glad
 Old and young
 Near and far
 Right and left
 Large and small
 Day and night
 Hot and cold
 Masculine and feminine
2. Synonyms
Synonyms are words that have the same meaning.

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Here are some words of synonyms:
 Soft and smooth
 Automobile and car
 Infant and baby
 Gender and sex
 Dad and father
 Distal and far
 Cold and cool
 Hot and warm
 Large and huge
 Small and tiny
 Under and beneath
3. Homophones:
Homophones are words that have the same utterance, but different in
spelling and meaning.
Here are some words of Homophones:
 Son and sun
 Sea and see
 To and two
 Know and no
 So and saw
 Buy and by
 Write and right
 Waste and waist
4. Homonyms:

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 Homonyms are words that spelt and pronounced as each other, but
have different meaning.
Here are some words of Homonyms:
 Home (house) and home (security and peace).
 Oil (n) petroleum and oil (v) add some oil to the engine.
 Bank (n) place where we deposit money and bank (n) the river side.
 Bachelor (n) single and bachelor (n) University certificate.
 Fast (adj) quick and fast (n) fast Ramadan.
 Hand (n) a part of a body and hand (v) help and give.
6. Gender:
The concept gender has no grammatical function in modern English.
Therefore, words are divided into three groups, masculine, feminine and
neutral. Masculine refers to words that denote to male people or animals
whereas feminine includes words that are used for female people or
animals, beside neutral words which are used for both male and female.
The following table shows some of them:
Masculine (male) Feminine (female) Neutral
Man Woman Teacher
Father Mother Nurse
Boy Girl Student
Son Daughter Dentist
Dog Bitch Domestic
Bull Cow Livestock
Horse Mare Animals
Uncle Aunt Relatives
King Queen Child
Prince Princess Friend
Nephew Niece Kid
Cock Hen Chicken
Lord Lady Psychologist
Grandfather Grandmother Farmer
7. British and American words:

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 There are some differences between British words and USA
English words as in the following table:
British English American English
Centre Center
Theatre Theater
Colour Color
Behaviour Behavior
Cheque Check
Programme Program
Petrol Gasoline
Truck Lorry
Taxi Cab
Sweet Candy
Holiday Vacation
Aerial Antenna
Rubber Eraser
Queue Line

:Root words and affixes .8

Root words are small parts of words (called morphemes) that each carry
their own meaning. Root words can change their meaning or word
class by combining with different affixes, the prefixes and suffixes that
come before and after words. If you’re familiar with the root words and
affixes in an unknown word, you can figure out its meaning.
9. Suffix
Is a group of letters placed at the end of a word to make a new word,
that shown in:
1. Inflectional (grammatical) such as:
Chair è chairs
Walk è walked
2. Derivational (the new word has a new meaning “derived” from the
original).

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So the knowledge of suffixes where it’s inflectional or derivational is
very importance for successful reading and conversation. So the students
have to learn the different types of suffixes for they play a main role in
changing the parts of speech or a word from a noun to be a verb, or from
a verb to a noun. The word also can be move from adjective to a noun or
from a verb to be an adjective and…etc.
The table below shows some of examples of suffixes that enter a verb
and change it into a noun:
NO Suffix A verb A noun
1. -ance Attend Attendance
2. -ment Employ Employment
3. -tion Compose Composition
4. -sion Explode Explosion
5. -or Translate Translator
6. -al Survive Survival
7. -ation Articulate Articulation
8. -ence Independ Independence
9. -ency Emerge Emergency
10. -ing Jog Jogging
11. -ure Depart Department
12. -er Teach Teacher

The table below shows some of examples of suffixes that enter a noun
and change it into a noun:
NO Suffix A noun A noun
1. -ist Reception Receptionist
2. -ship Friend Friendship

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3. -hood Mother Motherhood
4. -ian Physics Physician
5. -dom King Kingdom

The table below shows some of examples of suffixes that enter an

adjective and change it into a noun:
NO Suffix An adjective A noun
1. -ness Busy Business
2. -ity Dense Density
3. -iety Various Variety
4. -ism Social Socialism

The table below shows some of examples of suffixes that enter a noun
and change it into an adjective:
NO Suffix A noun An adjective
1. -ous Fame Famous
2. -y Wind Windy
3. -ly Friend Friendly
4. -ish Child Childish
5. -al Music Musical

The table below shows some of examples of suffixes that enter a verb
and change it into an adjective:
NO Suffix A verb An adjective
1. -less Help Helpless
2. -able Drink Drinkable
3. -ful Use Useful

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4. -ible Flex Flexible
5. -ent Excel Excellent

The table below shows some of examples of suffixes that enter a noun
and change it into a verb:
NO Suffix A noun A verb
1. -ise Television Televise
2. -ize Critic Criticize
3. -ate Facility Facilitate

The table below shows some of examples of suffixes that enter an

adjective and change it into a verb:
NO Suffix An adjective A verb
1. -en Black Blacken
2. -ify Simple Simplify

The table below shows some of examples of suffixes that enter an

adjective and change it into adverb:
NO Suffix An adjective Adverb
1. -ly Glad Gladly
2. -ingly Amuse Amusingly

 Notice:
- less drive to opposite of meaning such as:
Care è careless
Home è homeless

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 - ful often means full of such as:
Pain è painful
Care è careful

10. Prefixes
The table below shows some few examples of how to use prefixes to
facilitate learning English Language.
No. Prefix Meaning Example
1. Re- Again Rewrite
2. Over- Too much Overcrowded
3. Mis- Badly or incorrectly Misunderstand
4. En- Bringing to the condition Enrich
5. Non- Negation non-alcoholic
6. Semi- Half Semicircle
7. Trans- Across or beyond Transnational
8. Mis- Badly or incorrectly Misunderstanding
9. Be- Covered with Befog
10. Dis- Negation Disadvantages
11. Im- Not Impossible
12. In- Not Incorrect
13. Hemi- Half Hemisphere
14. Inter- Between Interchange
15. Sub- At a low position Sub office
16. Un- Not Unhappy
17. Under- Lower in rank Underdeveloped
18. Pre- Before (time, place or order) Preschool

:Wh-words (questions words) .11

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 .They are very important in understanding the context or text meaning
Below are some examples for wh-words’ questions.
NO Wh-word question Function Example
1. What 1. Asking for information What are you doing?
about something

What 2. asking for repetition or What?

I can’t hear you.
2. When Asking about time. When did he leave?
3. Where Asking about place or Where do they live?
position.
4. Which Asking about choice Which colour do you
want?
5. Who Asking about human Who opened the door?
(subject)
6. Whom Asking about human Whom did you see?
(object)
7. Whose Asking about ownership. Whose are these keys?
8. Why Asking for reasons. Why do you say that?
9. How Asking about manner, How was your exam?
condition or quality.
10. How far Asking about distance, How far is your company
from here?
11. How long Asking about length of How long is the exam?
time.
12. How many Asking about countable How many cars are there?
things.
13. How much Asking about uncountable How much sugar do you

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 things. want?
14. How old Asking about age. How old are you?

* Questions that answering by yes or no replying are a lot them such as:
1. Is this your phone? Yes its or no it isn’t.
2. Are these your sisters? Yes they are or no they aren’t.
3. Will you travel tomorrow? Yes I will or no I will not.
4. Have you got a motorbike? Yes I have or no I haven’t.
5. Are you lucky? Yes am I or no am I not.
6. Do you swim? Yes I do or no I don’t.
7. Does Mona active? Yes she does or no she doesn’t.
8. Did you see me? Yes I did or no I didn’t.
9. Can Ali helps you? Yes he can or no he can’t.
10. Has Mohammed got the license? Yes he has or no he hasn’t.

Topic (1)
Comparing between two cities
London is one of the largest cities in the world. It is the capital of
England. It grows very quickly from the beginning of the 19 th century.
Now it has a population of about six million people spread over a large
area called Greater London.
Nairobi is the capital of Kenya. It also grows very fast. It is very
crowded, that is why it suffers a lot from pollution, but it has interest
places for tourism. Nairobi is full of people doing different kinds of
work. Some of them are employees, others work at tourism industry.
They work as guides in hotels and restaurants.
The people in London come from different places such as Asia,
Africa and the West India. The buildings of London are old, but some of

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them are new. Moreover London has underground railway system which
built in 1970.
Nairobi has interest buildings such as parliament and famous
conference center. The conference building is so high. To get to the top
of it you have to use a lift.

A. Answering the following question:

1- What is London? ____________________________________________
2- Why does Nairobi suffer from pollution? _________________________
3- When did London begin to grow? _______________________________
4- How many places the people of London come from? ________________
5- Did the railway system build in 1970? _________________________
6- The pronoun they in line (8) refers to ____________________________

B. Answer the following questions with (T) for true and (F) for false.
1- Nairobi is the capital of England. ( )
2- London is a large city. ( )
3- The people of London come from Asia only. ( )
4- Nairobi has interest places for tourism. ( )
5-The population of London is about sixty million people. ( )
(C) Draw a circle round a correct answer:
1- The population of London is about ………………………..
(a) sixty million (b)six million (c) both (a ) and (b)

2- Nairobi is the capital of………………………………….

(a) Kenya (b)London (c) Sudan

3- The people of Nairobi work as…………………………….

(a) employees (b)teachers (c)waiters

4- The underground railway system built in………………
(a) 1970 (b)1980 (c) 7019

5- The people of London spread over a large area called ………………

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(a) Nairobi (b) restaurants (c) Greater London

6- To get to the top of the famous conference building you have to

use a ………

(a) ladder (b) car (c) lift

Topic (2)
Brain drain
Read the following passage carefully then answer the questions below.
Brain drain, which is the action of having highly skilled and educated
people leaving their country to work abroad, has become one of the
developing countries concern. Brain drain is also referred to as human
capital flight. More and more third world science and technology
educated people are heading for more prosperous countries seeking
higher wages and better working conditions. This has of course serious
consequences on the sending countries.
While many people believe that immigration is a personal choice that
must be understood and respected, others look at the phenomenon from
a different perspective. What makes those educated people leave their
countries should be seriously considered and a distinction between push
and pull factors must be made. The push factors include low wages and
lack of satisfactory working and living conditions. Social unrest,
political conflicts and wars may also be determining causes. The pull
factors, however, include intellectual freedom and substantial funds for
research.
Brain drain has negative impact on the sending countries economic
prospects and competitiveness. It reduces the number of dynamic and
creative people who can contribute to the development of their country.
Likewise, with more entrepreneurs taking their investments abroad,
developing countries are missing an opportunity of wealth creation. This
has also negative consequences on tax revenue and employment.

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Most of the measures taken so far have not had any success in
alleviating the effects of brain drain. A more global view must take into
consideration the provision of adequate working and living conditions in
the sending countries. Another option should involve encouraging the
expatriates to contribute their skill to the development of their countries
without necessarily physically relocating
(A) Give short answers:
1- What is brain drain?
2- Why do educated people travel out of their country?
3- What are the push factors that make the educated people migrate?
4- How many factors lead to brain drain?
5- Are there impacts of brain drain in Sudan?
6- Who is responsible of brain train?
7- The pronoun which in line 1 refers to_________________________________.

(B) Answer by (T) for true or (F) for false:

1- Brain drain has negative impact in developing countries. ( ______)
2- The educated people migrate because they only seeking for better condition. (____)
3- Brain drain is more happen in third world countries. (______)
4- The push factors are such as low wages, lack of satisfactory………..etc (_______)
5- The expatriates have to contribute in developing their countries. (______)
6- The intellectual freedom is one of brain drain’s reasons. (______)

(C) Draw a circle round the correct answer:

1- Most of brain drain happen in ………………….
(a) Third world counties (b) USA (c) Europe counties
2- The word capital flight in line 3 means ………………………………………
(a) People (b) living conditions (c) brain drain
3- The word seeking in line 4 means …………………………………………………………………..
(a) Searching (b) travelling (c) education
4- The word wages in line 4 means………………………………………….…

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 (a) Salary (b) work (c) developing
5- The pull factors include ……………………………………………....
(a) Intellectual freedom (b) substantial funds (c) both (a) and (b)
6- Brain drain has negative impact on the sending countries economic prospects
and……...
(a) Competitiveness (b) drain (c) freedom
7- Developing countries are missing an ……………………of wealth creation
(a) opportunity (b) investments (c) economic

Topic (3)
Visiting the Holy Cities
Read the following passage carefully then answer the questions below.
At a certain time there are a lot of people who travel from all
countries of the world to Saudi Arabia, because they want to visit the
holy cities of Mecca and Medina. In Mecca you can visit Al-Harm Al-
shareef which is the greatest mosque in the world. But in Medina you
can visit the greater mosque where Prophet Mohammed peace upon to
him was buried. Furthermore the people enjoy themselves when they are
near their Prophet Mohammed peace upon to him. AS we know that
people travel from Medina to Mecca by buses.
Not only that but also some people can travel to discover other
places such as Ibn Battuta who travel to Yemen in year 1330. In fact
during that time he visited 3 places such as Aden, Somalia and the
trading ports of East Africa. He wrote about those places and the people
who lived there. Another type of people travel in order to trade.
Sudanese traders e.g. take cattle, sheep and sesame seeds to sell them in
Saudi Arabia and Yemen. They carry these goods by ship across the red
sea. By the way Yemen is about 500 K.M from Saudi Arabia.
(A) Give short answers:
1- Where do people travel at a certain time? ______________________
2- When did Ibn Battuta travel to Yemen? ________________________

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3- Why did people travel to Saudi Arabia? ________________________
4- How many places did Ibn Battuta visit during that time? __________
5- What are the holy cities? ___________________________________
6- Who is buried in Medina? __________________________________
7- The pronoun him in line 4 refer to ____________________________
8- The pronoun they in line 11 refer to ___________________________
9- How far is Yemen from Saudi Arabia? ________________________

(B) Answer by (T) for true or (F) for false:

1- People travel from Sudan only to visit the holy cities. ( ______)
2- Prophet Mohammed peace upon to him was buried in Mecca. (_____)
3- Ibn Battuta travel to Yemen in year 1330. (______)
4- Some people travel for trade. (_______)
5- Yemen is about 1500 K.M from Saudi Arabia. (______)

(C) Draw a circle round the correct answer:

1- People travel from ……………………………….to Saudi Arabia.
(a) Africa (b) Sudan (c) all countries of the world
2- The word greater in line 4 can be mean ……………………………
(a) bigger (b) small (c) little
3- some people can travel to …………………………… other places.
(a) Ibn Battuta (b) discover (c) by buses
4- The word cattle can means…………………………………………
(a) people (b) animals (c) both (a) and (b)
5- Mecca and Medina are in ………………………………………....
(a) Saudi Arabia (b) Sudan (c) Yemen

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6- Ibn Battuta travel to Yemen in year ……………………………....
(a) 1130 (b) 1330 (c) 3013
7- Both of Mecca and Medina are …………………………….
(a)holy cities (b) old cities (c) new cities
8- Sudanese traders take cattle, sheep and sesame seeds to sell them
in……………..

Topic (4)
Martin Luther King
Martin Luther King was an American clergyman, activist and
prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement
whose methods were similar to Mahathma Gandhi’s. He used nonviolent
methods to fight for the advancement of civil rights in the USA. Martin
Luther King was born on 15th of January, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. He
was an excellent student and entered Morehouse College in Atlanta,
Georgia, when he was only 15 years old. He has become a national icon
in the history of modern American liberalism.
As a result of Rosa Parks’ refusal to leave her seat for a white
passenger, King led the 1955 Montgomery bus Boycott, which means
refusing of using transport. He also helped found the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference in 1957, serving as its first president. King’s
efforts led to the 1963 March in Washington, where King delivered his
“I have a Dream” speech. There he expanded American values to
include the vision of a color blind society, and established his reputation
as one of the greatest orators in American history.
In 1964, King became the youngest person to receive the Nobel Peace
Prize for his work to end racial segregation and racial discrimination
through civil disobedience and other nonviolent means. By the time of
his death in 1968, he had refocused his efforts on ending poverty and
stopping the Vietnam War. King was assassinated on 4th of April 1968,

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in Memphis, Tennessee. He was posthumously awarded the Presidential
Medal of freedom in 1977 and Congressional Gold Medal in 2004.
(A) Give short answers:
1- Where was Martin Luther King born? _________________________________
2- When was Martin Luther King assassinating? ___________________________
3- Why was Montgomery bus Boycott held? ______________________________
4- How many medals were given to Martin Luther King? ____________________
5- What is bus Boycott? _______________________________________________
6- Who refused to leave her seat? _______________________________________
7- The pronoun whose in line 2 refers to__________________________________
8- The possessive pronoun her in line 7 refers to ___________________________

(B) Answer by (T) for true or (F) for false:

1- Martin Luther King was one of the greatest orators in American history. ( ___)
2- Rosa Parks’ was not refuse to leave her seat for a white passenger. (______)
3- King used violent methods to fight for the advancement of civil rights in the USA. (______)
4- Mahathma Gandhi’s delivered his “I have a Dream” speech in Washington. (_______)
5- King was assassinated on 4th of April 1986. (______)

(C) Draw a circle round the correct answer:

1- King was an…………………African-American Civil Rights Movement.
(a) activist (b) clergyman (c) prominent leader (d) all are correct
2- The word Conference in line 9 can be mean …………………………
(a) congress (b) convention (c) prominent (d) both (a) and (b)
3- The blind society is ………………………………………………..
(a) an Educated society (b) non Educated society (c) illegal society (d) both (a) and (b)

4- The word assassination means…………………………………….…

(a) murdering (b) slaughtering (c) killing (d) both (a) and (c)
5- The adjective of the word poverty is ………………………………....

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 (a) poor (b) poor less (c) poorly (d) pored
6- Martin Luther King fought for the civil rights of …………… people
(a) African-American (b) white American (c) Sudanese American (d) Indian American

7- Martin Luther King was given …………………………….

(a) Medal of freedom (b) blind society (c) bus Boycott (d) Rosa Parks’
8- . King received Nobel Peace Prize that is because of his ……………
(a) work to end racial as general (b) orator’s (c) “I have a Dream” speech (d) all are wrong

Previewing and Predicting

Previewing:
Is a strategy that readers use to recall prior knowledge and set a
purpose for reading. It calls for readers to skim a text before reading,
looking for various features and information that will help as they return
to read it in detail later. Think about the word itself in parts. “Pre” is
prefix that means “before” and the word “viewing” is to see. You are
quite literally thinking about how to see before you read.
Previewing of a book:
It is very important when you read a book or part of it to look first
before you start reading. This called previewing. Previewing gives a
general idea about the book and its content. There several aspects in a
book that you can preview. You can preview:

1. The book cover, front and back:

The front usually contains the title, name of the author/s name of the
publisher, and illustrations. The book covers often display the

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 author’s pictures with his/ her/ their biographical information and
qualifications. Sometimes in the back cover you can read comments
and summaries of the content.

2. The inside covers.

This part of a book usually contains information on copy right of the

author/s, year of publication, edition, number of cataloguing, editor or
translator, etc. It is important that you can check the date of when you
preview, if a book is unversed for relatively long time, the content
may be outdated. Study publishing history, numbers of copies, dates
of reprint, revisions, etc.

3. Introduction, Preface, foreword:

A quick check on this information will give you a general idea of what
the writer/s plan the book.

4. Table of contents:

This the skeletal outline of the content in the book. It will also give you
a general idea of what aspects, ideas, and subtopics are presented.

5. Layout ant typography:

Thumb through the book, at the layout ant typography of the book. Note
any pictures, figures, graphs, cartoons, diagrams, etc. They will help you
in giving information of what the book is about.

6. Index, Bibliography, Glossary and Summary:

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The information from these parts of the book is important in deciding
whether the book matches or not your purpose and the field of your
study, because the contain key and the list publications that are closely
related to the content in the book.

A previewing of a text:

In this section, you will learn about previewing a text to prepare for
reading. This will help you understand the text more clearly and use
your time better.

When we sit down to read something new, there are a few things we can
do to make understanding easier. By pre-reading, or previewing before
we read, we can better follow the author's ideas.
One way to learn from a reading passage is to make predictions. This
means making a guess as to what will happen in the reading. Using the
title, subtitles, and pictures, you can guess what the author may be
saying before you start reading. Then as you read, see if you're right.
When and How to Preview:
Previewing is a strategy that readers normally use before reading a text.
When readers preview a text before they read, they first ask themselves
whether the text is fiction or nonfiction.
 If the text is fiction or biography, readers look at the title, chapter
headings, introductory notes, and illustrations for a better
understanding of the content and possible settings or events.
 If the text is nonfiction, readers look at text features and illustrations
(and their captions) to determine the subject matter and to remember

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 prior knowledge to decide what they know about the subject.
Previewing also helps readers figure out what they don't know and
what they want to find out.

Skimming
There are different types of skills used when approaching reading
material. When people wish to find only important ideas and not all the
details, they often skim a text. This involves different strategies, for
example, when a person skims a newspaper articles, he/she reads the
opening lead line, the first paragraph which contain an overview of
information. However the reader probably merely skims the remaining
paragraph of the articles, reading the beginning sentences and glancing
at nouns in the paragraph. Skimming is used when a person is not
interested so much in total comprehension, but is instead trying to locate
essential points and major details. Skimming is used to find the main
ideas of a text. In other word, Skimming is essentially reading through
something very quickly. It gives you enough an impression of what you
are reading quickly. So, skimming allows you to read through all the
information quickly and remember a small summary or “get the gist” of
the writing.
Article / Passage Type
A quick glance at the article or passage to determine its type
(listing/time order/cause and effect/comparison) can help students to
understand the content of the article better.

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Listing
Example 1: When you study for an exam, you should follow three steps.
First, you should make sure you have all the information you need. Next,
you should put that information in order. Finally, you should make a list of
the most important things.
Example 2: Some kinds of birds cannot fly. The penguin is one of these birds.
It lives mostly in the very cold Antarctic climate. Another kind of bird that
cannot fly is the ostrich. It lives in Africa.
Time Order
Example 1: Gold was first found in California in about 1840. The next ten
years in America history are called the California Gold Rush. Many people
moved to the west during those years to look for gold. By 1850, there were
many new Gold Rush towns in California.
Example 2: Leif Ericson was probably the first European to see America. He
visited some of the northern areas in about 1000. The next European visitor
to America was Christopher Columbus in 1492.
Cause and Effect
Example 1: Headaches are often the result of psychological causes. For
example, worrying about something can cause a headache.
Example 2: Many American Indians died soon after the Europeans arrived.
There was one important reason for this. The Europeans brought new kinds
of diseases with them. These diseases caused thousands of deaths in a short
time.
Comparison
Example 1: Some people do not like to use computers for writing. They
prefer to use typewriters. They know computers are faster and more accurate.
But they feel more comfortable with typewriters.

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 Example 2: Cola and ginger ale are both kinds of soft drinks. Both these
drinks have a lot of sugar in them, but cola has caffeine in it and ginger ale
does not.

Make Inference

Inference is a mental tool used by readers to associate words and

phrases in an article with other similar background information that they
have already known, based on the readers’ life experience. When we
read a sentence in an article, we are likely to infer or to make association
of those phrases and words with our own understanding of the situation.
In addition, our mind will seek out clues found in the sentence to give
that sentence a meaning that we can understand and associate with.
The objective of giving students exercise activities on ‘inference’ is to
get students to practice reading logically without going into minute
details.

What are the forms of inference?

There are two kinds of inference:
 Inductive inference begins with making observations or carefully
reading a piece of text. By reading and analysing, you can notice
patterns and start to form your own opinion or conclusion. A key
part of this form of inference is using evidence as proof of the
conclusion or inference that's been drawn. You can combine the
evidence, patterns and observations to create your inference.

32
 Deductive inference works in the opposite way - you begin with an
idea or theory. Then, you test the idea by collecting observations to
address it. Once enough observations and evidence have been
collected, the original idea will either be proved or disproved.

What are some examples of inference?

These are some examples of inference that will help us to see how we
make inferences in our everyday speech and in writing:

1) Everyday speech:

You can use inference to find out about a person's actions or intentions
using any clues given to you. We use inference a lot in everyday life -
not just in reading. Here are a few inference examples to show you how
we might make an inference in our everyday speech:
 'She's making herself a snack, so she must be hungry.'
 'He's taken his coat, so it must be cold outside.'
 'They're an animal lover, so I bet they love cats too.'
These inferences are based on something that was seen, and there's
evidence to back them up.
2) Inference in reading:
We can also make inferences when we're reading a text, whether that's a
story or a poem. Authors actually rely on us to make inferences so that
they can get their meaning across in a more subtle (and usually more
creative) way.

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 The author gives us clues about what's happening and we, the reader, are
left to figure it out for ourselves. If it was all spelt out for us and there
was nothing left to infer, there wouldn't be much room for imagination!
Not all inferences are 'correct', though. Sometimes we can jump to
conclusions without much evidence to support them.

Let's break down how we can infer something from a piece of text:
 Feeling excited, he packed his swimming trunks, sunglasses and sun
cream into the suitcase and was good to go.

From this example, we can infer that the character is getting ready to go
on holiday. The swimming trunks, sunglasses and sun cream are all
items we'd associate with a holiday, so it's a pretty logical inference to
make. He's also 'feeling excited' which means he is about to leave for the
holiday, and not packing up to leave.
3) Other uses of inference:
The term inference is also used in science or math in relation to data.

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For example, if scientific research shows that a certain age group is more
susceptible to heart problems, scientists may infer that this age group
isn't getting enough exercise or is leading less healthy lifestyles.
Inferences in science and math need to be backed up with evidence and
data - it should be much more accurate than if we're just inferring the
actions of a character in a book.
4) Symptoms of Sickness: A doctor sees a patient who complains of
frequent coughing a runny nose. They might infer that the patient has a
cold. This inference is based on the doctor’s knowledge of common cold
symptoms. But the doctor might need to pause and remember they have
a responsibility to do some further investigating and not rely on
inference alone, or at least, not yet.
5) Emotional Intelligence: Emotional intelligence is based on
inference. For example, you might see a friend crying and therefore infer
that they are upset. Facial expressions and body language often serve as
the foundation for such emotional inferences. If you’re good at making
these inferences from subtle signals, you might be highly emotionally
intelligent.
6) The Confident Student: If a student studies diligently and performs
well on practice tests, they can infer that they will likely receive a high
grade on an upcoming exam.
7) Predicting the Weather: Dark clouds gather in the sky, and you infer
that it’s likely to rain soon. This inference is drawn from the observed
weather patterns and past experiences, where you know these clouds
tend to lead to storms.

35
7) The Clothing Inference: Looking out your window at the people
walking around town, you see most people are wearing heavy coats and
gloves. So, you infer that it is cold outside, and make the choice to wear
a coat that day, without having actually felt the temperature outside yet.

Identify Supporting Details

- The term supporting details can be defined as additional information
that explains, defines or proves an idea.
- Supporting details are pieces of information that provide additional
context, evidence, or examples to reinforce the main idea of a text. They
help to clarify, expand, and elaborate on the main idea, making it more
comprehensive and compelling.
- Writers use supporting details to give readers more information about
their topics and main ideas. Supporting details help readers answer
questions they have about the topic or main idea. A writer may use
examples, statistics, anecdotes (short, interesting stories), definitions,
comparisons, or other forms of support to explain a reading's topic or
main idea.
Supporting Details Process
Use a three-step process to identify supporting details.
Step 1: Identify the topic. To identify the topic of a reading, ask
yourself, "What is this about?" The answer provides the topic of the
reading. It does not need to be a complete sentence, and it is usually no
longer than two or three words.

36
Step 2: Identify what the author is saying about the topic. To identify
what the author is saying about the topic, ask yourself, "What does the
author want me to know about the topic?" Again, this does not need to
be a sentence and is generally five to seven words long.

Step 3: Identify details that support or explain the main idea. To find
the main idea, first take your answer from Step 1, add it to your answer
from Step 2, and then find a phrase or sentence in the first part of the
reading that most closely matches your answers. This will be the main
idea of the reading. To identify major supporting details that support that
main idea, ask yourself, "What else in the reading helps me to
understand the author’s main idea?" To identify minor supporting
details, ask of each major detail, "What else in the paragraph helps me to
understand this major supporting detail?" Be aware that not all major
details require further explanation, so they will not all have minor details
supporting them.
* Read the following passage and see how the Supporting Details
Process identifies the supporting details.
Finding meaningful work requires a thorough job search. There are
three main ways to search for such a job. In today's technological
world, most people start their job search on the Internet. Many
websites are available with job postings, descriptions, and contact
information for job seekers. Another way to find a job is to talk to
people in the field of interest. This allows a job seeker to ask
questions, gain information, and discuss opportunities. Finally, a
person looking for a meaningful job might first take an internship

37
 or apprenticeship in the field in which they are interested. This
allows job seekers to get hands-on experience. By searching the
Internet, talking to people in the field, or taking an internship, job
seekers can find meaningful, fulfilling work.
Step 1: Identify the topic.
Job searching
Step 2: Identify what the author is saying about the topic.
The author wants me to know about ways to search for a meaningful job.

Step 3: Identify details that support or explain the main idea.

Combining Step 1 with Step 2 and looking back to the reading provides
the main idea: There are three main ways to search for a meaningful job.

This main idea statement generates the question: What are the three
ways to search for a job? The answers to the question provide the
supporting details of the paragraph.

Major Detail: Job search on the Internet

Minor Detail: Many websites with job postings, descriptions, and
contact information

Major Detail: Talk to people in the field of interest

Minor Detail: Ask questions, gain information, and discuss opportunities

Major Detail: Take an internship or apprenticeship

Minor Detail: Get hands-on experience

38
Read the following paragraph and use the Supporting Details Process to
identify the major and minor supporting details of the paragraph.

Deciding to go to college is a big step for most people. One of the

most important decisions to consider is choosing between an
online education and a traditional education. An online education
happens wherever the student has Internet access, offers a flexible
arrangement that can fit with work schedules, and often allows
students to work at their own pace. A major disadvantage is that it
requires access to technology and a reliable Internet connection. A
traditional, classroom-based education provides students face-to-
face access to their instructor, the ability to work with peers, and a
structured class meeting schedule. Of course, it also requires
specific time out of every week, which can be difficult for people
with a varied work schedule. It is important for students to
consider all aspects of both types of education and how each fits
their personality and educational needs before deciding which
format is best for them.

Step 1: Identify the topic.

What is the topic?
Answer
Step 2: Identify what the author is saying about the topic.
What does the author want you to know about this topic?

Answer

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Step 3: Identify details that support or explain the main idea.
What is the main idea of the reading?

Answer

What are the major and minor details that support the main idea?

Answer

The Importance of Supporting Details:

Supporting details aren’t just meant to give more information about a

situation — they’re also meant, literally, to support your point, meaning
that without them, you may not succeed in making your argument
successfully. Using supporting details properly could be crucial in a
variety of situations, whether you’re defending your innocence or just
your thesis statement.

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Real-World Impact of Supporting Details

Imagine that you find yourself in court fighting a traffic charge. The
other driver was at fault in the wreck, but he is trying to claim that you
were to blame. The two of you could go into court and simply argue
back and forth. This could go on forever, and how would the judge ever
know who was telling the truth? Without any solid, clear evidence in one
direction or the other, it would be virtually impossible to tell.

40
Now imagine, however, that the other driver caused the accident because
he was talking on his cell phone. You could certainly go to court and
simply tell the judge that the other driver was distracted and this led to
the wreck, but why would the judge believe you? Telling the judge that
the driver was, in fact, on his phone would be providing him with
essential supporting details. Ideally, you could even have the driver’s
phone records brought into court to prove he was on the phone at the
time of the accident, thus providing even more supporting details to
bolster your claim. This is the kind of factual, detailed evidence that
explains why you reached the conclusion that you reached, and helps
provide a background that proves the veracity of your point.

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Academic Illustration of Supporting Details

In a less serious, but no less valid scenario, let’s say that you’re writing a
research paper about how women are discriminated against in the job
market. If you turn in a paper that simply states women are paid less and
treated differently than male employees, no professor is going to be
impressed. Sure, these are fairly well-publicized facts, but simply
repeating them with no evidence to back yourself up isn’t exactly
impressive — or convincing.

However, suppose you gather data from various statistical studies

showing the differences in male versus female salaries. Suppose you

41
interview female employees versus male ones at particular companies
and get their personal testimonials about how their treatment has been
biased. Suddenly you have a whole arsenal of supporting details that
show your professor, and anyone reading your paper, that you didn’t just
pull your claims out of thin air. This is the power of the right supporting
details

Supporting Details Define the Decision

The idea behind supporting details is simple; it’s all about providing
information to explain and bolster your opinion, claim or belief. How
did you reach the conclusion or opinion you reached? The surest,
simplest way to convince someone else to see it your way is to provide
them with the same information you used to reach that decision.
Remember, it’s difficult to argue with the facts, and the more supporting
details you can provide, the more evident it is that the facts are on your
side.

Ignore Unknown Words

To ignore something is to disregard it. If you ignore the rules of
grammar, you're likely to be misunderstood.
It's easy to see the relationship between ignore and a word such
as ignorant. To be ignorant of something is to know nothing about it. A
good way to be ignorant about something is to ignore it. In other words,
if you want to be ignorant about a certain subject—that is, if you want to
know nothing about it—then by all means ignore it. Pay it no mind.
Anindya Naskar

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In natural language processing (NLP), dealing with unknown words is a
common challenge. Here are a few strategies that can be used to address
this issue:
1. Ignore the word:
Sometimes, it may not be necessary to handle every word in a
text. For example, certain words such as proper nouns or
domain-specific jargon may not be important for a particular
NLP task. In such cases, it may be appropriate to ignore the
unknown words.
2. Replace with a placeholder:
In some cases, it may be necessary to include unknown words
in the analysis. In these cases, you could replace the unknown
word with a placeholder such as "UNK" or "<UNK>" to indicate
that the word is unknown.
3. Use sub-word representations:
Another approach to dealing with unknown words is to use
sub-word representations. This involves breaking words into
smaller units (such as characters or morphemes) and representing
those units instead of the whole word. This can help the model to
recognize common patterns even if it hasn't seen the full word
before.
4. Use contextual embedding:
Contextual embedding are representations of words that take
into account the context in which they appear. These embeddings
are created by training models on large amounts of text data, and

43
 can help to capture the meaning of unknown words based on the
words that appear around them.
Isabella Miller
Dealing with unknown words in natural language processing (NLP) can
be a challenging task, as it requires a combination of linguistic
knowledge and computational techniques. There are several approaches
that can be used to handle unknown words in NLP, such as:
1. Morphological analysis: This approach involves breaking down a
word into its smaller units, such as prefixes, suffixes, and roots, to
identify its meaning. This technique is particularly useful for languages
with rich morphology, such as German or Turkish.
2. Statistical methods: These methods use statistical models to predict
the meaning of unknown words based on their context. This approach is
commonly used in machine learning-based NLP systems.
3. Domain-specific dictionaries: In some cases, unknown words may
be specific to a particular domain, such as medical terminology or legal
jargon. In such cases, using a domain-specific dictionary can help in
identifying the meaning of the unknown word.
4. Word embedding: Word embedding are numerical representations of
words that capture their semantic and syntactic properties. These
embedding can be used to find similarities between known and unknown
words, and thus infer their meaning.
5. Contextual clues: Sometimes, the context in which an unknown word
appears can provide clues about its meaning. For example, if the
unknown word appears in a sentence about cooking, it is likely related to
food or ingredients.

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 Recognize the Author’s Purpose
What is the Author's Purpose?

The author's purpose is the reason or motivation for writing a text.

Knowledge of the author's purpose allows readers to respond to the text
and to match appropriate texts to specific needs.

The author's purpose definition is the author's intention in writing. The

purpose definition in literature is used to facilitate reader response.
Active readers should also respond to other elements of writing.

Author’s Purpose Examples:

By Chris Drew (PhD) / January 16, 2024 / Leave a Comment

The author’s purpose of a text refers to why they wrote the text.
It’s important to know the author’s purpose for a range of reasons,
including:
 Media Literacy: We want to make sure we’re not tricked by the
author. When reading an article online, for example, we want to
figure out what the author’s purpose is in order to determine
whether they’re going to write with a particular political bias.
 Determining Meaning: We might also want to know the author’s
purpose in order to infer and predict what the underlying message
might be. If an author’s job is to inform, we can read the text
closely in order to examine its logic; but if the purpose is to
entertain, we can consume the text with less of a critical lens.

45
  Understand Genre Convention: If we know the author’s purpose,
we can predict and develop expectations about how the piece will
be written. For example, persuasive texts should cite sources, while
in reflective texts, we should expect first-person language and
more intimate language.
Below are a range of possible purposes that authors may have when
writing texts.
Author’s Purpose Examples
1. To Inform:
It is common, for example, in news articles, where journalists must
adhere to journalistic ethics and ensure the information is entirely
factual. Example of an Informative Text
A National Geographic article on climate change informs readers about
the state of the planet, providing facts and figures about global warming,
melting ice caps, and so on.
2. To Entertain:
This type of writing is meant to captivate the reader’s imagination and
provide enjoyment. Here, the content needs to be delivered in a way that
doesn’t bore and keeps the reader compelled to keep reading. To do this,
the writing might be humorous, suspenseful, mysterious, or touching,
depending on the genre. The author may also create characters, plot, and
settings to keep the reader engaged and entertained, as with novels.
3. To Persuade:
In persuasive texts, the author’s main purpose is to convince the reader
to accept a particular point of view or to take a specific action. This
involves the use of arguments, logic, evidence, and emotional appeals.

46
Persuasive writing can be found in speeches, advertisements, and
opinion editorials.
A classic example is Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech,
in which he persuasively argues for the end of racial discrimination in
the United States.
4. To Describe:
Descriptive texts aim to paint a vivid picture in the reader’s mind. These
sorts of texts can take us away to a different place and draw us into a
complex world created by the author. For example, the author uses
detailed and evocative descriptions to convey a scene, object, person, or
feeling. The goal is to make the reader see, hear, smell, taste, or feel
what is being described. This can be seen in many forms of writing, but
is most evident in fiction, poetry, and travel writing, and can be paired
with other author purposes, such as entertainment.

5. To Explain:
In this type of writing, the author seeks to make the reader understand a
process, concept, or idea. The writing breaks down complex subjects
into simpler, more digestible parts. The author provides step-by-step
explanations, examples, and definitions to aid understanding.
6. To Analyze:
Authors who write to analyze seek to break down a complex concept,
event, or piece of work into smaller parts in order to better understand it.
Analytical writing looks closely at all the components of a topic and
how they work together. It’s about making connections and recognizing
patterns. It could, for example, aim to identify flaws in a topic, or draw

47
connections, similarities and differences, between multiple different
concepts. You’ll commonly find these types of texts in professional
contexts, such as reports provided to a company to give them guidance
that helps them make better business decisions.
7. To Teach:
The author aims to impart knowledge or skills to the reader. These texts
often provide step-by-step instructions or delve deep into a topic to
ensure understanding. The goal is not only to inform but to enable the
reader to perform a task or understand a concept independently.
Examples of texts like this can include self-help books and textbooks,
which might also contain ‘tasks’, ‘homework’ or ‘revision quizzes’ at
the end of each chapter.

8. To Share:
In this type of writing, the author aims to share personal experiences,
thoughts, ideas, or information with the reader. The writer may offer
insights into their lives, discuss their passions, or recount an event that
happened to them. We might see this, for example, for someone who
writes detailed reflections on their travels in their travel blog, or even a
personal email back to friends and family each week.
9. To Criticize:
When authors write to criticize, their aim is to express disapproval,
dissent, or disagreement. They may critique a person, an idea, a societal
trend, a piece of work, etc. They typically present their criticisms in a
structured, reasoned manner, often supported by evidence. We see this
regularly, for example, in ‘letters to the editor’ in newspapers, where

48
everyday people can write into a newspaper in order to share their
thoughts or rants for everyone to read.
10. To Express Emotion:
When authors write to express emotion, their main goal is to convey
their feelings, or the feelings of someone else, to the reader. They might
explore their emotional reaction to events, or evoke emotion in the
reader. This is a common purpose of poetry and song lyrics, which have
long genre-histories of evoking emotions in audiences, especially when
the lyrics are read or sung to a live audience.

Summary
- A summary is the condensed version of a text that includes only the
most important information.

- A summary is a short statement that summarizes or informs the

audience of the main ideas of a longer piece of writing. Essentially, the
summary is a short version of a longer text. The size of a summary can
vary based on the type of writing, but most often they are no longer than
a page. Summaries can be found at the end of a piece of literature, such
as on the back cover of a book. They are used to give an overview of
what happens in the writing and review the main themes. This lesson
will continue to explore what summary writing is, types of summaries,
and examples of summaries.

49
 - A summary is a brief recollection or account of the main points of a
piece of writing, action or event. It typically avoids needless details,
remaining short and to the point. There are a number of techniques to
use for summarizing which can help children retain important parts of a
passage of text. Having this skill is ideal for assignment or examination
preparation for older children, but it's also just a useful skill that will
make communication more confident and clear.

Procedures follow for writing a summary:

Step 1: Read the text for its main points.
Step 2: Reread carefully and make a descriptive outline.
Step 3: Write out the text's thesis or main point.
Step 4: Identify the text's major divisions or chunks. Each division
develops one of the stages needed to make the whole main point.
Step 5: Try summarizing each part in one or two sentences.
Step 6: Now combine your summaries of the parts into a coherent whole,
creating a condensed version of the text's main ideas in your own
words." -(John C. Bean, Virginia Chappell, and Alice M.
Gillam, Reading Rhetorically. Pearson Education, 2004)

What makes for a good summary?

A good summary should be:

1. Comprehensive
2. Concise
3. Coherent
4. Independent
Summary vs Analysis

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 There tend to be 3 main differences between a summary and an analysis.
These are:

 Length
 Tone
 Purpose

Examples of summaries
This is an informative summary from a Wikipedia fragment of text about
Johannes Gutenberg, the German who introduced printing to Europe.
A text about Johannes Gutenberg – (194 words)
Johannes Gutenberg (1398 – 1468) was a German goldsmith and
publisher who introduced printing to Europe. His introduction of
mechanical movable type printing to Europe started the Printing
Revolution and is widely regarded as the most important event of the
modern period. It played a key role in the scientific revolution and laid
the basis for the modern knowledge-based economy and the spread of
learning to the masses. Gutenberg many contributions to printing are: the
invention of a process for mass-producing movable type, the use of oil-
based ink for printing books, adjustable molds, and the use of a wooden
printing press. His truly epochal invention was the combination of these
elements into a practical system that allowed the mass production of
printed books and was economically viable for printers and readers
alike. In Renaissance Europe, the arrival of mechanical movable type
printing introduced the era of mass communication which permanently
altered the structure of society. The relatively unrestricted circulation of
information including revolutionary ideas—transcended borders, and
captured the masses in the Reformation. The sharp increase in literacy

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broke the monopoly of the literate elite on education and learning and
bolstered the emerging middle class.

The summary of the text (63 words)

The German Johannes Gutenberg introduced printing in Europe. His

invention had a decisive contribution in spread of mass-learning and in
building the basis of the modern society. Gutenberg major invention was
a practical system permitting the mass production of printed books. The
printed books allowed open circulation of information, and prepared the
evolution of society from to the contemporary knowledge-based
economy.

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