Summary : basic reading technique. To pull together information in order to
highlight the important points is summarizing. Shows what the original
authors wrote. A summary addresses one set of information (e.g. article,
chapter, document) at a time and each source remains distinct with
cursory overview. A summary should demonstrate an understanding of the
overall meaning.
Things to do:
• Give Emotional Benefit: Speak directly to your reader of
the emotional benefits that can be gained by reading the information in your
article body.
• Target your Reader: Give your ideal reader reasons they
should continue reading your article.
• Include Keywords: Your article summary should mention at
least 3 to 5 keywords relating to your article topic, using keyword research
tools.
Things to avoid:
• Repeat Your Article Title
• Repeat Your Author Name
• Pitch You or Your Business
• Include your URL or E-Mail Address
• Blatantly Self-promote
Synthesis: advanced reading technique. To pulls together information not only
to highlight the important points, but also to draw your own conclusions, that
is synthesizing. It combines and contrasts information from different sources
reflecting knowledge about what the original authors wrote, but also
creating something new out of two or more pieces of writing. A synthesis
combines parts and elements from a variety of sources into one unified entity
and it focuses on both main ideas and details. The reader of a synthesize
should achieves new insight. The write it you should fist assimilate all
the information in order to create one cohesive document that demonstrates your
understanding of the concepts.
Key Features
• It accurately reports information from the sources using
different phrases and sentences;
• It is organized in such a way that readers can immediately
see where the information from the sources overlap;.
• It makes sense of the sources and helps the reader
understand them in greater depth.
For both activities, it may be helpful to write out the main points, using
diagrams or charts to help you.