Journal Entry Lesson 11

Summarizing Reading Material

I have found that there are many ways to help understand material that I want to use for my research paper. One of those is by summarizing. When summarizing, it is important to read over the material, take notes, and make an outline. All of these are important in order to understand what the author is trying to convey.

I like to read through the text many times because I usually miss things the first time. Depending on the material, I may read the entire work ten or more times, especially if the language is difficult to understand. For example, if I read something from Thomas Jefferson or John Adams, I have a hard time understanding the material on the first reading through because of the time frame that it was written in. By reading over the material many times it becomes clearer. It also helps to have an open mind towards whatever the subject matter is about. This helps to not pre-judge the ideas expressed by an author. When I have done this, I have sometimes been impressed to change my own view on the subject.

After I have read through the text and feel I have a pretty good understanding of the material, I like to take notes. This is called annotating. If the material is online, I usually print it out because it is easier to highlight, underline or circle important concepts, and to write comments in the borders. This helps me to be able to start organizing the ideas expressed. One of the first things I look for is the author’s thesis statement and the supporting statements used to back up the thesis statement. It also helps to know the audience the author is writing for and the purpose of the material being presented. I like to look up words in the dictionary that I do not understand to better clarify the text. In this week assignment, I did not understand the word “anachronistic” meant. I looked it up in the dictionary and found that it means: outdated or obsolete. This made the sentence it was used in make more sense.

When I have finished annotating the references, then it is time to write a brief summary of the material studied. This not only helps me to know exactly what the author’s intent was, but it also helps in deciding what material I will use in my paper. Some of the material is duplicated although from different sources and depending on the creditability of the source depends on which source I choose. Writing a summary of the reference material I found also helps in deciding the organization of the outline for the final paper.

As I have completed assignments for my English class this semester, I have found that reading over the reference material many times, annotating the material, and then making summaries helps very much in having an organized, well thought out, and good argument on my final essay.