How to write a summary, components of a summary and a sample summary.

5. Hancock, Ophelia H. Reading Skills for College Students. Sixth Edition, Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2004, 17-43. Sample Summary Ophelia H. Hancock in “Context Clues,” discusses the various types of context clues. Vocabulary is important in reading, so one has to take concrete measures to insure its development. There are five steps in learning new vocabulary. First, assess the extent of the vocabulary problem. Do you really need to know the unknown word to figure out the meaning of the sentence? Look for new words that you don’t know. After finding a new word, write it down and its definition. For a quick review, use note cards or a notebook to keep a vocabulary journal. Next, it is important to use the word. Therefore, with the word’s meaning, one should write a sentence that will help recall the meaning. The fifth step is to review all new vocabulary periodically so that they will become a permanent part of your reading, writing and speaking. A reader should always use context clues to help figure out the meaning of words. Context clues are words in sentences that come before, in, or after the sentence containing the word you are trying to understand. There are six types of context clues. Restatement is saying the word again in another easier way. Synonyms are words that have the same or similar meaning. A familiar synonym can make the unknown synonym meaningful. The use of an antonym, helps one to understand the unknown word by realizing the opposite meaning. Another context clue type is definition, signaled by “that is,” bold print, or punctuation like a colon. Finally, explanations are clues that a writer uses when he gives an example or description of what he means.