An objective summary of a nonfiction text should include the text's central ideas and most important details; it should also indicate how the central ideas are developed in the course of the text. it should not include your opinions about the topic or the text. summarizing what you have read means you must figure out which ideas are central, which details are most important, and how the author develops the central ideas. you can do this by asking yourself, "what is the text mostly about? what does the author really want me to learn from this text? " and "why did the author include these ideas and details and place them in this order? " after you answer the questions, you must phrase the ideas in your own words. summarizing you make sure you understand what you have read.

in this activity, you will read an article about smartphones and answer some questions about it. you will use your answers to you write an objective summary of the article.

directions:
1. look over the part 1 questions that follow the story. you'll need to keep these in mind as you read.
2. read "smart technology" closely. pay attention to the central ideas the author develops over the course of the text.
3. when you find evidence in the article to answer the part 1 questions, underline, boldface, or italicize it. you can also change text colors. be sure to mark the central ideas and most important points to prepare to write a summary.
4. answer the questions in part 1.
5. use your notes from part 1 and the marked-up text to write a one-paragraph summary of "smart technology."

smart technology

is a smartphone really smart? if you consider all it can do, it is hard to argue that it is stupid. the average smartphone serves as a camera, a calculator, a radio, a music player, an alarm clock, an answering machine, and a mini computer. you can use a smartphone to access the internet, check e-mail, get directions, count calories, and text friends, and, yes, you can use it to make phone calls, too.

if you like using smart technology, you can jack kilby for all this intelligence. well, you could him if you could travel back in time, that is. while working for texas instruments in 1959, he invented the first integrated circuit, which served as the foundation for microchip technology. kilby and his boss patrick haggerty could foresee this chip would be instrumental in speeding up the transfer of information. they knew it could be used in computer technology and predicted it would be used in communications technology in the future.

these men were absolutely right about the future of the microchip. think about how quickly people access information via a smartphone. with a swipe of the screen (no need for buttons anymore), you have access to a world of news, facts, and ideas. this is all included in a device smaller than a slice of bread. now that's smart!
part 1

1. what is the central idea of the first paragraph?

2. what are the most important points the author makes?

3. how do the details in the second paragraph develop the central ideas?

4. what central idea does the last paragraph reinforce?

part 2: writing instructions

review your answers to the part 1 questions. use them to organize ideas for your one-paragraph summary of "smart technology." also, refer to the text evidence you marked in the article to write your summary.

remember to:
• refer to the title of the article in the beginning of your summary.
• restate the central ideas and most important details in your own words.
• leave out your opinions to keep the summary objective.