Get the Gist of an Essay & Improve Reading Comprehension

Introduction

Acronym for Generating Interactions between Schemata and Texts is "Get the Gist" (Cunningham, 1982). It is an approach for summarising.

How to Summarise an Essay?

Writing an essay summary is quite similar to writing a paragraph summary. Of course, the lengthier nature of an essay means that your summary will be longer. However, even when you summarise an essay, you still need to include the key points. Understanding how an essay is structured will help to locate the main themes.

An essay typically consists of three parts −

• Introduction − An essay's opening introduces the topic and gets the reader ready for the debate that will follow. This topic is often presented in a thesis statement. The main concept of an essay is contained in a thesis statement.

• Body − The thesis statement is supported by the paragraphs that make up the body. These paragraphs often include details and illustrations to assist the reader comprehend the thesis. These paragraphs often start with a subject sentence that summarises the key points of the whole passage. These fundamental concepts support the thesis statement and make it more understandable.

• Conclusion − The final paragraph or two of the essays serve as the conclusion. The conclusion aids in conveying to the reader the importance of the essay's discussion.

Steps To Summarise An Essay

The four steps to summarise an essay are as follows −

• Read and preview − Preview and carefully read the essay. You'll discover that you need to reread the essay several times, maybe even four or five.

• Create an outline or list − Establish the thesis and the key points that will support it. List or outline these concepts. Use your own words wherever possible.

• Create a synopsis − Make a list of the items in the essay, then summarise it. The summary should not exceed one paragraph. (In general, a summary shouldn't be more than one-fourth as long as the essay.)

Further recommendations for creating the summary are provided below −

• Begin your summary by identifying the essay's title, author, and thesis. If you like, you can introduce your thesis in the second sentence rather than the first.

• Summarize the important points that support the thesis in the remaining portions of the summary. Provide any additional details required to support the core point. In the same sequence as they are presented in the article, state these concepts.

• You must use your own words while writing a summary. You must include the author's words in quotation marks if you don't use their exact words anywhere in the summary.

What is Reading Comprehension?

The capacity to grasp or understand what you are reading is known as reading comprehension. This occurs before, during, and after reading anything and is a deliberate, active element of reading. Understanding what you are reading can help you draw meaning from it and better understand the message the author is attempting to get through.

Reading comprehension consists of two parts: text comprehension and vocabulary knowledge. Although text comprehension uses this language to become aware of the content underlying the text, vocabulary knowledge is the capacity to comprehend the language being employed.

Reading comprehension is significant for a variety of reasons and has several advantages. Effective reading skills may enhance both your personal and professional lives as well as your love of reading as a whole. Your understanding in some subjects may be increased, and you can pick up new knowledge and abilities more quickly if you know how to interpret a text.

Other advantages of having strong reading comprehension include −

• The capacity to grasp and participate in current events that are presented in written form, such as newspapers.

• An increase in the ability to focus on reading for an extended period.

• A greater appreciation of and motivation for reading.

• An improved ability to write clearly and effectively.

Methods To Enhance Your Understanding of Reading

One can us a number of reading techniques to enhance one’s reading comprehension abilities. The more you read and practise, the easier it will be for you to comprehend what you are reading.

The 7 straightforward techniques listed below might help you improve your comprehension abilities.

Increase vocabulary power

Understanding the meaning of the words you are reading might help you better understand what the author is trying to say. One way to increase vocabulary is to −

• Employ flashcards to test yourself once or twice a week on terms you don't know.

• Try to communicate verbally and in writing using the new terms you have acquired.

• To increase your capacity to determine what a word means in a particular situation, read as much as you can.

• While you read, jot down any unfamiliar words, and check them up in the dictionary.

Pose inquiries on the text you are reading

By making you more immersed in the material, asking questions about what you are reading can help you become a better reader. By the exploration of themes, motifs, and other aspects of the text that you may not otherwise consider, it can also help you gain a more comprehensive comprehension of what you are reading.

You might ask yourself the following inquiries as you read −

• Why did the author choose to start the book there?

• What sort of bond do these two characters have together?

• What do we now know about the protagonist of the story?

• Are there any recurring themes that you've seen throughout the book? What do they signify, if so?

Your chances of learning more about the text's meaning and interpretation increase with the specificity of your queries.

Use situational cues

Even if you are unfamiliar with all the words being used, using context clues can really help you grasp what you are reading. The words and phrases that before and follow the unfamiliar word might provide context cues. By concentrating on the major words or concepts in a sentence, you may utilise context clues to infer the sentence's or paragraph's core theme.

Also, you may search for neighbouring terms that are either synonyms or antonyms of the unknown word.

Determine the core concept

You may gauge the significance of an article by figuring out its key point in a paragraph or article. You may have a better understanding of the author's point of view if you know why what you're reading is significant. Every few paragraphs, stop reading and try to figure out what the major point is.

Finally, for even better understanding, attempt to rephrase the primary idea in your own words.

Summarize the information you read

Writing a summary is a terrific method to learn more about what you have read. In order to summarise, you must first determine what is crucial in the text and then express it in your own terms. Summarizing enables you to assess your comprehension of the material and improves your long-term retention of what you have read.

Divide the reading up into manageable chunks

Consider splitting the content up into smaller chunks if it is lengthier or more difficult. You may read two paragraphs at a time, for instance, and then pause to mentally review what you just read. You can feel less overwhelmed and have a higher chance of genuinely understanding the information in the text by breaking up what you are reading.

Take it slow

By enabling yourself to create reasonable goals for your reading practise and habits, pace yourself while you read to improve your reading comprehension skills. This is especially valid for tough novels or other types of literature. Pick a daily objective that you are confident you can achieve.

For example, state you'll read three chapters a night rather than declaring you aim to finish a book in two days. This enables you to accomplish your objectives and gives you enough time between sessions to reflect on what you have read.