When we need to quickly summarize an event, idea, or text, a 101-level synopsis won’t always do the trick. Sometimes the text is more complicated -- it contains a central tension or conflict that needs to be addressed. In that case, a Pivot Synopsis will do the trick. It’s the more nuanced cousin of Synopsis 101 that allows a writer to say something more sophisticated while still summarizing quickly.

This lesson teaches students how to summarize argumenative articles and find connections in the authors' arguments and purposes.

This set of lessons extends over several days. Students work with a partner to read and annotate G.K. Chesterton's "The Fallacy of Success." Students take notes which summarize each section of the text. Students write an objective summary of the text, identifying two claims and determining how those claims are developed in the text.