WEEK 2

Contextualized learning material by: Mr. Melbert H. Tarrago

WHAT I NEED TO KNOW
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. States the thesis statement of an academic text.
2. Outlines reading texts in various disciplines
3. Uses various techniques in summarizing a variety of academic texts

WHAT I KNOW
Activity 1. Directions: Read the following questions and select the answer that best describes
your answer.
1. What is a single, complete statement that succinctly expresses the writers view on
an academic text?
a. outline c. thesis statement
b. academic text d. summary

2. Which of the following helps a reader to understand a topic of a reading by looking at the
organization of the details in the passage?
a. outline c. thesis statement
b. academic text d. summary

3. What is known as the condensed version of an original text, full article or book?
a. outline c. thesis statement
b. academic text d. summary

4. The following must be considered in in identifying the thesis statement EXCEPT:

a. Whether it tells the importance of the topic under consideration.
b. Whether it gives what the readers must anticipate in the text.
c. Whether it gives difficult words to state the obvious.
d. Whether it is at the beginning or near the beginning of the text that presents the
argument.

Activity 2. Check your answer in Activity 1 using the answer key below. Make your own
representation of the images below corresponding your score on your paper.

I got 3 correct I got 2 correct I got 0 or 1 correct

I got 4 correct answers! I got answers. I made answer. I will read
answers! I think I more than half half of the this module more
will easily ace and I feel this items. This carefully and learn
this module! module will be module will more.
exciting sure help me
get beette!
WHAT’S IN
Prerequisite to the next lesson, ‘stating the thesis statement of an academic text’, you are
now to study the topic sentence. A topic sentence is the main idea of the paragraph. To get you
started, practice on the following by selecting the topic sentence in the following paragraphs.
While it is usually found at the beginning of the sentence, one must exhibit care in understanding
the paragraph to extract its topic sentence.
Activity 3: Write the topic sentence of the following text in your answer sheet.
1. No one likes to eat with a dirty knife, fork, or spoon. It is important to completely wash all
utensils before using them. Clean utensils won’t transmit germs and bacteria. They also are
more pleasant to eat with.

2. Many people think poetry is old-fashioned and uninteresting. They don’t realize that every
time they hear a song sung, they are hearing poetry in the form of song lyrics. Just like many
written poems, many song lyrics use rhythm, rhyme, and literary imagery. It turns out that
poetry isn’t old-fashioned; it’s as modern as the latest hit song!

3. The best trip my family ever took was to New Orleans, Louisiana. We drove there in two
days. I didn’t think it would be very interesting, but I was wrong. We saw the Mississippi
River, rode a horse carriage in the French Quarter, and visited a cemetery where everyone
was buried above the ground. I liked the food best, especially the New Orleans doughnuts
called beignets.

4. Sometimes it is hard to fall asleep. Maybe you are not sleepy, or maybe you are thinking
about what happened during the day. You can also lie awake if a big event, like a test or a
party, is happening the next day. There are several things you can do to try and fall asleep.
You can try counting sheep, or just counting, which will keep your mind busy with a
repetitious activity. Sometimes listening to soft music or gentle sounds, like rain, helps. You
can even try telling yourself a story, which may distract your mind enough that you will be
asleep in no time.

5. Growing a garden can be fun, good exercise, and will provide fresh fruits and vegetables for
the gardener. It is interesting to watch the seeds pop their heads above the soil for the first
time. It is sometimes hard to believe that a little seed can become a large vine or plant in just
a few weeks. Planting the seeds and pulling weeds are good exercise for anyone. Then, after
watching the plant grow and produce, the gardener ends up with delicious tomatoes, beans, or
other yummy produce from the garden
 The answer key is provided in the box below. Study them and see if answered correctly.
Try to know which items could be improved and analyzed them well. Your knowledge on this will
be your springboard for the next topic.

WHAT’S IS IT
Identifying the Thesis Statement
(From lumenlearning.com)

You’ll remember that the first step of the reading process, previewing, allows you to get a
big-picture view of the document you’re reading. This way, you can begin to understand the
structure of the overall text. The most important step in getting a good understanding of an essay
or book is to find the thesis statement.
A thesis consists of a specific topic and an angle on the topic. All of the other ideas in the
text support and develop the thesis. The thesis statement is often found in the introduction,
sometimes after an initial “hook” or interesting story; sometimes, however, the thesis is not
explicitly stated until the end of an essay, and sometimes it is not stated at all. In those instances,
there is an implied thesis statement. You can generally extract the thesis statement by looking for
a few key sentences and ideas.
Most readers expect to see the point of your argument (the thesis statement) within the first
few paragraphs. This does not mean that it has to be placed there every time. Some writers place
it at the very end, slowly building up to it throughout their work, to explain a point after the fact.
Others don’t bother with one at all but feel that their thesis is “implied” anyway. Beginning writers,
however, should avoid the implied thesis unless certain of the audience. Almost every professor
will expect to see a clearly discernible thesis sentence in the introduction.
Thesis statements vary based on the rhetorical strategy of the essay, but thesis statements
typically share the following characteristics:
1. Presents the main idea
2. Most often is one sentence
3. Tells the reader what to expect
4. Is a summary of the essay topic
5. Usually worded to have an argumentative edge
6. Written in the third person

Practice 1. This time, let us see how well you could identify the thesis statement in the
following text. Answer the questions that follow.
 The history of zombies
From Learn English Teens - British Council
Zombies are everywhere these days – on television, in movies and in books. The current
image of the terrifying flesh-eating zombie comes from George Romero’s 1968 classic film Night of
the Living Dead. Nowadays many people like to frighten themselves with the idea of the ‘Zombie
Apocalypse’, and enjoy learning how to destroy zombies by decapitation or shooting them in the head.

However, zombies are not new. The term, from the Kongo word nzambi which means ‘spirit of
a dead person’, has been long associated with the Vodou religion of Haiti (popularly known as
Voodoo). As with West African Vodun, from which it is descended, Vodou has strong ties to the
supernatural and magic practised by witch doctors called bokors.

In Haitian culture zombies are not evil creatures but victims. They are said to be people who
have been killed by poisoning, then reanimated and controlled by bokors with magic potions for some
specific purpose, usually to work as slave labour. The bokors were widely feared and respected. It is
said that they used to be in the service of the secret police and those who defied the authorities were
threatened with being turned into the living dead.

For a long time most people assumed that zombies were nothing more than mythical figures,
like werewolves and vampires. However this changed in the 1980s when a man called Clairvius
Narcisse claimed that he had been turned into a zombie by means of drugs and forced to work on a
sugar plantation for two years before escaping. Wade Davis, a Harvard scientist, investigated the claim
and obtained something called ‘zombie powder’ from Haitian bokors. The main active ingredient was
a neurotoxin found in puffer fish which could be used to simulate death.

The bokors also explained to Davis that a second poison, made from the datura plant, known
as the zombie cucumber, was given to victims after they were revived from their death-like state. This
kept the ‘zombies’ in a submissive state so that it was easy to force them to work. Davis wrote several
books on the topic, including The Serpent and the Rainbow, later made into a horror film by director
Wes Craven.

Although the book was very popular with the public, some scientists were skeptical of Davis’s
claims. They said the amounts of toxin in the powder samples he found were inconsistent and not high
enough to produce zombifying effects. Although many people in Haiti still believe in zombies, there
have been no publicised cases in the last few decades and Davis’s theory remains controversial. The
Zombie Apocalypse seems unlikely to take place soon.

1. Where was the image taken?

2. What do people like to do nowadays with the idea of zombies?
3. Did the idea start only recently? Why did you say so?
4. What are bokors?
5. What did Clairvius Narcisse claim on 1980?
 6. What is a zombie powder? Discuss it comprehensively.
7. What is the difference between a zombie powder and a zombie cucumber?
8. Based on the text, do zombies really exist? How did you say so?
9. What do you think is the thesis statement of the text?

Answer and analysis to question 9.

This lesson teaches you how to get the thesis statement of an academic
text. The reading text on zombies is an example of an academic text. It is
important could extract the thesis statement, or the main idea of the entire
selection which reflects the purpose of the writer. What did you answer?
Rethink about your answer before proceeding to the next paragraph.
As you could see, the author discussed the history of zombies. In the first
paragraph, he intended to introduce the topic by stating the popularity of the
idea of zombies in the present times. He then proceeded, in the second and
third paragraph, with clarifying that the concept zombie of zombie existed in
old cultures such as the West African Vodun and Haitian culture. Afterwards, he
went on to discuss that while people thought that zombies were only mythical
figures, there was an incident that led people to consider its reality. This was
done in the fourth and fifth paragraph. Then, he went on the last paragraph to
clarify that the existence of zombies is unproven and that the possibility of the
Zombie Apolocalypse to be unlikely.
The main ideas in the texts are in the circles below;

Popularity Beliefs Drugs that Scientists’

of the about turn findings
zombie zombies in humans to disproving
concept old cultures zombies zombies

Hence, if one analyzes the results, it would be say that the thesis
statement of this academic text is: The popular concept on zombies originated
in the older culture but is not proven scientifically.
How close was your answer to this? Use this as your guide in doing
Activity 4. You can proceed with answering Activity 4 or continue with this
section.

Outlining
Another skill expected from you after this module is to be able to outline an academic
text that you read. An outline, during a reading activity, helps you determine the ideas in the text,
visualize the structure of the ideas and flesh out its points. The two main types of outlines are the
topic outline and sentence outline. The topic outline uses brief words or phrases that represents
the ideas. Sentence outline, on the other hand, expresses ideas in complete sentences. Study the
example below from the internet;

Thesis: The decisions I have to make Thesis: The decisions I have to make in choosing college
in choosing college courses, depend courses, depend on larger questions I am beginning to
on larger questions I am beginning ask myself about my life’s work.
to ask myself about my life’s work.

I. Two decisions described I. I have two decisions to make with respect to choosing
A. Art history or chemistry college courses in the immediate future.
1.Professionalconsiderations A. One is whether to elect a course in art history or
2. Personal considerations in chemistry.
B. A third year of French? 1. One time in my life, I planned to be a chemical
1. Practical advantages of engineer professionally.
knowing a foreign language 2. On the other hand, I enjoy art and plan to
2. Intellectual advantages travel and see more of it.
3. The issue of necessity B. The second decision is whether to continue a
II. Definition of the problem third year of French beyond the basic college
A. Decisions about occupation requirement.
B. Decisions about a kind of life to 1. French might be useful both in engineering and
lead travel.
III. Temporary resolution of the 2. Furthermore, I am eager to read good books
problem which are written in French.
A. To hold open a professional 3. How necessary are these considerations in the
possibility: chemistry light of other courses I might take instead?
B. To take advantage of cultural II. My problem can be put in the form of a dilemma
gains already made: French involving larger questions about my whole future.
A. On the one hand I want to hold a highly-trained
position in a lucrative profession.
B. On the other hand I want to lead a certain kind of
life, with capacities for values not connected with
the making of money.
III. I will have to make a decision balancing the conflicting
needs I have described.
A. I will hold open the professional possibilities by
electing chemistry.
B. I will improve and solidify what cultural proficiency in
another language I have already gained, by electing
French.

TOPIC OUTLINE SENTENCE OUTLINE

What have you noticed? These two outlines contain the same information but the
difference lies on whether words or phrases are used (topic outline) or full sentences (sentence
outline).
 Practice 2: Let us have a practice! Complete the sentence outline below on the text about
zombies by filling out the following template;

Text title: The history of zombies

I. Zombies are everywhere these days.
A. People frighten themselves with the idea of Zombie Apocalypse.
B. .

II. Zombies are not new.

A. Nzambi, a Kongo word, is associated with the Vodou religion of Haiti.
B.
C. Hatian Culture zombies are not evil cultures but victims.
1. They are people who have been killed by poisoning.
2.
III. Some believe that zombies exist.
A.
B. Wade Davis investigated and obtained zombie powder from bokors.
C.
D.
IV. Scientists were skeptical of Davis’ claims.
A.
B.

Practice 3: Convert your sentence outline in Practice 2 into a topic outline.

Summarizing
 Apart from that, you have to be mindful of the following tips in summarizing a text from
the High Interest Publishing Website.

Practice 3. Let us try to summarize the text on zombies by completing the following cloze
summary.

The History of Zombies was discussed by the Learn English Teens of the British Council.
It emphasized that zombies are popular nowadays. (1) .
The concept of zombie cane from the Haitian Vodou religion. (2) .
Zombies, for them, were poison victims who were and reanimated by bokors to do specific
purposes. (3) . (4) . A scientist, Wade
Davis, investigated it and obtained samples of zombie powder and zombie cucumber, both used to
turn humans to zombies. (5) . (6) . They claimed
that the samples could not produce the zombifying effects.

a. The origin of the word zombie is the Kongo word nzambi.

b. People fear of Zombie Apocalypse and learn how to destroy zombies.
c. One day, Clairvius Narcisse surfaced to prove that zombies were real.
d. He claimed that he was turned to zombie, forced to work in a plantation until he escaped.
e. He also wrote books on this topic.
f. These, however, were doubted by scientists.

WHAT’S MORE
This is not your turn to apply your knowledge on getting the thesis statement, outlining,
and summarizing an academic text. Read the text below and do the activities that follow;
 Are zoos a good thing?
Zoos are hugely popular attractions for adults and children alike. But are they actually a good
thing?

Critics of zoos would argue that animals often suffer physically and mentally by being
enclosed. Even the best artificial environments can't come close to matching the space, diversity, and
freedom that animals have in their natural habitats. This deprivation causes many zoo animals to
become stressed or mentally ill. Capturing animals in the wild also causes much suffering by splitting
up families. Some zoos make animals behave unnaturally: for example, marine parks often force
dolphins and whales to perform tricks. These mammals may die decades earlier than their wild
relatives, and some even try to commit suicide.

On the other hand, by bringing people and animals together, zoos have the potential to
educate the public about conservation issues and inspire people to protect animals and their habitats.
Some zoos provide a safe environment for animals which have been mistreated in circuses, or pets
which have been abandoned. Zoos also carry out important research into subjects like animal
behaviour and how to treat illnesses.

One of the most important modern functions of zoos is supporting international breeding
programmes, particularly for endangered species. In the wild, some of the rarest species have difficulty
in finding mates and breeding, and they might also be threatened by poachers, loss of their habitat
and predators. A good zoo will enable these species to live and breed in a secure environment. In
addition, as numbers of some wild species drop, there is an increased danger of populations becoming
too genetically similar. Breeding programmes provide a safeguard: zoo-bred animals can be released
into the wild to increase genetic diversity.

However, opponents of zoos say that the vast majority of captive breeding programmes do not
release animals back into the wild. Surplus animals are sold not only to other zoos but also to circuses
or hunting ranches in the US or South Africa, where some people are willing to pay a lot of money for
the chance to kill an animal in a fenced enclosure. Often, these animals are familiar with humans and
have very little chance of escaping.

So, are zoos good for animals or not? Perhaps it all depends on how well individual zoos are
managed, and the benefits of zoos can surely outweigh their harmful effects. However, it is
understandable that many people believe imprisoning animals for any reason is simply wrong.

Activity 4. Write on your answer sheet the topic sentence of this academic text.
Activity 5. Write either a topic outline or a sentence outline of the text.
WHAT HAVE I LEARNED
What are three things that you learned today?
_________________________________________
3 _________________________________________
_________________________________________
What are two things that you found interesting in the lesson?
2 _________________________________________
_________________________________________
What is one thing that you were already doing before and was supported in the
1 discussion today?
_________________________________________

WHAT CAN I DO
Write a summary of the text, Are Zoos a Good Thing. Be guided on the rubric below.
References:
https://www.k12reader.com/worksheet/identify-the-topic-sentence/view/
https://learnenglishteens.britishcouncil.org/skills/reading/upper-intermediate-b2-
reading/history-zombies
How to Write an Outline (from http://www.lavc.edu/Library/outline.htm)
https://www.hip-books.com/teachers/comprehension/7-rules-for-summarizing/

Contextualized learning material by: Mr. Melbert H. Tarrago