IAE – Introduction to Reading into Writing – Week 1 – Writing a Summary

William Shakespeare (1564–1616)

England celebrates its national day on 23rd April. This is also the day in 1564 claimed to be the birth date of William The Shakespeare although birth and death dates were not beginning 5 recorded in Shakespeare's time. He lived with his wealthy of WS’s life. parents John Shakespeare (c1530-1601) and Mary Arden (c1540-1608) in Stratford upon Avon.

Around the age of eleven Shakespeare probably entered King's New School, where he would have studied theatre and acting, as well as Latin literature and history. 10 When he finished school he might have trained for a time with his father, but it is also thought he was a schoolteacher. The next record of his life is in 1582, when at the age of eighteen, Shakespeare and married Anne Hathaway (1556–1623).

It is not exactly clear what Shakespeare did in the first few years after the marriage, but he did go to London and worked at The Globe theatre, possibly as one of the 15 Queen's Men, a group of actors. This is where he started writing poems and plays, but none of these still exist today.

By 1593, the bubonic plague (a deadly disease) had arrived in London and many theatres, including the Globe, were often shut down and forbidden to open for 20 long periods of time. Shakespeare probably spent these days travelling between London and Stratford, which gave him time to write many more plays and sonnets. Among the first of his known printed works is the poem Venus and Adonis (1593). It was extremely popular.

25 Shakespeare wrote over 35 plays, including history plays, tragedies, comedies, and those called the ‘problem plays’. Many of the most famous of these were written between 1594 and 1608. They included the tragedies Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear, and the comedies All’s Well That Ends Well and Twelfth Night. 30 At this time of prolific writing, Shakespeare began his association with The Lord Chamberlain's Men, another acting group until his death. They later became known as the King's Men, and they bought and performed most of Shakespeare's plays. They performed frequently at court, and in the theatres that Shakespeare co-owned 35 including; the Blackfriars, The Theatre, and The Globe.

William Shakespeare died on 23 April 1616, according to his monument, and is buried in Stratford upon Avon. While there is little known of her life, Anne Hathaway outlived her husband by seven years, dying in 1623 and is buried beside him.

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IAE – Introduction to Reading into Writing – Week 1 – Writing a Summary

Reading Skills - Discussion

What is note making? What is annotating? Have you used these skills before?

Which skill would you use first to help you understand a text better? Which skill would you use to write about what you have read?

1. Annotate each paragraph of the William Shakespeare text for general meaning. The first paragraph has been done as an example.

Reading Comprehension

1. Complete the following table of details about William Shakespeare.

Date of Birth Place of Birth Education Professions Most famous works

2. Match the following words from the text with their synonym.

(Line 4) recorded very productive (L4) wealthy connection with (L19) forbidden rich (L24) extremely written down (officially) (L31) prolific not allowed (L31) association very

3. Why are the words probably, might and possibly used in paragraphs 2 and 3? Do you think these are common in academic writing?

4. Answer the following questions. a. When and what was Shakespeare’s first connection with the theatre?

______b. How many plays did Shakespeare write? Give specific examples of one of his tragedies and one of his comedies.

______

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IAE – Introduction to Reading into Writing – Week 1 – Writing a Summary

c. What did Shakespeare do during the time of the bubonic plague?

______

Writing a Summary

Underline the key points in each paragraph. Write the important information for each paragraph of William Shakespeare’s biography in the box below. Use notes not sentences.

The first paragraph has been done as an example. Notice that only the most important information is included. Notice how synonyms are used for some of the key words.

Paragraph Key Points 1 WS probably born 23 Apr. 1564. Rich parents – Stratford upon Avon

2

3

4

5

6

7

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IAE – Introduction to Reading into Writing – Week 1 – Writing a Summary

Use your notes above to write a one-paragraph summary of the Adam Smith text. You should only need about 6 -8 sentences. Try to avoid copying from the original text. The first sentence has been done for you

Use your notes above to write a one-paragraph summary of the William Shakespeare biography. The first sentence has been done for you.

William Shakespeare was probably born on April 23rd, 1564. He had rich parents and lived in Stratford upon Avon. ______

Review: Annotating = adding notes to a text or diagram Note making = making notes on a separate piece of paper.

Writing a summary 1. Underline the key points in the text. 2. Make notes on the key points. 3. Use the notes to write the summary

N.B. – Try to use your owns words in the summary. Include only the important information. Do not repeat information.

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