GIST Template – Read an Article and Summarize*
Gist reasoning ability (being able to pick out salient / important / significant details from a story or situation — and also disregard the details that don’t matter) has been shown to indicate how well brain injury survivors can function day-to-day (read more about it by clicking here). It’s an even more reliable indicator than intelligence or memory tests. How many times have you been told, “But you’re so smart!” when you are struggling daily with putting things together, and you feel like you’re barely getting by? Gist reasoning training has been shown to improve ability with repeat practice.
So, here’s an exercise you can do to improve your gist reasoning. Print out this page and then pick out an article online or in the newspaper, and then fill in the information below by hand. You may want to have a friend or family member check it to see if they agree — especially if they’ve got stronger daily functioning skills than you. Most importantly, keep practicing. You can get better!
Article Title
_________________________________________________________________
Article Source
_________________________________________________________________
1. Read an article online or in the newspaper.
2. Fill out the “5Ws and H” for the article. Be brief.
Who is it about?:___________________________________
What is the story basically about?:____________________________________________
Where does it take place?:___________________________________
When did it happen?:___________________________________
Why did it happen?:____________________________________________________
How did things come about?:________________________________________________
3. Now, write a 20-word gist, putting the story into your own words. The better you can summarize it accurately, without repeating exactly what the article/story said, the better your gist reasoning is.
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* Based on a template from readwritethink.org which you can download by clicking here
Broken Brain - Brilliant Mind 
Hello. I am studying education and have been sifting through all the academic information about gist reasoning. I came to understand more because of the exercises you incorporated in your blog. The research shows that children have a critical period in adolescence to attain good reasoning skills and this will help them for the rest of their life. I will endeavour to use similar types of exercises that you have displayed on your website. Thank you for bringing some clarity to this area. Karen
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Thank you for writing. Developing good reasoning skills is always important. I’m sure there are critical times in life when it’s important to learn certain things — and I’d also add that it’s possible to develop skills later, as well. Keep the faith… Thanks again and best of luck in your work.
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