Describe how summarizing can help improve comprehension.

Summarizing plays a crucial role in improving comprehension because it requires students to distill the main ideas from a text. When students summarize, they must identify the key concepts and essential details, which promotes deeper engagement with the material. This process of identifying and articulating the main points helps clarify understanding, as it necessitates that readers sift through information, determine what is most significant, and express it in their own words. By focusing on the core ideas, summarizing reinforces the overall meaning of the text and enhances retention, allowing students to grasp the larger narrative or argument presented by the author. This skill is particularly important in reading comprehension, as it fosters the ability to connect different parts of the text and construct a coherent understanding of its content.