Recent research projects have indicated that a majority of adolescent and adult students have not reached a formal level of cognitive functioning and must therefore be taught rhetorical modes such as comparison and classification. A study was constructed to investigate the cognitive skills development of average college freshmen and to test whether intensive practice would improve summarizing skills. After an informal pretest consisting of multiple choice items, students participated in a three week session that consisted of the following activities: writing paraphrase sentences; summarizing short paragraphs on various subjects; summarizing passages of two to six paragraphs; and summarizing short articles of 300 to 500 words. Two summaries from each student, one written earlier and the other later in the unit, were evaluated for accuracy and brevity. Results showed marked improvement in the students' ability to grasp and reflect adequately the intended meaning of a passage. (Tables and charts are included.) (MAI)