Style
You have learned a lot about the assessment of content, and have developed some strategies to ensure you locate and identify as many content points as possible.
Now, let's look at style. There are 10 marks allocated to the style in which your summary is written.
The examiners judge the style of your summary writing under 2 categories:
1. Use of own words
2. Use of English
Use of Own Words
Golden rule: The more you manage to avoid the original wording (without losing the original meaning), the higher your mark for own words will be.
However, this does not mean you have to substitute all the words in the passage. You just need to use your own words as far as possible!
Use of English
This can be classified under 3 sections:
1. Mechanical accuracy
- The ability to write without making errors of grammar, spelling or punctuation.
2. Sentence structure
- The ability to write in sentences and to vary their types by using:
Conjunctions, eg. and, but, since, when
Present participles, ie. the part of the verb ending in -ing
Relative pronouns, ie. who, whose, whom, which, that
3. Organisation and linking
- The ability to organise and link your content points by:
Combining points
Taking a point in a later stage of the text and linking it to one made earlier
Using linking devices
- To indicate a change of direction, eg. however, although, nevertheless
- To indicate a continuation of ideas, eg. in addition, also, furthermore
Alright, now that you have a better understanding of style, let's practise!