Idiot's Guide to English Summary

Paraphrasing and Style

2009-06-25T08:25:00.000-07:00

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!

Learning Points (Day 3)

2009-06-25T08:16:00.000-07:00

Learning Points

Let's review the summary writing skills we have learned together!

Summary Question

Read the question properly.
Pick out the key instruction word
Check the area of text to be summarised.
Keep to the word limit laid down for the summary.
Use the opening words provided in the question.

Content

Locate and identify at least 15 content points.
Avoid the distractors and elaboration points.

Style

Organise your content points according to key areas required by the question.
Use your words as far as possible.
Use a variety of sentence structures.
Use linking devices.
Check that your summary does not have grammar, spelling or punctuation errors.

Congratulations! You have successfully completed this online lesson on summary writing!

Keep practising, and remember to use the skills you have learnt here today to write better summaries!

Step 2 (Tuesday)

2009-06-25T08:07:00.000-07:00

Passage

The complete passage taken from the examination paper is found on your word document handout. Read the passage, and we shall attempt to answer the summary question together.

Now, here is the summary question set on the above passage:
The archaeologist Fiorelli undertook the task of uncovering the ruins of Pompeii.

Using your own words as far as possible, write a summary of the problems he faced when he began his work, what methods he employed to restore the ancient city accurately and how he used the volcanic ash to produce his most dramatic discoveries.

USE ONLY THE MATERIAL FROM PARAGRAPH 4 TO PARAGRAPH 10.

Your summary, which must be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be longer than 150 words, not counting the words given to help you begin.

Begin your summary as follows:

Over the centuries, people had eventually forgotten about Pompeii because…

Done reading? Let's proceed to answer the summary question together, by first focusing on the content, and then reviewing the style.

Welcome to Summary Writing!

2009-06-25T08:05:00.001-07:00

Introduction

Hi! I'm your guide to summary writing!

In summary writing, you are asked to condense a selected area of text by:

reproducing facts and ideas required by the question,
using your own words as far as possible,
keeping within the word limit specified by the question,
in a well-constructed continuous paragraph.

When marking the summary, the examiners will look at 2 categories:

Content
- The key points you were asked to select from the passage
Style
- The accuracy and quality of your writing
- The extent to which you are able to use your own words

In this interactive online lesson, you shall learn how to improve your summary skills. A sample passage will be provided, together with a summary question. We shall look at both categories (content and style) separately.

Ready to begin? Let's start by reading the passage and the summary question!