SUMMARY WRITING

WHAT IS SUMMARY?
A SUMMARY is a brief statement or restatement of main points, especially as a
conclusion to a work: a summary of a chapter. A BRIEF is a detailed outline of
a discourse (usually legal) to be completed: a brief for an argument.

The act of summarizing is much like stating the plot of a play. For instance,
if you were asked to summarize the story of Shakespeare's 'Hamlet,' you
might say: It's the story of a young prince of Denmark who discovers that
his uncle and his mother have killed his father, the former king.

A good summary should be comprehensive, concise(giving information

clearly in a few words), coherent(logical/reasoned), and independent.
SUMMARY WRITING

Summary writing is one of the main tasks that you will be

required to do in an examination. This is an exercise that
tests both your reading and writing skills.
Although the task involves writing, it is your reading
skills that will really determine your success in a
summary question.It is also important that you keep a
clear head when attempting the task.
You will be assessed on how well your answers meet the
following Assessment Objectives.
ASSESSMENT OBJECTIVES
What does summary writing involve?
Summaries come in different forms. You may have to:

» read one lengthy passage and summarise only the points contained in one or two

paragraphs of it

» read one lengthy passage and summarise points related to a particular aspect or

aspects of it which occur throughout the passage

» read two lengthy passages and summarise all the points relating to a particular

aspect or aspects of them.

What does summary writing involve?
No matter what form the question takes, the basic principles of summary
writing remain the same. What is important is that you show evidence that
you:

» have understood what you have read

» can select relevant information

» can show your understanding of what you have read through using your
own words where possible and in a shorter form than in the original.
Some practical guidelines
» Summary writing needs good planning and cannot be rushed.
» Most examination questions will give a clear indication of the number of
words that you should aim to write
» As you can see, the writing itself will not take very long; the most important
part of the process is deciding what to include and what should not be
included – that’s why your active reading skills are essential.
» It is important to organise your time efficiently when answering a summary
task - reading the original passage(s), making notes of the relevant points
and planning your answer.
If you have a clear understanding of what you are going to write for your final
version, the actual writing of it will not take very long at all.
NOTE-MAKING
Note
Note-making is particularly important. Some examinations require you to
write a list of the main points which will be credited with marks before your
final version of the summary. It may also help in your planning if you give your
summary a title – it is not necessary to include this title as a heading for your
final written summary but it’s a good way to help you keep focused on relevant
details when making your preliminary notes.
Writing a summary
Step 1: Read the question carefully
This is very important, as it is unlikely that you will be required to summarise the
whole of the original passage(s).
The wording of the question will direct you towards the points you should include.
For example, the whole passage may be about everyday life in Japan, but you may
be asked to summarise only what it tells you about going to school in that country.
You must, therefore, keep the wording of the question clearly in mind when reading
the passage(s).
Step 2: Read right through the passage(s) once

This will allow you to gain a good, overall understanding of what the material is

about. Remember that it is important that your summary shows that you have a

clear overview of your subject matter.

Step 3: identify the information that is relevant

Refresh your memory of what the question asks you to do and then read through
the passage(s) again very carefully.

At this stage you should underline or highlight on the question paper all the
information that is relevant to the question. You must be ruthless. Ignore anything
that is not relevant, no matter how interesting you may find it.
Step 4: Make notes in your own words
Now is the time to put pen to paper. You should make rough notes of the points you have
identified, using your own words as far as possible. Remember, the use of your own
words is important as this is a way of showing that you have understood the passage(s).
Try to:
» paraphrase (rephrase) parts of the text to which you refer
» use synonyms instead of the exact words from the text.
This will make it very clear that you understand what you have read.
Step 5: Count the main points

Once you have noted all the main points, count how many you have identified.

If you have identified 20 points and you are aiming to write a summary of about

200 words, then, as a rough guide, try to write about ten words for each point.
Step 6: Write the summary

Once you have written rough notes in your own words, you should write them up
as a piece of continuous prose, trying to keep your expression as concise as
possible. If your notes are sufficiently detailed, this may only be a fine-tuning job.
Step 7: Final check

Once you have written your summary, read it through to check that it makes sense.

You may not have to count the number of words you wrote. If, for example, you

know that you usually write about eight words per line, then a quick count up of

the number of lines you have filled will give some indication of how many words you

have written in total.

Style matters
In many summary questions, in addition to marks being awarded for a selection of
the correct points, such as those listed below, further marks may be available for
written expression.
Note that the copying of chunks of material directly from the passage will not score
highly – this is because copying the text does not prove that you have understood
it. It is important that what you write shows that you have understood the text and
can interpret what you have read.
Style matters
The following points should be followed very carefully; they contain some important
advice.

» Concision of expression is something which typifies the very best summaries. This

can be achieved by making sure that you focus clearly on only the points stated

in the wording of the question.

» One way of doing this is to make sure that you don’t include any irrelevant

comments; a generalised introductory paragraph is not necessary and simply uses

up unnecessary words.
Style matters
» Lifting (or quoting) whole phrases or sentences from the original does not give a

clear indication that you have understood the text.

» A summary should be written using an objective, impersonal register; there is no

need to comment or to write in the first person – even if that is the way in which

the original has been written.

Example of a summary question
Example of a summary question
Example of a summary question
STUDY TIPS

1.Check that you have made each point only once: it’s an easy mistake
to include three examples of the same point. The writer of the original
passage is allowed to repeat ideas; you don’t have the space to do so.
2.One of the main mistakes in summary writing is to use up too many
words writing the early points, so the summary becomes top-heavy and
unbalanced. Remember that all points should be given equal weighting.
STUDY TIPS
3. An important word of warning – do not include:
• personal opinions
• any introduction such as, ‘In this passage the writer says...’
• extra information or explanations
• your own comments or opinions on the points made in the original text(s)
• lengthy quotations from the original passage(s).
The readers of your summary do not want to know your personal opinions about the topic;
instead, they want to know how well you have understood the original writer’s viewpoint.
TASK 1
Read this feature article ‘I was swallowed by a hippo’
Summarise the passage in 100 words.
Choose words and phrases and explain how the writer creates
effects through these descriptions.
Summary writing must be in the third person, even if the
stimulus material is in the first person.
TASK 1
I reached over to grab his outstretched hand but as our fingers were about to
touch, I was engulfed in darkness. There was no transition at all, no sense of
approaching danger. It was as if I had suddenly gone blind and deaf.
I was aware that my legs were surrounded by water, but my top half was
almost dry. I seemed to be trapped in something slimy. There was a terrible,
sulphurous smell, like rotten eggs, and a tremendous pressure against my
chest. My arms were trapped but I managed to free one hand and felt around –
my palm passed through the wiry bristles of the hippo’s snout. It was only
then that I realised I was underwater, trapped up to my waist in his mouth.
I wriggled as hard as I could, and in the few seconds for which he opened his
jaws, I managed to escape. I swam towards Evans, but the hippo struck again,
dragging me back under the surface. I’d never heard of a hippo attacking
repeatedly like this, but he clearly wanted me dead.
TASK 2

Read the following article about the use of artificial

light at night-time. Write a summary about the
negative aspects of light pollution in our world.
Your summary should be about 100 words long
(and no more than 120 words long). You should
use your own words as far as possible.