LESSON 8 SUMMARY WRITING

A summary is a shortened rewording of a longer passage.

This skill includes the ability to follow main arguments, select relevant materials, evaluate
bias, identify assumptions. Being able to do this depends on the recognition of language cues.
The writing of a summary must presuppose a specific purpose, which in turn demands a
specific register of language.

SUMMARY WRITING

The main aim of any summary is to provide a shortened or condensed form of an original
passage or piece of information. This should be clear and concise. The form of the summary
depends on its PURPOSE, which means you usually know the AUDIENCE for whom the
summary is intended.

SKILLS TESTED IN SUMMARY WRITING

Reading and Comprehension Skills

- understanding meaning
- seeing intention
- recognising tone
- distinguishing between fact and opinion
- seeing the essence and the illustration
- seeing
ƒ what is essential (important, and MUST be included)
ƒ what is irrelevant (unimportant, and MUST be excluded)
ƒ what is relevant but not essential (which MAY be included depending on
your word limit)

Writing Skills

The following are tested. Your ability to

- use the correct grammar and punctuation
- write fluently, not jerkily
- write a coherent piece of prose
- be logical
- write concisely

This is therefore a demanding test of your linguistic abilities.

HOW TO APPROACH WRITING A SUMMARY

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1. Read the passage once quickly to get a general idea.

2. Read the question carefully to make sure you know what the examiner wants.

3. Read the passage again carefully – more than once, if necessary – until you really
understand it.

4. Make notes of the main points, according to the instructions. You might like to find the
topic sentence in each paragraph. Your notes must have all the essential details AND all the
relevant but not essential details.

5. Write a rough draft.

6. Count the number of words.

7. Edit the summary:

a) If you have too many words, reduce the number of words. Try not just to cut out
words. Rephrase your sentences to keep the ideas.
b) If you have too few words, check that you have not left out important points from
the original passage.

8. When you have the right number of words, check your grammar and style.

9. Write your neat version.

10. Write the EXACT number of words in brackets under the summary on the right-hand side.
DO NOT LIE!

Here are some steps to help you practise summary writing:

1. FINDING THE MAIN IDEA

You first need a general view of what the passage is about. Start by ignoring the details. Look for
the topic sentence. Then include the main supporting ideas.

EXERCISE

Now do the same with the following paragraphs, i.e., find the topic sentence, and list the points that
are connected with it.

A. This extract comes from The Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Animal Life, Volume 8, edited by
Frederick Drimmer, M.A.

MOAS – EXTINCT BIRDS THAT WEIGHED FIVE HUNDRED POUNDS

These giant flightless birds are no longer in existence. They lived in New Zealand until the Maoris,
its present Polynesian inhabitants, arrived about one thousand years ago. The Maoris exterminated

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the two or three remaining species of moas before the coming of the first Europeans. Thus the
family Dinornithidae became extinct.

The largest moas were ostrich-like in appearance, stood about nine feet tall, and weighed
approximately five hindred pounds. There were no native mammals in New Zealand apart from
bats. Thus the moas had few or no enemies until man arrived. In these peaceful surroundings the
moas became larger and more sluggish – hence more helpless - as time went on. Their relatives,
the kiwis, survive in New Zealnad.

2. REDUNDANCY AND REPETITION

Cut out all unnecessary words and phrases. Do not say anything more than once.

EXERCISE

1. Remove all the repetition and redundancy from the following:

a) Can I borrow ten cents as a loan, please?

b) All right, if you’ll repay me again soon. It leaves me with only one dollar, though.
c) Thus the bargain was finally completed, and the two twins went off, contented.

3. DIGRESSIONS AND CONTRASTS

Omit all material included for contrast. Leave out all digressions.

4. RECASTING SENTENCES

Wherever possible, simplify sentences, so that phrases do the work of clauses, and single words
replace phrases.

e.g. Clause: The newspaper which is printed in London, is delivered every day.
e.g. Phrase: The newspaper printed in London is delivered every day.
e.g. Word: The London newspaper is delivered every day.

5. REMOVING EXAMPLES, ANALOGIES AND ILLUSTRATIONS

If you have given the main point(s) clearly, leave out all examples and illustrations of it. E.g.,
Bobbie had another quality which you will hear differently described by different people. Some of
them call it interfering in other people’s business - and some call it “helping lame dogs over styles”,
and some call it “loving kindness”. It just means trying to help people. (The Railway Children by
E. Nesbit)

This could be shortened by leaving out the examples: Bobbie tried to help people.

NOTE: If a large part of the original is an illustration, you will have to include some reference to
it.

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6. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Leave out similes. Simplify all other figures of speech and elaborate metaphorical language, e.g.,
this extract from Little Dorrit by Charles Dickens, describing a prisoner.

He was waiting to be fed, looking sideways through the bars that he might see
the further down the stairs, with much of the expression of a wild beast in
similar expectation. But his eyes, too close together, were not so nobly set in
his head as those of the king of beasts are in his, and they were sharp rather
than bright – pointed weapons with little surface to betray them. They had no
depth or change: they glittered, and they opened and shut. So far, and waiving
their use to himself, a clockmaker could have made a better pair.

This can be shortened by leaving out the figurative language, and simplifying the passage:

The prisoner, waiting for food, looked fiercely through the bars to see further down the stairs. His
sharp, shining eyes, too close together, opened and shut, but never changed.

7. DETAILS AND GENERALISING

Sum up all unimportant details, so that the general point is clearly stated, but the details are left out,
e.g.,

When the pupils went back to class after break, the playground was covered with empty
potato-crisp packets, squashed Coke cans and colddrink cartons, discarded sandwich wrappers
and oily newspapers, brightly-coloured sweet papers and shiny chocolate foil, plastic bottles,
and grease-proof packets that still showed the smears of vinegar and salt from hot chips. (53
words)

This could be summarised:

After break, the playground was covered with litter. (8 words)

8. PLANNING

Make a list of the main points. Keep to the order or sequence of ideas of the original. Make
sure your summary is developed logically, paying careful attention to the connection of ideas
in the original. Change the order of the material only id it will benefit you to do so.

9. YOUR OWN WORDS

After making notes of the main points, write your summary without looking back at the
original passage. This will help you to reduce the passage effectively, and will ensure that you
use your own words. Try not to copy whole sentences or phrases from the original passage.
Obviously, you can use some of the original words, especially technical terms.

10. DIRECT SPEECH

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Never use direct speech from the original. Make it clear that you are REPORTING what was
said in the original piece of writing, e.g.,
“I maintain that from one viewpoint, stress is a means by which the body makes extra energy
in response to a sudden demand.”

The précis should begin with a clause such as:

The writer maintained that …

Do not waste words by repeating “he said” or “he thought” more than is absolutely necessary.

11. QUESTIONS AND RHETORICAL QUESTIONS

Never ask a question. Convert a question or a rhetorical question in the original to a statement.
e.g.,
Can it be possible that no one is paying attention to the problems of the environment?

This should be rephrased in a suitable way, e.g.,

The writer was concerned that no one appeared to be paying attention to the problems
of the environment.

12. A TITLE

If you are asked to do so, give your summary a title of not more than five words. The title
must be short and striking. Even if you do not have to include a title, it is a good idea to think
of one. This often helps you to pinpoint the main ideas.

13. FINAL WORDS

(a) THE AUTHOR

You should always consider acknowledging the author if he/she is mentioned

(b) AUTHOR’S SUBJECT MATTER

NEVER introduce your own ideas, correct the ideas of the original writer (if you think
he/she is wrong), or comment on the opinion or facts of the original.
NEVER alter or distort the writer’s views or the thread of his argument.
Maintain the TONE and STYLE of the original piece of writing.

(c) TENSE

Write in the PAST tense, unless it would make sense not to do so, e.g., Shakespeare is
one of the greatest writer’s in all literature.

(d) PARAGRAPHS

The summary is usually ONE paragraph of fluent prose. Follow the usual way of
paragraphing, which means you might have two or more paragraphs. BUT do not

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 allow your summary to consist of many little paragraphs. NEVER have more
paragraphs than the original.

(e) WORD COUNT

1. Each of the following counts as single words.

ƒ Acronyms, e.g., UNISA, NATO.
ƒ Titles of people, e.g., Mrs du Plessis, Dr Ngomezulu.
ƒ Hyphenated words

2. Abbreviations containing full stops:

Each part of the abbreviation counts as a separate word, e.g.,
S.P.C.A. = four words
U.N.O = three words

(f) STYLE

You can write your summary IN POINT FORM, if the examiner says so. BUT, the
summary must still be in complete sentences. Only use note form (incomplete
sentences or fragments) if the examiner says you can. Your summary must be
grammatically correct, properly punctuated, fluent and logical.

EXERCISE

Here is a passage about love. Summarise it in approximately 70 words.

What is love? Adapted from an essay by Nurmuhemmet Yasin

“What is love? This question goes back to ancient times—without a coherent answer. Each
person’s experience of love is uniquely varied, and each person’s understanding of love is
different from the next. Love varies from one period to another along the length of a human
life; a person can have many loves, but each experience will be different from the next.
Summing it up, or pinning it down, are both impossible.

Love is like the sunshine; no matter how tightly you shut down your heart, the sunlight will
find a way to shine into it. Love’s process is unstoppable.

Love is like a continually shattering mirror that always leaves behind images etched in
people’s hearts; but it will itself remain a mystery forever.

Many people give themselves over to this mystery, but while love can produce the most
tender and delicate feelings in anyone’s soul, it alone can open a window in the hearts of a
very few.

A simple comparison might be that of spring water which satisfies an extremely thirsty soul.
Imagine, in the intense heat of midsummer, a very thirsty shepherd, using both hands to

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scoop the running water from a roadside creek to drink with a joy that satisfies his thirst.
Such a feeling is beyond compare.

Similarly, when a tired and weary person returns home from far away, he says to himself,
‘Finally, I have come home,’ before stretching himself out on his bed to rest. This joy, too, is
beyond compare. Again, when a writer who has been up all night working puts the last full-
stop at the end of his article; this, too, is boundless comfort for the heart. These all are things
that we can see about love.

Love makes you understand yourself. Only through this process, will you be able to become a
soul, to become a part of life.

Everybody has a different explanation and a different definition regarding the love they
experience. The majority of people can suddenly fall in love with a stranger. If you ask them
what they see in their lover, sometimes they can’t give you a clear answer. But the fact of
their regard for each other is certain.

Regardless of the secret mystery of love, it is a process in your feelings and in your heart.
Love, too, always manifests itself in the body. No matter what, if you fall in love with an
actual person, you can feel your body making various unexpected changes. You might also
realize that changes are taking place in your thoughts as never before.

If any of this happens to you, you may presume you are in love, for these signs are a form of
love in themselves. Regardless of whether these signs last a long time or a short time,
whether they are painful or enjoyable, they constitute riches, which will live in your heart
forever

Love will appear repeatedly in your life.

In brief, as a living human being with a soul, it is impossible not to fall in love in the course
of a lifetime. Love is like the sunshine; no matter how tightly you shut down your heart, the
sunlight will find a way to shine into it. Love’s process is unstoppable. Therefore, my advice
would be: Don’t waste your precious time trying to define the meaning of love. The best
definition is already in your own heart and mind.