HowtoWriteaSummary

A"standalone"summaryisasummaryproducedtoshowateacherthatyouhavereadand
understoodsomething.Itiscommoninmany100and200levelclassestogetassignmentsthat
askyoutoreadacertainnumberofarticlesandsummarizethem.Thisisalsoaverycommon
typeofwritingassignmentingraduateschool.
Howtoproduceasummary:
1.Readthearticletobesummarizedandbesureyouunderstandit.
2.Outlinethearticle.Notethemajorpoints.
3.Writeafirstdraftofthesummarywithoutlookingatthearticle.
4.Alwaysuseparaphrasewhenwritingasummary.Ifyoudocopyaphrasefromtheoriginalbe
sureitisaveryimportantphrasethatisnecessaryandcannotbeparaphrased.Inthiscaseput
"quotationmarks"aroundthephrase.
5.Targetyourfirstdraftforapproximately1/4thelengthoftheoriginal.
Thefeaturesofasummary:
1.Startyoursummarywithaclearidentificationofthetypeofwork,title,author,andmainpoint
inthepresenttense.
Example:Inthefeaturearticle"FourKindsofReading,"theauthor,DonaldHall,explainshis
opinionaboutdifferenttypesofreading.
2.Checkwithyouroutlineandyouroriginaltomakesureyouhavecoveredtheimportantpoints.
3.Neverputanyofyourownideas,opinions,orinterpretationsintothesummary.Thismeans
youhavetobeverycarefulofyourwordchoice.
4.Writeusing"summarizinglanguage."Periodicallyremindyourreaderthatthisisasummary
byusingphrasessuchasthearticleclaims,theauthorsuggests,etc.
4.Writeacompletebibliographiccitationatthebeginningofyoursummary.Acomplete
bibliographiccitationincludesasaminimum,thetitleofthework,theauthor,thesource.Use
APAformat.
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Some Guidelines on Academic Summary Writing and

Paraphrasing
What is a summary?
Summary writing is an important writing skill in U.S. schools and universities. One important
purpose of studying this type of writing is to enable students to demonstrate their understanding
of reading material to their teachers or professors; therefore, the better you can summarize, the
more likely you can prove to your instructor that you really understand assigned reading
material, in whatever field.
There are three main characteristics of an academic summary. First, it is a shortened version of a
text which gives readers an idea of the most important information in that text. Second, generally
speaking, a summary is about one-quarter to one-third as long as the original. Third, a summary
is written in your own words, rather than just copied from the original text.
Of course, for Read/Listen,Respond, and Present projects, you will be giving summaries orally,
not necessarily in writing (unless your teacher requires it of you); however, the principles below
can be applied to oral as well as written summaries.

How can one write a summary?

Delete unimportant portions of the article.

Delete redundant material from the article.

If there is a set or list of items, events, or acts, organize them under a superordinate term.

Decide what the main idea of the article is and then write a topic sentence for your
summary.

What is a "topic sentence"?

This is the sentence that contains the main idea of your summary. It is usually the first, as well as
the most general, sentence of the summary. You create a topic sentence by figuring out what the
main idea of the article is, and then rewriting it in your own words. (NOTE: Failure to rewrite
other people's ideas in your own words, and then including the original words in your work
without mentioning the original author, is called plagiarism.)

WARNING:
In U.S. academic culture, plagiarism is a serious offense.
Committing plagiarism can result in being expelled from a
university. Therefore, it is in your best interest to learn
paraphrasing skills.

What is "paraphrasing"?
We can define paraphrasing as restating (or rewriting) someone else's ideas using our own words.
Often it is used to make the meaning clearer -- either to one's reader/audience, or to oneself.
What are some "paraphrasing skills"?
Here are some suggested paraphrasing strategies (adapted from Wecklser 1995):
When paraphrasing: Be sure to include all the information in the original excerpt. To paraphrase
you can do a number of things.
1. Use synonyms:
ORIGINAL: People think it is asocial to sit at a computer terminal at a cafe.
PARAPHRASE: People think it is anti-social to sit at a computer terminal at a cafe.

2. Use different forms of a word (noun --> verb; adverb --> adjective, etc.):
ORIGINAL: Many girls model themselves after their mothers.
PARAPHRASE: Many girls use their mothers as models.

3. Change the connectors/transitions, making sure to make any grammatical changes

that are necessary:
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ORIGINAL: Computers are expensive; however, the prices are coming down.
PARAPHRASE: Computers are expensive, but the prices are coming down.
4. Change active sentences to passive ones (and vice-versa):
ORIGINAL: Most of the students of the IEI attended the fall picnic.
PARAPHRASE: The fall picnic was attended by most of the IEI students.
5. Change negative to affirmative, or vice-versa:
ORIGINAL: All the political parties disagreed on that particular issue.
PARAPHRASE: None of the political parties agreed on that particular issue.
6. Avoid giving your own opinion or new information when paraphrasing.
7. Avoid changing vocabulary items in certain fields, such as science, technology,
education, government, geography (but sometimes you can paraphrase some
geographical names), language, brand names, or ordinary, everyday words that have no
synonyms, such as dictionary, chair, or toothbrush.
8. To avoid plagiarism: ALWAYS cite your sources. You can do this by writing an
introductory clause (which can be written or spoken in several ways) which mentions the
author and title of your source, for example,
o In "Scientists Use Fiber Optic Network as Internet Alternative", the author
syas/writes/states/informs...
o Deborah Shapley, in an article entitled, "Scientists Use Fiber Optic Network as
Internet Alternative," expresses/ states/writes/etc....
9. If the information in the statement is common knowledge, you do not need to cite
the source. For example, if you heard about something of major importance on the six
o'clock news that was broadcast all over the country or world, citing the specific source is
not crucial, although you should cite specific details and statements about this happening.
10. BEWARE of using a bilingual dictionary or a thesaurus when you paraphrase, because
some synonyms are quite different in meaning or usage. (For instance, one dictionary
gives change, vary, convert, and transmute as synonyms, and then gives separate
definitions for each.)
ORIGINAL: Cybercafes are changing the face of coffee shops worldwide.

PARAPHRASE: Cybercafes are transmuting the face of coffee shops worldwide.

(Incorrect synonym)
11. Be sure that the meaning of your paraphrase is the same as that of the original statement.
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Please do not copy or distribute without permission of the author

Tips for Summary Writing

1 Read the text once through and try to get a gist of what the text is all about.
2 Read the question and determine the task; look out for words like
feelings, response, what you saw and did, benefits, problems, advantages and
disadvantages
3 Do not try to rephrase if you are not very good in English. It is better to
select intelligently and join the sentences with connectors.
4 Content = 10 marks Language = 5 marks
So, it is better to go for content. If the sentences are lifted intelligently,
you will get about 2 marks for language.
5 Memorise some synonyms as they are useful to replace single words. This will
help you get more marks for language.
6 Do keep within the word limit as points after 130 words are not taken into
account.
Excellent model essays
There are many excellent essays written by my students which might be helpful to
you as you prepare for your exam.
Friends by Manu Menon
Friends are people whom we turn to when our spirits need a lift. They are always by
our side through thick and thin. They stand beside us even when our disposition is
not perfectly right and will fight for us if we are oppressed. Therefore, it is clear that
friends play a vital role in shaping who we are today. But what qualities exactly do
we need to look for in a friend?
A friend should always be caring towards you. He or she should take interest in your
problems no matter how big or petty your problem may be. A friend should be able
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to sit beside you and encourage you to keep your chin up even when everyone else
is against you. A friends empathy and lovingness will also replenish your worn-out
soul and will make you realize how important a friend really is.
Apart from that, a friend should be an honest person. An honest friend will dissipate
any worries that he or she is lying towards you. A friends honesty will enable you to
trust his or shes opinion when it comes to telling you the truth about yourself. For
example, an honest friend will remand you on your declining grades and will ask
you to work harder while a dishonest friend will see it with a blind eye. Therefore, an
overall improvement in yourself will be noticeable if you have an honest friend.
Moreover, a friend should be generous both emotionally and knowledge wise. A
friend who is generous ought to be able to connect with you and provide emotional
support. He or she should also be generous when it comes to sharing knowledge. A
true friend must be ever-ready to help you when you are inept in certain subjects. A
friend can easily guide you towards understanding the subject matter better as he
or she is often on the same page as you. The only difference is that you cant quite
grasp the content of the page per se.
Besides that, a friend must also be able to humour you. Humour plays a
quintessential role in making your day more lively and enjoyable. Friends who pull
your leg and mess about will indefinitely make life seem so much better. As they
say, laughter is the best medicine and a little levity on rainy days is always
welcomed.
In conclusion, friends are people we spend most of our time with. Thus, we have to
be selective when it comes to choosing our friends.

*********************************************************************************
****Descriptive Essays
In the next few weeks, I would be posting some excellent essays written by my
students.

My Best Pal
Close friendships are hard to come by these days. In an ever-changing world with
people striving to achieve their interpretation of preordained success, it is hard to
know who your true friends are. Fortunately, I found my best pal early at the tender
age of seven. We were both enrolled at the same school and were at wits ends as
we searched tirelessly for our designated classes.
Samantha and I got acquainted as both of us were in the same class and sat next to
each other. Samantha was a happy-go-lucky girl who always managed to breathe
fresh air into the sometimes arid classroom. She always knew what to say and
would voice them at the best possible moments. Both pupils and teachers alike
enjoyed her company and liveliness. There was hardly ever a dull moment when she
was around with her funny quips and expressions.
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Samantha was born with a silver spoon. Her father was a businessman and her
mother owned and ran a boutique. Both her parents were very caring towards her
as she, just like I, was the only child of the family. Samantha came to school each
day with a perpetual smile. She was a very nice person to be around with. She and I
used to go everywhere together and both of us were rarely seen apart. We used to
talk about so many things as we walked, thoroughly enjoying our time together.
One day, I went to school and forgot to ask my parents for lunch money. At first, I
was not hungry and thought I could bear going without a meal but soon, my
stomach began to growl. Without asking, Samantha generously paid for my meal
and drinks during recess. The incident revealed to me how lucky I was to have such
a caring and compassionate friend.
As time went on, people started teasing us as we were spending more and more
time together. We seemed to know what each other thought and we cared for each
other deeply. Was I in love with her? I did not know then and we both knew we were
too young for all that emotional roller coaster.
Currently, Samantha and I are studying at different schools. It was hard to be apart
at first, but technology in the form of instant messaging and e-mails have helped to
bridge the gap in our friendship. I sincerely wish our friendship will never end as it
would be equivalent to waking up from a beautiful dream.
##################################################
###################################Reflective Essays
Heres a model answer for a reflective essay. Read through the essay and identify
the topic sentences of each paragraph and the supporting details.
Question: What would you do if you had a lot of money?
When I was small, I often dreamt about being rich as my parents were quite poor.
We had difficulty making ends meet each month. So, if I had a lot of money, I would
certainly fulfill my dreams.
First and foremost, I would buy a house for my parents, preferably a bungalow, in a
quiet town. I would equip the house with the latest technology so that it would be a
smart home. My mother would have a state-of-the-art kitchen as she loves cooking.
I would also get a maid to help her with the household chores. I will ensure that my
family is comfortably settled in this house.
The second thing I would do is to go on a world tour with my parents. I have never
been overseas but I long to see the places I have only read or dreamt about. First, I
would like to visit Europe, especially Italy, the city of romance. I would visit all the
museums and buildings I have heard so much about. My next stop would be Hong
Kong or China. There is something mystical about China and her people. This would
be my dream come true.
Apart from that, I could finally go on a shopping spree, which is my favourite
pastime. Thus far, I could only go window shopping and if I had a lot of money, I
would go into these stores and buy whatever I fancy. Just imagine that for once in
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my life, I do not need to look at the prices of the items that I like. I could just shop
till I literally drop. The salesgirls would be hovering near me with their latest outfits
and my wish would be their command. Ah, I would not be ignored anymore as I walk
into their stores!
Besides shopping, I would also remember the poor and the less fortunate. First, I
would certainly build a better home for the orphans in my town. In fact, I would also
sponsor their education till they could stand on their own. They would receive an
allowance monthly and I would definitely take them shopping.
Finally, I would take the opportunity to further my studies. When I was younger, my
parents could not afford to send me overseas. So, I would love to pursue a course in
interior decorating in London and once I graduate, I would like to set up my own
business with the rest of the money.
They say that a fool and his money are soon parted. Thus, I would be very careful
with how I spend my money. I would invest my money with my parents advice and
keep some for rainy days.
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Should Mobile Phones Be Allowed in Schools?
Mobile Phones Should Be Allowed in Schools. Do you agree?

Mobile phones have become an indispensable tool to students. The modern

mobile phones have cutting-edge technology. They are no longer just used for
calling or texting. These smart phones are able to access the Internet, take notes,
keep reminders and have large memories to boot. With these in mind, should
mobile phones be allowed in school? In my opinion, mobile phones should not be
allowed in schools. This will bring a host of problems to the school.
Firstly, the mobile phones will be too much of a distraction to the students. At
present, many students are already spending too much time on social networking
websites and online games. What is going to stop them from constantly checking
on their Facebook updates or posting their status? This will disrupt their
concentration in class and will definitely affect their studies.
In addition, these smart phones are also an excellent learning resource.
However, this tool could also be used by students to cheat. They could access
websites to help them answer their exam questions. Students have been found to
use the mobile phones to contact each other for answers.
Besides, allowing mobile phones in school would create a social divide between
the students. Students who do not have mobile phones or less capable phone
would definitely feel the pressure of keeping up. Some who cannot afford it would
resort to stealing. This would open up a whole new discipline problem to the
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school. Imagine the havoc when everytime some loses a phone, a spot-check has
to be done on all the students. This would disrupt classes and a waste of the
resources of the discipline master and prefects.
When used responsibly, a cell phone can be an excellent learning tool. Students
can use applications like the calculator, dictionary, maps and other online
resources. It is especially useful when students do not understand a word. They
can easily look up the word with their mobile phone. Students love to use
technology and tend to be more motivated when given the freedom to use their
mobile phones.
In conclusion, mobile phones are very useful in a students life. However, they
cause too much disruptions in school and might create a social divide between the
haves and the have nots. Our students have not reached the maturity and they
are not ready for this responsibility. Therefore, mobile phones should not be allowed
in schools.
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