Summary for Practice

five-step process to practice writing summary:

1. Read and underline the relevant material in pencil (so that you can change
your mind easily if needed)
2. Transfer the points into a plan, whilst changing them into your own words
3. Group the points logically (using arrows/brackets); put them in order (using
numbers), and decide which ones can be combined into one sentence
4. Write the summary in one or two paragraphs using complex sentences
5. Check the summary for accurate expression; adapt the length and improve if
necessary by adding material overlooked or by removing repetition.

1. Choose words and phrases and explain how the writer creates effects through these
descriptions.

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 realized 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.