SUMMARY

The following rules will guide you in writing effective summaries. The summary:

1. Is usually about one-third the length of the original, though it will vary depending on the content of the original.

2. Begins with the main idea (as in developmental paragraphs) and proceeds to cover the major supporting points, always in complete sentences.

3. Changes the wording without changing the idea. 4. Does not evaluate the content or give an opinion in any way (even if you see an error in

logic/fact or don’t like the idea). 5. Does not add ideas (even if you have an abundance of related information). 6. Does not refer directly to the writing (do not write, for example, "The author says"). 7. Does not include any personal comments by the author of the summary (avoid “I”).8. Seldom uses quotations (but if so, always with quotation marks).

You should1. Find alternative words/synonyms for the words/phrases used in the original text but do not

change specialised vocabulary and common words. 2. Identify the meaning relationships between the words/ideas - e.g. cause/effect, generalisation,

contrast and express these relationships in a different way. 3. Change the grammar of the text: change nouns to verbs, adjectives to adverbs, etc., break up

long sentences, combine short sentences. 4. Make sure the style is formal.

 The key to writing an effective summary is combining the material you choose to include into concise, coherent sentences and paragraphs. If your sentences are carelessly formed, not only will the summary be unreadable, you will also lose the connection among the pieces of information in the summary. Thoughtful word choice and sentence structure can help you reduce a summary by half with no loss of information, ideas, or clarity. Because you are taking information from many parts of the original text, you could easily lose sight of the logical structure of the whole piece. You need to pay close attention to the new transitions and paragraph structure of the summary. Rather than running all the information together in a series of seemingly unrelated sentences, you can use transitions to show the connection between sentences, and you can create new paragraphs to reflect large divisions in the original material.Finally, in your finished draft of the summary, be sure you identify the source of the original material in an introductory phrase.

Descriptive summaries adopt a more distant perspective, describing the original text rather than directly presenting the information it contains.A descriptive summary of the Declaration of Independence might begin as follows:

 Jefferson opens the Declaration of Independence by stating that a country declaring independence needs to give its reasons. He goes on to discuss the purposes of government in protecting individual rights and the legitimacy of change if government does not live up to its obligations.

Methods of Choosing Material for the Summary 

Method 1: Selection and Deletion

Because a summary moves quickly through the main points of the original, you need to focus on the most important ideas and details and leave out less important material. Look for key words that express substantial information or make major statements. Ask yourself. "What is central here? What is the author's specific point? What statements draw the whole piece together?" Leave out digressions, repetitions, nonessential background information, extended examples, interest-provoking anecdotes, and other minor supporting details.

 Method 2: Note Taking

Taking notes on the key ideas for each of the sections of the original reveals the logic of ideas in the whole piece and the connections among them. As you write down the key idea for each paragraph or so of the original, you will be concerned more with large chunks of meaning than with specific details. As you look over your notes, you may notice that each paragraph owns its own meaning, which is related to the meaning of the paragraph before or after it. You will become aware of the whole piece as a series of ideas, one following another.

 Method 3: Miniaturizing

Pay attention to the various parts of the original text structure: the order of ideas, their relative lengths, and their relationships. Think of a large photograph reduced to wallet size. In a relative sense all the parts remain the same; only the scale has changed. Notice the shape, flow, and overall impression of the original passage so you can create a miniature version of it in your summary. As in the note-taking method, you should jot down the main ideas and key statements of the original, but you should also try to keep the size of your notes in rough proportion to the size of the original. Follow the logic of one idea flowing from another, and recreate the transitions and structure of the original.When the arrangement, logical development, and balance of parts of the original are important, miniaturizing will help you retain the overall meaning and impression.

As you become more adept at summarizing, you will devise your own combination of these techniques for each occasion. But in all cases the summary must be written in readable prose that reflects the essential meaning of the original text.

Methods of editing1) Make sure each paragraph makes a new point

2) Make sure each paragraph begins with a topic sentence

3) Look for repetition and remove it

4) Replace particular phrases with single words

5) Replace full clauses with participle clauses

6) Remember to use your own words as far as you can

Examples

Main ideas: synonyms, specialized vocabulary, common words

a. Paul Ekman from the University of California has conducted a long series of experiments on how nonverbal behaviour may reveal real inner states.Paul Ekman who works at the University of California has performed a sequence of investigations on the way nonverbal behaviour may disclose real internal conditions.

b. There are reckoned to be over 4,000 plant species used by forest dwellers as food and medicine alone. There are calculated to be more than 4,000 plant species utilised by forest inhabitants just as foodstuffs and drugs.

c. Memory is the capacity for storing and retrieving information.Memory is the facility for keeping and recovering data.

d. Research and publications are accumulating in each of the four fields of anthropology at an exponential rate. Studies and books are gathering in all of the four areas of anthropology at a very fast speed.

e. It is worth looking at one or two aspects of the way a mother behaves towards her baby.It is useful to observe several features of how a mother acts when she is with her small child.

Meaning relationships

a. Many invertebrates, on the other hand, such as snails and worms and crustacea, have a spiral pattern of cleavage. In contrast, many invertebrates, such as snails and worms and crustacea, have a spiral pattern of cleavage.

b. Similarly, the muscles will not grow in length unless they are attached to tendons and bones so that as the bones lengthen, they are stretched. Likewise, if the muscles are not attached to tendons and bones so that as the bones lengthen, they are stretched, they will not grow in length.

c. Besides being a theory about the basis and origin of knowledge and the contents of our minds in general, empiricism is also sometimes a methodology. Not only is empiricism a theory about the basis and origin of knowledge and the contents of our minds in general, it also sometimes a methodology.

d. As opposed to this, Locke is often supposed to be saying that, in addition to properties, things have a "substratum" which "supports" their properties. Locke is oftk[ supposed to be saying, on the other hand, that, in addition to properties, things have a "substratum" which "supports" their properties.

e. Consequently in a sense one may speak of the Common Law as unwritten law in contrast with Statute Law, which is written law. In a sense, therefore, one may speak of the Common Law as unwritten law in contrast with Statute Law, which is written law.

Grammar

i. change nouns to verbs a. This rewriting of history was not so much a matter of a new start.

This rewriting of history was not so much a matter of starting again. b. Here he lives with the labourers in one of the barrack rooms, and out of his small earnings makes a

start at having a house built. Here he lives with the labourers in one of the barrack rooms, and out of his small earnings starts to have a house built.

ii. change verbs to nouns a. The Normans invaded in 1066.

The Norman invasion took place in 1066. b. The bomb exploded and caused many casualties.

The explosion caused many casualties. iii. change adverbs to adjectives

a. He wrote frequently. He wrote on frequent occasions.

b. Politically, it was a bad decision. From a political point of view, it was a bad decision.

iv. change active verbs to passive a. We can relate a study of this kind to texts in other media too

A study of this kind can be related to texts in other media too. b. In this treatment the teacher can use a variety of techniques to elicit the language learners already

know. In this treatment a variety of techniques is used to elicit the language learners already know.

v. break up sentences a. Given the extent to which deforestation increased markedly in the four southern states during 1987

and 1988, it is heartening news that during the early part of the 1989 dry season the burning seemed to have been curtailed somewhat, due to a combination of policy changes, better controls on burning, and most important of all an exceptionally wet "dry" season. Deforestation increased markedly in the four southern states during 1987 and 1988. On account of this, it is heartening news that during the early part of the 1989 dry season the burning seemed to have been curtailed somewhat. The reason for this is a combination of policy changes, better controls on burning, and most important of all an exceptionally wet "dry" season.

b. In 1851 the average family size was 4.7, roughly the same as it had been in the seventeenth century, but the 1½ million couples who married during the 1860s, which the historian G. M. Young described as the best decade in English history to have been brought up in, raised the figure to 6.2.In 1851 the average family size was 4.7, roughly the same as it had been in the seventeenth century. However, the 1½ million couples who married during the 1860s, which the historian G. M. Young described as the best decade in English history to have been brought up in, raised the figure to 6.2.

vi. combine sentences a. Tropical forests are defined here as evergreen or partly evergreen forests. They grow in areas

receiving not less than 100 mm of precipitation in any month for two out of three years. The mean annual temperature is 24-plus degrees Celsius. The area is essentially frost-free. Tropical forests are defined here as evergreen or partly evergreen forests, in areas receiving not less than 100 mm of precipitation in any month for two out of three years, with mean annual temperature of 24-plus degrees Celsius, and essentially frost-free.

b. The third National Government followed upon the resignation of the Liberal ministers and of the free trader, Snowden. This happened in September 1932. After this it became little more than a Conservative government. A few ex-Labour and Liberal politicians were added. They all owed their seats to an electoral pact with the Conservatives.The third National Government followed upon the resignation of the Liberal ministers and of the free trader, Snowden, in September 1932, after which it became little more than a Conservative government, with the addition of a few ex-Labour and Liberal politicians, all owing their seats to an electoral pact with the Conservatives.