1、Summary WritingObjectives 1.Give an appropriate definition for a summary2.Know the characteristics of a good summary3.Learn the techniques in summary writing4.Learn the steps in summary writing5.Practice I.What is a summary?nA summary is a shortened passage,which retains the essential information of
2、 the original.It is a fairly brief restatement-in your own words-of the contents of a passage.nNote:you simply report back what the writer has said,without making value judgments.Use of Summary WritingnVery good exercise for improving reading comprehension;nHelpful to composition writing;nHaving pra
3、ctical uses.II.Characteristics of a good summarynCan be understood without reference to the original;nIs a faithful reproduction of,or contains only the ideas or information of,the original;nIs brief without any unnecessary detail;nIs a readable unified wholeIII.How to write a summary?1.The importan
4、ce of summary writing2.Necessary elements for a good summarynProper citation title,author,source;date of publication and the text (journal articles)nThesis statement the topic or general subject matter of the text;the authors major assertion,comment,or position on the topicnSupporting ideas major su
5、pporting ideas;relationships among these ideas no specifics the authors purpose in writing no personal opinions,ideas,and inferences.nGrammar and the structure of writing avoid direct quotation;use transitional wordsnLength 1/4 to 1/3 of the original Read the article To understand the article and fi
6、nd the general theme.Reread the article Divide into sections and label each section.Understand the important parts.Write one-sentence summaries Summarize each section of thought.Steps in writing a summaryReading A.Read the passage through carefully to get the gist of it;B.Give a title to your summar
7、y;C.You should now in the position to decide what parts of the passage are essential and what parts are comparatively unimportant and can be omitted without much loss.D.Jot down in brief notes the main points.Formulate the thesis statement Weave the one-sentence section-summaries together.Write the
8、first draftA.In the first sentence or two:1.The authors name2.The articles or chapters name3.The authors thesis statementB.Then the summary sentences for each paragraph or section.C.Express in your own words,to avoid plagiarism.D.Occasional supporting ideas if necessary.Note:1.Eliminate unnecessary
9、words and repetitions.2.Eliminate personal ideas and inferences.3.Use transitions for a smooth and logical flow of ideas.4.Conclude with a summing up sentence.Edit the draftIs all the important information in the summary?Am I listing things out?Am I saying the same thing over and over again?Have I l
10、eft out my personal views and ideas?Does my summary hang together?Is my grammar,punctuation,and spelling correct?Write the final draftIV.Techniques in summary writing1.ParaphrasingTo paraphrase means to completely and correctly express other peoples ideas in ones own words.Examples:1.Youve cooked us
11、 all a hot potato.(a troublesome person or issue)2.Prevention is better than cure.(It is better to prevent something unpleasant from happening than try to put it right afterwards.)It helps us understand the original better.It helps us grasp the central idea and the main points.It helps us write summ
12、aries that are brief and to the point,and in our own words.The importance of paraphrasingRead the original carefully and comprehend its meaning wholly and correctly.Consider the original article as a whole,not in isolated sentences.Steps of paraphrasing2.Grasping the central ideasIII.Techniques in s
13、ummary writing3.Ways of condensationnUse synonyms or synonymous phrasesHe had a good command of English.(He knew English well.)nChange the structure of simple sentencesMy brother has an appreciation of modern art.(My brother appreciates modern art.)III.Techniques in summary writingnTurn complex sent
14、ences into simple sentencesHe received a welcome that was as cold as ice.(He received an icy welcome.)nCombine the sentencesHurry up.If you dont,youll miss the train.(Hurry up or youll miss the train.)4.Finding the topic sentence and making an outline topic sentence/outlineTechniques in summarynOmit
15、 details.nReduce the examples.nSimplify the descriptions.nEliminate all repetitions.Compress wordy sentences and change phrases to wordsnHis courage in battle might without exaggeration be called lion-like.“n He was hard up for money and was being pressed by his creditor.“nThe account the witness ga
16、ve of the incident made everyone that heard it laugh.Replace clauses or sentences with phrasesnBeautiful mountains like Mount Tai,Lushan Mountain,and Yellow Mountain,were visited by only a few people in the past.Today,better wages,holidays with pay,new hotels on those mountains,and better train and
17、bus services,have brought them within reach of many who never thought of visiting them ten years ago.nBeautiful mountains like Mount Tai,once visited by only a few people,are today accessible to many,thanks to better wages,paid holidays,new hotels and better communication.Use general words instead o
18、f specific wordsnShe brought home several Chinese and English novels,a few copies of Time and Newsweek,and some textbooks.She intended to read all of them during the winter vacation.nShe brought home a lot of books and magazines to read during the vacation.nUse the shortest possible transitions.nPut
19、 the main points of a dialogue in indirect speeches.nKate looked at Paul disapprovingly:You use much too much salt on your food,Paul-its not at all good for you!Paul put down his knife and frowned:Why on earth not!If you didnt have salt on your food it would taste awful.like eating cardboard or sand
20、.just imagine bread without salt in it,or potatoes or pasta cooked without salt!Kate was patient.She didnt want to quarrel with Paul.She wanted to persuade him.She said firmly:But too much salt is bad for you.It causes high blood pressure and later on,heart-attacks.It also disguises the tastes of fo
21、od,the real tastes,which are much more subtle than salt,and which we have lost the sensitivity to appreciate any more.nKate suggested to Paul that he should eat less salt.She thought that eating too much salt would do harm to Pauls health and that it could reduce the real tastes of food.But Paul dis
22、agreed.He said that food without salt would be tasteless.nA third kind of thinking occurs when we are told that our beliefs and opinions are wrong.We may have been heedless in their formation,but our self-esteem will not permit us to change.We may have to give up,but we are not convinced.We do not study the origin of our beliefs;we believe as we have been accustomed to believe,and we seek arguments for continuing to believe as we already do.
