3.1 Summary Writing
Ice Breakers:
A) Guess the correct alternative for the following.
1) To summarize means ------------------------
(a) Put information in chronological order
(b) To recapitulate the main points in selection
(c) To introduce new information
(d) To write one’s opinion about selection
Answer:-
b) To recapitulate the main points in selection
2) The type of summary that consists of a paragraph to express the main idea is ----------------
(a) Outline (b) Report (c) Synopsis (d) Written summary
Answer:-
(d) Written summary
Ways of writing and its description:
Points to be remember:
1) Read and re-read the passage.
2) Understand the content of the passage.
3) Read the instructions and hints.
4) Find exactly what you need to summarise.
5) Identify the main idea.
6) Form short sentences on your own.
7) Connect the sentences using linkers.
8) Keep only key ideas.
9) Omit details, examples and statistical information.
10) Avoid your own interpretation.
Steps for Summary Writing-
1: Read the article twice.
2: Ask questions about the purpose of writing.
3: Identify the main idea.
4: Write the first draft.
5: Revise your first draft and edit it.
6: Write the final draft.
How to learn Summary Writing:
Summary writing is a writing skill. It needs practice. Take small passage initially. Read it carefully. Calculate the words. Try to reduce each sentence without losing its sense. Remove examples and illustrations if any. Avoid repeated and unnecessary information. Use simple sentences. Use one word for group of words where ever possible.
e.g. The person who leads India = India’s Captain
Search the key words and join them with relevant words. Reduce the passage up to one third.
Give the title to the summary considering the central idea of the passage.
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Chapter 3.1: Summary Writing
Discuss in pairs and guess the correct alternative for the following.
To summarise means _______ .
Put information in chronological order
To recapitulate the main points in selection
To introduce new information
To write one’s opinion about selection
The type of summary that consists of a paragraph to express the main idea is _______.
Outline
Report
Synopsis
Written summary
There are various ways of incorporating other writers’ works into your own writing. They differ according to the closeness of your writing to the source writing. Match the ways of writing in brief given in column (A) with their descriptions in column (B).
SOLUTION:
Complete the following as instructed. Read the passage and write its summary according to the given steps.
Communication is a part of our everyday life. We greet one another, smile or frown, depending on our moods. Animals, too, communicate, much to our surprise. Just like us, interaction among animals can be both verbal or non-verbal. Singing is one way in which animals can interact with one another. Male blackbirds often use their melodious songs to catch the attention of the females. These songs are usually rich in notes variation, encoding various kinds of messages. Songs are also used to warn and keep off other blackbirds from their territory, usually a place where they dwell and reproduce.
Large mammals in the oceans sing too, according to adventurous sailors. Enormous whales groan and grunt while smaller dolphins and porpoises produce pings, whistles, and clicks. These sounds are surprisingly received by other mates as far as several hundred kilometers away.
SOLUTION:
Communication in the animal world
Communication is common to both humans and animals and is used to convey different moods and messages through verbal and non-verbal modes. Male blackbirds are known to sing to attract females as well as to keep other blackbirds off their territory. Similarly, sea mammals sing to attract mates as far as hundreds of kilometers away.
Cut redundant words:
We’re often inefficient in our language, using more words than necessary. Consider the following phrases. Find five more redundant words.
a. “Circle around” can become “circle.”
b. “Write down” can become “write.”
c. “Added bonus” is simply a “bonus.”
d. “Get to the point as quickly as possible” is really “get to the point.”
e. “Close proximity” is “close.”
f. “During the course of” is “during.”
SOLUTION:
New Innovation
Added bonus
Past experience
Free gift
End result
do it yourself.
Adverbs clutter up your copy. You can usually live without them. Just delete italicized word and rewrite.
“That’s usually a good thing to do.”
SOLUTION:
“That’s a good thing to do.”
“That’s fairly good coffee.”
SOLUTION:
“That’s good coffee.”
“I totally agree.”
SOLUTION:
“I agree.”
“Actually, I disagree.”
SOLUTION:
“I disagree.”
One word substitutes are words that replace a group of words or a full-sentence effectively without creating any ambiguity in the meaning of the sentences.
(a) The life story of man written by himself: autobiography
(b) A sound that cannot be heard: inaudible
(c) A list of books: catalogue
(d) A sentence whose meaning is unclear: ambiguous
Find as many examples as you can from the internet and make a list.
SOLUTION:
The following are some examples of one-word substitutions -
a. Printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface - Lithography
b. The scientific study of bodily diseases -Pathology
c. Study of earth and rocks – Geology
d. Study of human development –Anthropology
e. One with unlimited power – Autocrat
f. A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one – Allegory
g. In exactly the same words as were used originally – Verbatim
h. One who is capable of using both hands –Ambidextrous
i. One who doesn’t consume alcohol - Teetotaller
Use of noun in apposition:
Apposition is a grammatical construction in which two elements, normally noun phrases, are placed side by side, with one element serving to identify the other in a different way; the two elements are said to be in apposition.
Apposition can be used to make compound sentences short and simple.
Neha is their eldest child and she is very intelligent.
- Neha, their eldest child, is very intelligent. [Here, Neha and their eldest child are the same person.] Provide two such examples of apposition.
SOLUTION:
My closest friend is a filmmaker. She lives in Bangalore.
My closest friend, a filmmaker, lives in Bangalore.
Athens was once the cultural capital of the world. It is now in ruins.
Athens, once the cultural capital of the world, is now in ruins.
Transforming Complex to Simple: By using phrases like ‘too...to’ or using noun phrase instead of a clause:
Nagpur is the city where oranges grow.
- Oranges grow in Nagpur
The old man is so weak that he cannot walk.
- The old man is too weak to walk.
Change the following sentence into simple:
Mr Rohit is the member and he is also the director.
SOLUTION:
Mr Rohit is the member and director.
The room is so small that it cannot accommodate many people.
SOLUTION:
The room is too small to accommodate many people.
You have to prove that you are innocent.
SOLUTION:
You have to prove your innocence.
He was late so he walked in a great hurry.
SOLUTION:
Being late, he walked in a great hurry.
Read any book of your choice and write its summary according to the steps explained in the chapter.
SOLUTION:
Shakespeare’s Hamlet
Hamlet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare and tells the story of a young prince of Denmark, Prince Hamlet, who has returned home from school to mourn the death of his father, the King of Denmark, who had died two months earlier. Back home, Hamlet is disgusted to find that his mother has already remarried his uncle, who has now declared himself as the king. The ghost of the King of Denmark then appears to Prince Hamlet, revealing that he was murdered by Hamlet’s mother and uncle. The King’s ghost then asks his son to avenge his murder by killing the new king. Hamlet then plots to seek revenge, but in his obsession drives the woman he loves, Ophelia, to madness and eventual suicide and even kills her innocent father. His uncle, in turn, also plots to kill him. The play ends with a duel between Hamlet and Ophelia’s brother, during which, Hamlet, Ophelia’s brother, the King, and the Queen, are all killed.
Find some professions that require the skill of summary writing and editing. Write them in your notebook.
SOLUTION:
The following are some of the professions requiring the skill of summary writing and editing:
News reporter
Proof-reader
Content Editor
Film critic
