SummaryWritingChapter4Objectives

GiveanappropriatedefinitionforasummaryKnowthecharacteristicsofagoodsummaryLearnthetechniquesinsummarywritingLearnthestepsinsummarywritingPracticeI.Whatisasummary?Asummaryisashortenedpassage,whichretainstheessentialinformationoftheoriginal.Itisafairlybriefrestatement---inyourownwords

---ofthecontentsofapassage.Note:yousimplyreportbackwhatthewriterhassaid,withoutmakingvaluejudgments.II.CharacteristicsofagoodsummaryCanbeunderstoodwithoutreferencetotheoriginal;Isafaithful

reproductionof,orcontainsonlytheideasorinformationof,theoriginal;Isbriefwithoutanyunnecessarydetail;IsareadableunifiedwholeIII.TechniquesinsummarywritingParaphrasing Toparaphrasemeanstocompletelyandcorrectlyexpressotherpeople’sideasinone’sownwords.Examples:

1.You’vecookedusallahotpotato.(atroublesomepersonorissue)2.Preventionisbetterthancure. (Itisbettertopreventsomething unpleasantfromhappeningthan trytoputitrightafterwards.)★Ithelpsusunderstandtheoriginalbetter.★Ithelpsusgraspthecentralideaandthemainpoints.★Ithelpsuswritesummariesthatarebriefandtothepoint,andinourownwords.Theimportanceofparaphrasing★Readtheoriginalcarefullyandcomprehenditsmeaningwhollyandcorrectly.★Considertheoriginalarticleasawhole,notinisolatedsentences.StepsofparaphrasingGraspingthecentralideasIII.TechniquesinsummarywritingWaysofcondensationUsesynonymsorsynonymousphrasesHehadagoodcommandofEnglish.(HeknewEnglishwell.)ChangethestructureofsimplesentencesMybrotherhasanappreciationofmodernart.(Mybrotherappreciatesmodernart.)III.TechniquesinsummarywritingTurncomplexsentencesintosimplesentencesHereceivedawelcomethatwasascoldasice.(Hereceivedanicywelcome.)CombinethesentencesHurryup.Ifyoudon’t,you’llmissthetrain.(Hurryuporyou’llmissthetrain.)Findingthetopicsentenceandmakinganoutline

topicsentence

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outlineIV.Howtowriteasummary?TheimportanceofsummarywritingNecessaryelementsforagoodsummaryPropercitation

title,author,source;dateofpublicationandthetext(journalarticles)Thesisstatement

thetopicorgeneralsubjectmatterofthetext;theauthor’smajorassertion,comment,orpositiononthetopicSupportingideas

majorsupportingideas;relationshipsamongtheseideasnospecificstheauthor’spurposeinwritingnopersonalopinions,ideas,andinferences.Grammarandthestructureofwritingavoiddirectquotation;usetransitionalwordsLength

1/4to1/3oftheoriginalReadthearticleTounderstandthearticleandfindthegeneraltheme.RereadthearticleDivideintosectionsandlabeleachsection.Understandtheimportantparts.Writeone-sentencesummaries

Summarizeeachsectionofthought.StepsinwritingasummaryFormulatethethesisstatementWeavetheone-sentencesection-summariestogether.WritethefirstdraftIn

thefirstsentenceortwo:Theauthor’snameThearticle’sorchapter’snameTheauthor’sthesisstatementThenthesummarysentencesforeachparagraphorsection.Expressinyourownwords,toavoidplagiarism.Occasionalsupportingideasifnecessary.Note:Eliminateunnecessarywordsandrepetitions.Eliminatepersonalideasandinferences.Usetransitionsforasmoothandlogicalflowofideas.Concludewitha‘summingup’sentence.EditthedraftIsalltheimportantinformationinthesummary?AmIlistingthingsout?