summary writing.docx

1、summary writingSummary WritingThe best way to demonstrate your comprehension of the information and the ideas in any piece of writing - from a single paragraph to an entire book - is to compose an accurate, clearly organized, and clearly written summary of that piece. By summary, we mean a brief res

2、tatement, in your own words, of the content of a passage. This restatement should focus on the passages central idea. It should indicate all the main points in the passage that support this central idea and the relationships between them, including their order and their emphasis. In the case of long

3、er pieces, it should also include a very few important illustrations or examples from the passage. And it should indicate the slant, bias, and possibly even the tone of the piece, if these are important. But the summary should not contain any of your own ideas, opinions, or conclusions.When you fail

4、 to pick up the meaning and the implications of a sentence or two, theres no real harm done. Rather, it is over the longer stretches of reading - the paragraph, the section, the article, or the chapter - that inattentive（疏忽 ）or haphazard（偶然的 ）reading creates problems. Over these longer stretches, yo

5、u have to try not only to catch every word, but also to perceive the shape of the argument.You have to grasp the central idea, to distinguish the main points that comprise it, to relate the parts to the whole, and to note key examples. This kind of reading, of course, takes a lot more energy and det

6、ermination than casual reading. But in the long run, its an energy-saving method because it enables you to retain the content of the material and to use that content as a basis for your own responses. In other words, it allows you to develop an accurate and coherent written commentary that goes beyo

7、nd a summary.Writing summaries is an excellent way of encouraging the essential habit of close, accurate, thoughtful reading. It is also an excellent way of encouraging your writing habits in general, since a good summary exhibits almost all of the qualities of any other piece of good writing: unity

8、, clarity, coherence, accuracy, tightness, stylistic maturity, and of course grammatical correctness.How long should a summary be? This depends both on the length of the original passage and on the purpose of the summary. But a good rule of thumb is that a summary should be no longer than one quarte

9、r the length of the original passage. Of course, if you were summarizing an entire chapter or even an entire book, it would have to be much shorter than that. This particular summary is about a third of the length of the original passage; and while it should not be longer, it could very well be shor

10、ter.1 Qualities of a Summary： Objectivity Completeness BalanceThe qualities of a summary are as follows:Objectivity: No idea that is not the authors should be included in the summary, and no opinion of the summary writer should be in the summary. No judgments are permitted in a summary.Completeness:

11、 Depending on the assignment, the summary should contain every main idea in the article. Stating only the first main idea or only one main idea and details to support it will not give the reader a complete idea of what the article was about.Balance: Giving equal attention to each main idea and stres

12、sing ideas that the author stresses will result in an accurate summary.After finishing writing a summary, how do you judge or check it?Questions to judge a valid summary are as follows:1) Did I include all the important ideas?2) Did I omit all unnecessary words and phrases?3) Does the summary read s

13、moothly?4) Would a reader of my summary who had not read the article get a clear idea of the article?2 How to Write SummariesYOU should bear in mind the following requirements: your summary should not be longer than a third of the original passage; it should be faithful to the original, with no chan

14、ge in facts or views, and no important points left out; and it should be written in continuous prose, not in the form of an outline.Here is a five-step process for writing summaries:1. Read the article carefully, try to understand it accurately and look for main ideas.2. Write a list of points in no

15、te form while reading the passage or the article.3. Connect your points to write a rough draft of the summary in your own words. Refer to the passage or the article only when you want to make sure of some points. Do not count the number of words until you have finished your rough draft.4. Revise the

16、 rough draft, inserting transitional words and phrases5. Write a fair copy of the summary within the word limit after checking for grammatical corrections, punctuation and spelling.Sample 1When he stopped at a village, the motorist was told that a queen bee must be hidden in his car as there were th

17、ousands of bees nearby. On learning this, the man realized that the only way to escape would be to drive away as quickly as possible. After an hours hard driving, he arrived in London where he parked his car outside a hotel and went in to have a drink. It was not long before a customer, who had seen

18、 him arrive, hurried in to inform him that his car was covered with bees. The poor motorist telephoned the police and explained what had happened. The police decided that the best way to deal with the situation would be to call a bee-keeper. In a short time, the beekeeper arrived. He found the unwel

19、come passenger hidden near the wheels at the back of the car. Very grateful to the motorist for this unexpected gift, the keeper took the queen and her thousands of followers home in a large box. Equally grateful, the motorist drove away in peace, at last free from the black cloud which had hung ove

20、r his car. (192 words) Making a list of main points: 1. Drove quickly to avoid bees 2. Arrived in London3. Parked car - hotel - drink4. Customer told him: bees - car5.Telephoned police6. Sent beekeeper7. Found queen bee near wheels8.Took her and bees home - box 9. Drove away.Writing a rough draft:Be

21、cause he wanted to escape the bees, the driver drove away quickly.After he traveled for some time, the driver arrived in London. After he had parked his car outside a hotel he went in to have a drink. When a customer told him that his car was covered with bees, the driver telephoned the police. And

22、then the police asked for a beekeeper. The beekeeper found the queen been hidden near the wheels. Since the keeper took the queen and the bees home in a box, the driver drove away in peace. (93 words)Making a fair copy:In order to escape the bees, the driver drove away quickly and after some time ar

23、rived in London. Parking his car outside a hotel, he went in to have a drink. When he was told that his car was covered with bees, the driver telephoned the police. A bee-keeper was sent for and soon found the queen bee near the wheels. He took the queen and the bees home in a box and the driver the

24、n drove away in peace. (80 words)Sample 2At noon, just as I was leaving my friends office, it suddenly struck me that I had no idea where I had parked my car. I could hardly go up to a policeman and tell him that I had lost a small green car somewhere. I would simply have to look for it myself. Walk

25、ing down street after street, I examined each car closely and was greatly relieved to see a small green car just behind an old cart. But how disappointed I was to discover that though the car was exactly like my own, it belonged to someone else. Feeling quite tired now, I gave up the search and went

26、 off for lunch. Some time later, I left the restaurant and walked idly down the street. Turning the corner, I nearly jumped for joy: my car was right in front of me - and there was no mistaking it this time. I could not help smiling as I drew near. Pasted on the wind-screen was a little ticket which

27、 informed me that the car had been visited by a policeman in my absence. To add to it all, I was now guilty of a parking offense. ( 196 words)Making a list of main points: 1. Could not remember 2. Walked down street after street3. Examined each car4. Saw small green one5. Same - but someone elses 6.

28、 Gave up search7. Went for lunch8. Left restaurant9.Turned corner - found car10.Saw ticket - windscreen policeWriting a rough draft:Because the writer could not remember where he had left his car; he walked down street after street looking carefully at all the parked cars. At last, he saw a small gr

29、een one which was just the same as his but which belonged to someone else. He now gave up the search and went to a restaurant for lunch. He left the restaurant some time later and walked down the street. When he turned the corner; he suddenly found his car. As he went closer; he noticed that there w

30、as a police ticket on the wind-screen. (96 words)Making a fair copy:Unable to remember where he had parked the car; the writer went downstreet after street looking carefully at each car. At last, he saw a small green one which looked like his own but belonged to someone else. He now gave up the sear

31、ch and went for lunch. On leaving the restaurant some time later; he walked down the street and suddenly found his car just around the corner. As he drew near; he noticed a police ticket on the wind-screen. (82 words)Sample 3The guard went through carriage after carriage inquiring whether there was

32、a doctor on the train. He found one at last and quickly led the doctor to the luggage-van where a tall man was lying on the floor stretched out among heaps of mail-bags with a cushion under his head .The guard explained that he had discovered the man in the passage and, finding that the man was seriously ill, he had dragged him into the luggage-van. The doctor loosened the mans collar and after examining him thoroughly, he told the guard that the man was unconscious and would have to be taken to a hospital. When he heard this, the guard answered that th