Reading &Writing a Summary

STAGES OF WRITING A SUMMARY

Reading	Writing	Editing
Skim Read Reread	write down the main idea of each section in one sentence write a thesis statement3 write the first draft write the second /final version	check for accuracy and objectivity check if it is written in your own words revise it for style, grammar and punctuation

SAMPLE PRACTICE

1. Read the article and focus on the underlined parts. What do you think they represent? Answer the questions below.

These may serve as an outline of your summary.

Who? When? Where? What? Why? What result?

b) Would you like to suggest a different selection (see the underlined parts again) to write the thesis of a summary?

c) Write your thesis statement. If you can’t do it in your own words, use some from the text and paraphrase later.

The economy: migrant support The recent arrival of east Europeans into Britain, in order to undertake employment which much of the British population shun, replicates patterns that developed during the Victorian period. For much of the 19th century the Irish formed part of the labour force working on some of the toughest manual jobs, leading some historians to doubt the extent to which industrialisation could have taken place without them. Similarly, German immigrants in Victorian Britain undertook some of the hardest work in the East End of London, including sugar baking. Russian Jewish immigrants in the late Victorian and Edwardian years found themselves working in East End sweatshops, while postwar British prosperity could not have happened without working-class immigrants from all over the world. However, migrants have not simply acted as a cheap labour force - as the number of foreign millionaires in contemporary London testifies. Fabulously wealthy businessmen such as Roman Abramovich have predecessors in German tycoons of the 19th century. Some of these may simply have owned bakers and butchers shops, but others helped to establish some of Britain's largest companies. Immigrant Ludwig Mond's son was one of the founders of IСI. Meanwhile, the descendants of the Russian Jewish migrants of the late 19th century have gone on to become major players in British industry and the professions, as have refugees from Nazi Germany.(222) /from Arriving in Style by Panikos Panayi. History Magazine. July 2010/

When editing your summary answer the questions:

1. Have you accurately represented the author’s ideas and key points (the author’s emphasis)?

2. Have you written it in your OWN words? If you quoted the author, use quotation marks.

3. Have you mentioned the author periodically?

4. Have you included any minor details or your own ideas?

5. Is it the right length? (normally 1/3 or 1/4 of the original text)

6. Have you included all the necessary information in the introduction? (name of the author, the title of article, the name of magazine, journal, newspaper, date of publication)

Revise it for style, grammar, spelling and punctuation.

More about writing a summary

Focus on the Tone

Tone is the attitude the writer wants to convey, the emotional colouring of his/her writing

Formal, informal, angry, enthusiastic, detached, humorous, serious, optimistic, pessimistic concerned ….?

What makes you think so? How does it affect paraphrasing?

Read the extract and choose appropriate synonyms from the list below.

Mr Bercow's4 biggest year for Christmas splurging was 2010, when more than £26,000 was spent on Christmas tree maintenance by the Commons authorities he controls. In 2009 it was felt necessary to spend £1,240 on decorations. That's a lot to spend on fairies5, even for a man of his delicate aesthetics. Exactly what 'maintenance' of a Christmas tree entails is not explained. Does it mean Hoovering (пылесосить) the pine needles from the carpet? /from “The Squeaker Decks the Hall with Bags of Money”. The Daily Mail. March 24, 2012/

splurging: spending spree/ shopping / money wasting

It was felt necessary: [the Speaker] thought it a good idea/ decided

a man of his delicate aesthetics: a man of fine taste / artistically minded

entails: implies/ involves/ means