SUMMARY WRITING 101

Introduction What is summary writing and what do you do?

In summary writing, you are asked to condense a selected area of text by:

reproducing facts and ideas required by the question,

using your own words as far as possible,
keeping within the word limit specified by the question,
in a well-constructed continuous paragraph.

When marking the summary, the examiners will look at 2 categories for a total of 15
marks :
Content (8 marks)
- The key points you were asked to select from the passage
Style (7 marks)
- The accuracy and quality of your writing
- The extent to which you are able to use your own words

Process - Steps to obtain points in the content

Here's 3 simple steps to identifying the content points from the passage.
Step 1
Read the question and pick out the key instruction words.
The sweet potato plant has many nutritional benefits. Using your own words as far
as possible, summarise the uses and nutritional benefits of the different parts of the
sweet potato plant as discussed in the passage.
Use only information from paragraphs 4 to 6.
Your summary should be in continuous writing, and should not be longer than 80
words (not including the words in italics below)
[15]

So in short, the question requires you to identify 3 key areas:

The of the sweet potato plant.
The .. of these different parts.
The . of these different parts.

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Step 2
Mark out clearly the area of text to be summarised from the passage.

Use only information from paragraphs 4 to 6.

Step 3
Pick out the content points.
Avoid the distractors and elaboration points.
Never lose sight of what the question wants!
Distractors: phrases or sentences which are irrelevant to what the question wants.
Elaboration points: phrases or sentences which do not form points in themselves,
but give extra information as examples or explanations.
Remember that there will be more points available than the number you need to
score full marks for content (15 marks).
Therefore, it is possible to score full marks for content!

Practice
Lets start obtaining the points from Paragraph 4.
The sweet potato is superior in nutritional value to most other root crops. Its vitamin
content is comparable to most fruit and vegetables as well. It is a rich source of betacarotene, thiamin, Vitamins C and E as well as anti-oxidants. Anti-oxidants help in the
prevention of heart diseases and certain types of cancer. They can also increase the
bodys ability to detoxify pollutants and counteract the effects of ageing. Furthermore,
sweet potatoes contain insoluble and soluble dietary fibre. Soluble fibre helps to bring
down blood cholesterol levels while insoluble fibres prevents constipation.
Keep in mind what are the 3 key areas you should focus on when gathering points :
The different parts of the sweet potato plant.
The uses of these different parts.
The nutritional benefits of these different parts.
Write out your points by filling in the paragraph summary chart.

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Lets start obtaining the points from Paragraph 5.

Presently, research is being carried out to produce more innovative food products
using the sweet potato. In Japan, a dark-purple hued sweet potato variety known as
Ayamurasaki is used to make purple flour as well as natural food coloring. As the
nutritional composition of the sweet potato is similar to certain fruits, it is possible to
make jams, juices and can it in syrup.
Lets start obtaining the points from Paragraph 6.
Even the leaves and shoots of the sweet potato are useful. They are a rich source of
polyphenols powerful anti-oxidants that prevent cancer. In several South-east Asian
countries, sweet potato shoots are cooked and eaten as a vegetable. Japanese
scientists are currently experimenting with the use of the leaf or vine in the production
of sweet potato green tea, bread or cakes and green sweet potato noodles while
keep the anti-oxidative properties intact.
List of Summary Points from Paragraph 4 to 6

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Process - Steps to improving style in summary writing

Introduction
You have learned a lot about the assessment of content, and have developed some
strategies to ensure you locate and identify as many content points as possible.
Now, let's look at style. There are 7 marks allocated to the style in which your
summary is written.
Judgement of Style
The examiners judge the style of your summary writing under 2 categories:
1. Use of own words
2. Use of English
Use of Own Words
Golden rule: The more you manage to avoid the original wording (without losing the
original meaning), the higher your mark for own words will be.
However, this does not mean you have to substitute all the words in the passage.
You just need to use your own words as far as possible!
Use of English
This can be classified under 3 sections:
1. Mechanical accuracy
2. Sentence structure
3. Organisation and linking
1.
Mechanical Accuracy
The ability to write without making errors in grammar, spelling or punctuation.
2.
Sentence structure
The ability to write in sentences and to vary their types by using:
Conjunctions, eg. and, but, since, when
Present participles, ie. the part of the verb ending in -ing
Relative pronouns, ie. who, whose, whom, which, that
3.
Organisation and linking
The ability to organise and link your content points by:
Combining points
Taking a point in a later stage of the text and linking it to one made earlier
Using linking devices
- To indicate a change of direction, eg. however, although, nevertheless
- To indicate a continuation of ideas, eg. in addition, also, furthermore

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Combination Task Writing your Draft Summary

Refer to all the points we have surfaced earlier from the passage.
Remember that you should use your own words as far as possible, check your
mechanical accuracy, and have varied sentence structure.
You may want to classify these points into the 3 key areas required by the question, so
as to have better organisation and linking for your summary.
For now, do not worry about the word limit.

Summary of Summary Writing 101

Learning Points
Let's review the summary writing skills we have learned together!
Summary Question

Read the question properly.

Pick out the key instruction words.
Check the area of text to be summarised.
Keep to the word limit laid down for the summary.
Use the opening words provided in the question.

Content
Locate and identify at least 12 content points.
Avoid the distractors and elaboration points.
Style

Organise your content points according to key areas required by the question.
Use your words as far as possible.
Use a variety of sentence structures.
Use linking devices.
Check that your summary does not have grammar, spelling or punctuation
errors.

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