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WRITING A SUMMARY

Summarizing skills are very important for university students. You need to use summaries of
information, opinions and arguments of other people to support or provide evidence for your
own ideas on academic topics. Writing good summaries also shows that you have read and
understood the sources which you are supposed to study.

Key characteristics of a good summary

It is shorter that the original text
It does not change the main meaning of the original text
It is written in your own words, otherwise you may plagiarize the text
It focuses on the main idea but may include any key supporting details

1. Summarizing a short paragraph - work with a partner and try to say the same thing
differently.
people individuals job ………………
achieve ……………… wealth ………………
satisfaction ……………… pressure ………………

2. Look at the paragraph below and the notes. Underline the parts that the writer has
noted down.
People working in all of these jobs have a range of targets to achieve and deadlines to meet in
order to satisfy their employers. If you work in sales and marketing, you will almost certainly
have to meet sales targets. If you are a teacher, you will have to meet deadlines for handling
in students’ grades. Or, if you are an engineer, you will have to meet project deadlines. A
shortage of time seems to cause pressure in a wide range of professions.

Meet goals and deadlines = happy boss.

Stressful jobs = deadlines + limited time.

3. How different is the following summary from the original text? Is the student likely to
be accused of plagiarizing?
Meeting goals and deadlines is the key to keeping your boss happy. All of these stressful jobs
have a lot of deadlines and limited time to meet them.

4. Discuss the features of an effective summary with a partner. Are the following
statements true or false?
A) the same order of facts and ideas as the original
B) similar wording to the original with some phrase exactly the same
C) different sentence structures from the original
D) identification of key points in the original
E) additional information which helps understanding the topic
F) simpler vocabulary than the original
G) a personal comment on the subject

What is your method of writing a summary?

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5. To write a summary, follow these steps:

( but first complete them)
expand your notes change the order the main idea the main points

a mind map clearly and briefly have included all

1. Read the text through.
2. Highlight …
3. Reread the text making notes and / or …
4. Put away the original and … in your own words.
5. Restate … at the beginning and indicate where the information is from.
6. Mention other major points.
7. … of the points if it makes the structure more logical.
8. Re-read your summary to see if you … important information and expressed
it ….

LANGUAGE FOR SUMMARIZING

A. LINKING EXPRESSIONS
They show how ideas are connected to each other and help the reader understand the
text.
Underline the words that you are used to using and compare your list with a partner.
sequence: firstly, second, secondly, third, thirdly, next, last, finally, in addition,
moreover, furthermore, in conclusion, to summarise
comparison: similarly, likewise, also, too, as, just as, and, like, similar to, be the same
as, not only ... but also, to compare with/to
cause: for, because, since, as, because of, to cause
effect: so, as a result, as a consequence, therefore, thus, consequently, hence, to result
from, due to, to result in, to affect
contrast: however, nevertheless, still, although, even though, but, yet, despite, in spite
of, in comparison, while, whereas, on the contrary, on the other hand, by/in contrast,
having said that
emphasis: undoubtedly, indeed, obviously, generally, admittedly, particularly,
especially, clearly
example: for example, for instance, that is, such as, including, namely, especially,
particularly, in particular

B. VERBS
To introduce the main idea you can use phrases
“According to the author“
“The author‘s opinion/view is that“
or reporting verbs in the present tense to indicate what the author says - the author…
explains declares stresses suggests agrees
analyses states criticizes recommends introduces
compares mentions argues advises concludes
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informs claims points out

Reorder the words in brackets to make correct sentences. Add punctuation where
necessary.
1. (Escher according to) It should be possible to stabilize this chemical reaction for commercial
use.
2. (that Bostock’s is view) Crime statistics are frequently manipulated to support political
arguments.
3. (has out that Stevens pointed) Some plant species may die out before they have even been
recorded.
C. YOUR PERSONAL OPINION
The expression of your personal opinion is not a part of the summary itself but may follow
when you evaluate information and make conclusions. If you do not give a reference to an
idea, the reader will normally understand that it is your view. There is little need for using
phrases such as I think or In my opinion
But you can use, for example It is likely that
The evidence suggests that
It can be argued that
Complete the sentences with one suitable word.
1. Most people would ……….. that technological innovation is the key to manufacturing
success.
2. The evidence ……….. that molecular water exists across the surface of the moon.
3. It could be ……. that the internet is forcing us to think about copyright.

D. PARAPHRASING
WORDS THAT NEED NOT BE CHANGED (it will not be plagiarism)
nouns / noun phrases that we all use for specific things,
e.g. hospital, passport, processed food, residential area, chemical reaction
specialized words within particular disciplines,
e.g. cash, budget, catalyst, relative humidity

Circle the words that you do not need to paraphrase.

1. High-speed trains are a prerequisite for a thriving modern economy.
2. The Asian tiger is under threat as a trophy for hunters on safari; as a source of parts for
traditional medicine; and for its skin.
3. Reaching agreement over copyright issues is the most pressing issue that the music industry
faces.

USE OF SYNONYMS
Make sure that the synonym you choose represents the meaning of the original word
in its particular context, see the definition and examples of use.

Replace the underlined word with a synonym.

1. Fortunately, no harm ………. was done to the unique ecosystem.
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2. A financial penalty ……….. was imposed on the company found guilty of polluting the
river.
3. This was an interesting experiment to investigate ……….. the effects of long-term
isolation.
4. The cuts are likely to have negative ……… effects on the economy.
5. The problem was extraordinarily ……….. difficult to solve.

CHANGES IN WORD FORMS

Many words have several grammatical forms. These are called word families.
analyse - analysis, analyst - analytical - analytically
Changing the word into a different form makes you change the grammar of a sentence and
paraphrase it in your own words.

Try to change these sentences, use the word in brackets:

1. Competition for quality jobs at postgraduate level is fierce at the moment. ( compete )

2. The mineral wealth of the Ural mountains has had a fundamental effect on the region’s
history. ( fundamentally )

CHANGES IN STRUCTURE
Sometimes the change in the grammatical structure can help you to make a
paraphrase. You need grammatical knowledge to make transformations.

Paraphrase these sentences by changing the structure.

1. The spread of GM trials led to a series of protests. (use result from )

2. It may happen that paying a fine will be cheaper than going to court. (use as …as )

3. Despite their many advantages, lithium-ion batteries have some drawbacks. ( use although
)

4. It is possible that a medical breakthrough in the field of cancer will happen in the next ten
years.
( use a modal )
5. After Tom Azezi left the team, his inventions were on a much smaller scale. ( use -ing )

Credit assignment

Choose ONE of the three texts that are uploaded in the information system and write an
academic summary of the article.

This description explains how your summary will be assessed.

Excellent Satisfactory Unsatisfactory

The summary convinces the reader The summary convinces your The summary doesn’t convince the
that you have read the article closely reader that you have read and reader that you have read the article
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and understand its argument because understood the key points of the closely because its argument is not
the summary accurately and article. It could, perhaps, clearly represented or there may be
objectively represents the author’s improve in showing the inaccuracies. The summary may
central claim and key supporting connection between the main provide a list of points rather than
points. The summary does not claim and how it is supported. any sense of a larger claim
merely list the main ideas but shows The summary may have some supported by reasons and evidence.
how the reasons support the claim. extra, unneeded details from the The summary loses focus through
The summary is selective about article. There may be parts of inclusion of minor or off-topic
details and examples, choosing only the summary that are inaccurate, points. Your opinions and
ones that help to illustrate a key incomplete, or subjective. judgments are included in the
point. summary.

Sources
Ex 1-3 Rogers, Wilkin: Skillful Reading and Writing, Macmillan, 2013,p.63
http://lrs.ed.uiuc.edu/students/fwalters/paraphrase.html
H. Němcová, English for Biologists
Ken Patterson: Oxford Grammar for EAP, OUP, 2013
http://writing.colostate.edu/comparchive/co150/09-10/phaseoneacademicsummary.cfm
prepared by DanielaDlabolová