SUMMARY WRITING 101 Student Handout

7/23/2019 SUMMARY WRITING 101 Student Handout

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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 !marks :

ont!nt "# mar$s%- "he key points you were asked to select from the passageSty&! "' mar$s%- "he accuracy and quality of your writing- "he extent to which you are able to use your own words

(roc!ss ) St!*s to o+tain *oints in th! cont!nt

#ere$s % simple steps to identifying the content points from the passage.

St!* 1R!adthe question and *ic$ outthe key instruction words.

&o in short, the question requires you to identify , $!y ar!as:

"he '''''''''''''''' of the sweet potato plant.

"he ''''''.. of these different parts.

"he ''''''''''''''''. of these different parts.

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"he sweet potato plant has many nutritional benefits. Using your own words as -aras *ossi+&!, summarise the uses and nutritional benefits of the different parts of thesweet potato plant as discussed in the passage.

Us! on&y in-ormation -rom *aragra*hs . to /

(our summary should be in continuous writing, and should not be longer than )*words +not including the words in italics below !


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St!*

/ark out clearly the area of text to be summarised from the passage.

0se only information from paragraphs 1 to .

St!* ,

3ick out the content points.

45oid thedistractorsand !&a+oration *oints.

6e5er lose sight of what the question wants7

2istractors3 phrases or sentences which are irrele5ant to what the question wants.

4&a+oration *oints3 phrases or sentences which do not form points in themsel5es,but gi5e extra information as examples or explanations.

8emember that there will be more points a5ailable than the number you need toscore full marks for content +! marks.

"herefore, it is possible to score full marks for content7

(ractic!

5!t6s start o+taining th! *oints -rom (aragra*h .

9eep in mind what are the , $!y ar!asyou should focus on when gathering points :

"he different parts of the sweet potato plant.

"he uses of these different parts.

"he nutritional benefits of these different parts.

Write out your points by filling in the paragraph summary chart.

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"he sweet potato is superior in nutritional 5alue to most other root crops. Its 5itamincontent is comparable to most fruit and 5egetables as well. It is a rich source of beta-carotene, thiamin, itamins ; and < as well as anti-oxidants. 4nti-oxidants help in thepre5ention of heart diseases and certain types of cancer. "hey can also increase thebody=s ability to detoxify pollutants and counteract the effects of ageing. >urthermore,sweet potatoes contain insoluble and soluble dietary fibre. &oluble fibre helps to bringdown blood cholesterol le5els while insoluble fibres pre5ents constipation.


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5!t6s start o+taining th! *oints -rom (aragra*h 7

5!t6s start o+taining th! *oints -rom (aragra*h /

5ist o- Summary (oints -rom (aragra*h . to /

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3resently, research is being carried out to produce more inno5ati5e food productsusing the sweet potato. In ?apan, a dark-purple hued sweet potato 5ariety known as@4yamurasaki= is used to make purple flour as well as natural food coloring. 4s the

nutritional composition of the sweet potato is similar to certain fruits, it is possible tomake Aams, Auices and can it in syrup.


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(roc!ss ) St!*s to im*ro8ing sty&! in summary writing

Introduction(ou ha5e learned a lot about the assessment of content, and ha5e de5eloped somestrategies to ensure you locate and identify as many content points as possible.

6ow, let$s look at style. "here are C marks allocated to the style in which yoursummary is written.

9udg!m!nt o- Sty&!"he examiners Audge the style of your summary writing under 2 categories:. 0se of own words2. 0se of


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Summary o- Summary Writing 101

5!arning (ointsEet$s re5iew the summary writing skills we ha5e learned together7

Summary ;u!stion

8ead the question properly.

3ick out the key instruction words.

;heck the area of text to be summarised.

9eep to the word limit laid down for the summary.

0se the opening words pro5ided in the question.

ont!nt

Eocate and identify at least 2 content points.

45oid the distractors and elaboration points.

Sty&!

Drganise your content points according to key areas required by the question.

0se your words as far as possible.

0se a 5ariety of sentence structures.

0se linking de5ices.

;heck that your summary does not ha5e grammar, spelling or punctuation

errors.

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om+ination Tas$ Writing your 2ra-t Summary

8efer to all the points we ha5e surfaced earlier from the passage.

8emember that you should use your own words as far as possible, check your

mechanical accuracy, and ha5e 5aried sentence structure.

(ou may want to classify these points into the % key areas required by the question, soas to ha5e better organisation and linking for your summary.

>or now, do not worry about the word limit.

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SUMMARY WRITING 101 Student Handout