SUMMARY WRITING

A summary is a short overview of the main points of a text. The purpose of a summary is to quickly
give the reader or listener an idea of what this material is saying.
A summary contains only the ideas of the original text.

Do not insert any of your own opinions, interpretations, deductions or comments into a summary.

Writing a summary
The following guidelines apply particularly to writing the type of summary based on aspects of a
single, lengthy passage.

Step 1: Read the question carefully

This is very important, as it is unlikely that you will be required to summarize the whole of the
original passage(s).

The wording of the question will direct you towards the points you should include.

For example, the whole passage may be about everyday life in Japan, but you may be asked to
summarize only what it tells you about going to school in that country.

You must, therefore, keep the wording of the question clearly in mind when reading the passage(s).

Step 2: Read right through the passage(s) once

This will allow you to gain a good, overall understanding of what the material is about. Remember
that it is important that your summary shows that you have a clear overview of your subject matter.

Step 3: identify the information that is relevant

Refresh your memory of what the question asks you to do and then read through the passage(s)
again very carefully.

At this stage you should underline or highlight on the question paper all the information that is
relevant to the question. You must be ruthless. Ignore anything that is not relevant, no matter how
interesting you may find it.

Step 4: Make notes in your own words

Now is the time to put pen to paper.

You should make rough notes of the points you have identified, using your own words as far as
possible. Remember, the use of your own words is important as this is a way of showing that you
have understood.

Step 5: Count the main points

Try to:

» paraphrase (rephrase) parts of the text to which you refer

» use synonyms instead of the exact words from the text.

This will make it very clear that you understand what you have read.

1) Summarize in your own words, the advantages and disadvantages of

owning a television. Your account should not be more than 120 words.

 
With the invention of televisions, many forms of entertainments have been replaced. Lively
programs like television serials and world news, have removed from us the need to read
books or papers, to listen to radios or even to watch movies. In fact, during the 1970s, when
televisions were first introduced, cinema theatres suffered great losses as many people chose
to stay in the comforts of their homes to watch their favorite programs.

Indeed, the television brings the world into our house. Hence, by staying at home and
pressing some buttons world happenings are immediately presented before us. Children
nowadays develop faster in language, owing to the early exposure to television programs. At
such tender age, it would be difficult for them to read books or papers. Thus, television
programs are a good source of learning for them. Furthermore, pronunciations by
the newscasters, actors or actresses are usually standardized, hence young children watching
these programs will learn the 'right' pronunciations too. Owning a television is also extremely
beneficial to working parents who are usually too busy or tired to take their kids out for
entertainments. Surrounded by the comforts of their home, the family can have a chance to
get together and watch their favorite television programs.

Of course, we should not be too carried away by the advantages of the television and
overlook its negative points. Watching television programs takes away our need to read. Why
bother to read the papers when we can hear them from the television news reports? Why read
books when exciting movies are screened? The lack of reading is unhealthy especially to
younger children as they will grow up only with the ability to speak but not write. I have a
neighbor whose six-year-old child can say complete sentences like "I like cats," but when told
to write out the sentence, is unable to do so. Not only are the writing skills of children
affected, their thinking capacities are also handicapped. Television programs remove the need
to think. The stories, ideas and facts are woven in the way television planners wanted.
Exposure to such opinions and the lack of thinking opportunities will hinder the children's
analyzing ability.

Despite the disadvantages of watching television programs, personally, I think that choosing
the 'middle path', which is to do selective television viewing and not over indulging in the
habit should be the best solution to reconcile both the merits and demerits of owning a
television.
 2) Show how environmental pollution has plagued earth from ancient to
modern times by writing a summary not exceeding 120 words.

 
I run Green Way International, a conservation group that campaigns against and conducts
research into environmental pollution. The data that we receive from all corners of the globe
give us no cause for optimism -- the results of our studies and the minimal success of our
crusades testify to the fact that we are fighting a losing battle.

Of course, environmental pollution is not a modern phenomenon. It began ever since people
'began to congregate in towns and cities. The ancient Athenians removed refuse to dumps
outside the main parts of their cities. The Romans dug trenches outside their cities where they
could deposit their garbage, waste and even corpses. These unhygienic practices undoubtedly
led to the outbreak of viral diseases.

Unfortunately, Man refuses to acknowledge or correct his past mistakes. As cities grew in the
Middle Ages, pollution became even more evident. Ordinances had to be passed in medieval
cities against indiscriminate dumping of waste into the streets and canals. In sixteenth century
England, efforts were made to curb the use of coal to reduce the amount of smoke in the air.
These, however, had little effect on the people's consciences.

I think that the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century was the point of no return. It
heralded the mushrooming of industries and power driven machines. True, the standard of
living increased, but it was achieved at a great environmental cost.

In Cubatao of Brazil, for instance, industrial plants belch thousands of tons of pollutants daily

and the air contains high levels of benzene, a cancer causing substance. In one recent year
alone, I discovered 13,000 cases of respiratory diseases and that a tenth of the workers risked
contracting leukemia. Green Way International hoped to seek the assistance of Brazil's
government officials but we were sorely disappointed. Unwilling to lose revenue from the
factories, they blamed the high mortality rate on poor sanitation and malnutrition. We
continue to provide medical assistance to the inhabitants of Brazil's "Valley of Death", but
there is little else that we can do to alleviate the suffering.

Our planet has its own mechanisms to deal with natural pollutants. Decay, sea spray and
volcanic eruptions release more sulphur than all the power plants, smelters and industries in
the world do. Lightning bolts create nitrogen oxides and trees emit hydrocarbons called
trepenes. These substances are cycled through the ecosystem and change form, passing
through plant and animal tissues, sink to the sea and return to earth to begin the cycle all over
again.

However, can the earth assimilate the additional millions of tons of chemicals like sulphur,
chlorofluorocarbons, carbon dioxide and methane that our industries release each year? If the
dying forests in Germany, Eastern Europe, Sweden and Norway give any indication, then the
answer must be a resounding "No!". Oxides of sulphur and nitrogen from the power plants
and factories and motor vehicles have acidified the soil. This has destroyed the organisms
necessary to the nutrient cycle as well as injured the trees' fine root systems. The weakened
trees become more vulnerable to drought, frost, fungi and insects.

Many a time, my staff have returned from their research tours around the world, lamenting
the slow but sure destruction of our cultural treasures. The carvings on the Parthenon, a
magnificent building in Athens, have been eroded by acid deposition. The Roman
Colosseum, England's Westminster Abbey and India's Taj Mahal have also fallen victim to
insidious chemicals that float in the air. The stained glass windows of cathedrals from the
twelfth and thirteenth centuries have been corroded to barely recognizable images as well.

Years earlier, I had studied a secluded island in the Pacific and found its undisturbed
ecosystem in complete balance and stability. In despair, I once contemplated living the rest of
my days on the island in solitude. Pollution, however, is no respecter of boundaries - when I
reached the island, the beaches were awash with trash and dead marine life while the once-
lush foliage were sparse and limp. It was then that I realized this dying planet needs allies and
not fatalism and resignation. I returned to resume my crusade and I hope others will join me...