VI.

WRITING A SUMMARY

1) DEFINITION/DIFFERENTIATION
Summary is a shortened or compressed version, in your own words, of something you have
read; OR: a brief description of the main ideas of the summarized text in which details and
repetitions should be omitted; OR: 10-30% compression of a whole text in your own words.
It should be differentiated from quoting and paraphrasing. Quoting is word-for-word
reproduction of the original source. Paraphrasing is reproduction of a small part of the text in
the same volume of detail in your own words.

2) REQUIREMENTS
a) brevity (it conveys the textual information briefly – 10-30% compression of the original).
b) fidelity to the source (it represents the source accurately and comprehensively)
c) completeness (it covers all the important points made in the text).
d) objectivity (it does not reflect your own point of view)

3) STAGES
1) Skim the article for general comprehension, identify the main topic and idea Find the main
point of the article.
2) Re-read the article. Underline important ideas, circle key terms. Divide the article into
sections and label each section in the margins, make up a plan. Cover briefly each point of the
plan.
Note the main idea of each paragraph if the article is short.
3) Write brief summaries of each section. This should become a brief outline of the
article. While doing so, divide the information into:
- Key points: cite them literally
- Significant points: compress and rephrase them
- Minor points: omit them
4) Write the main point of the article in your own words (a sentence that expresses the central
idea of the article as you have determined it from steps above). 
5) Write a draft of the summary. Combine all the information.
6) Review the draft and finalize your summary.
4) STRUCTURE
A summary typically contains about 6 sentences falling into 3 Parts:
I. Introduction 1) (author, source, title, topic, genre) and
2) the "umbrella" sentence covering the whole text

II. Brief outline of issues, problems raised, approaches to dealing with them, research results.

III. Conclusion (the conclusion drawn by the author of the source, the summarizer's evaluation of
the significance of the work, its target audience, analysis of the author's position and approach).
For some types of articles a summary typically has the following structure:
Part 1. Situation. It introduces the topic of the summary and answers the question: What are we
talking about?
Part II. Problem Solution. Problem answers the question: a) Why are we talking about this? or
b) What is the problem? Solution answers the question: What is to be/have been done?
Part III. Evaluation. It answers the question: How good is the solution?

5) SAMPLE
Original text: 'At a typical football match we are likely to see players committing deliberate
fouls, often behind the referee's back. They might try to take a throw-in or a free kick from an
incorrect but more advantageous positions in defiance of the clearly stated rules of the game.
They sometimes challenge the rulings of the referee or linesmen in an offensive way which often
deserves exemplary punishment or even sending off. No wonder spectators fight amongst
themselves, damage stadiums, or take the law into their own hands by invading the pitch in the
hope of affecting the outcome of the match.' [100 words]
Summary: Unsportsmanlike behaviour by footballers may cause hooliganism among spectators.
[9 words] (How to 2007)

6) TIPS
Do's
- When summarizing a passage, first absorb its meaning and then capture in your own words the
most important elements from the original (Perrin 2005, p.117)
- Follow the original organization where possible.
- The first sentence should express the overall message of the text. The remaining sentences
should present the most important ideas, data, conclusions in the text.
- Arrange all pieces logically.
- Use the author's key words.
- Use a lower level of language difficulty than the authors of the original use. Make the summary
clear and understandable to someone who has not read the original article. It should stand on its
own (Druker 2006).
Don’ts
- summarize as you read the text for the first time;
- use minor points and repeated information;
- include your own ideas, illustrations or interpretations;.
- use such phrases as “the author says”, “the article reports”;
- directly quote the author without quotation marks.
- Don't use such phrases as “the author says”, “the article reports”. Instead, use:
affirms, agrees, announces, answers, approves, argues, assures, believes, challenges, claims,
comments, confirms, criticizes, debates, decides, describes, determines, discusses,
emphasizes, explains, highlights, informs, inquires, interprets, manifests, makes known,
notes, objects, observes, offers, points (The Art 1996)

7) EVALUATION CRITERIA
Content:
Compression (list and gist)
Logical consistency (use connectors)
Coverage (mention all important things)/Generalization
Objectivity (reflect the source author's viewpoints rather than your own)
Language:
Accuracy (proofread for grammar mistakes)
Vocabulary range (use terms)
Independence from the source (rephrase)

8) REFERENCES
1. The Art of Writing Precis and Abstract (1996) Manual for Senior Students. Moscow, MGU.
2. Bell, J. (2006). Doing your Research Project. (4-th ed.). New York: Open University Press.
3. Blaxter, L. et al. (2006). How to Research. (3rd ed.). Open University Press. (Pp.54-57)
4. Druker, Ph. (2006). Advanced Technical Writing. How to Summarize. (Web outreach course)
University of Idaho. Retrieved January 24, 2008 from
http://www.class.uidaho.edu/adv_tech_wrt/resources
5. Perrin R. (2005). Handbook for College Research. Boston - New York: Houghton Mifflin
Company.
6. Plotnick, J.( 2007). Paraphrase and Summary. University of Toronto. Retrieved January 24,
2008 from http://www.utoronto.ca/ucwriting/paraphrase.html
7. How to Summarize. Copyright © Mantex 2000—2007 Retrieved January 24, 2008 from
http://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/summary.htm
8. Shintemirova, S., Temirkhanova, S. (2005). A Guide to Summary Writing. KBTU: Almaty.
9. Weidenborner, S. et.al. (2005). Writing Research Papers: A Guide to the Process. (7th ed.).
Boston – New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s. (Pp.143-156)

9) EXERCISES

Exercise 1. Write a 6-sentence summary of the text below. Compare it with the given sample
and evaluate both in terms of compression, coverage, logical consistency and generalization.

Original text. METHODS OF DRILLING

1. Drilling oil and gas has become as widespread and universal as man himself. The bit
has drilled the Arctic tundra and the desert sand, the ocean depth and the mountain top, the open
plain and the city square. Almost all types of conditions have been met, yet almost every day
there is something new in drilling. Man is never content. He must press on to new goals. He must
progress. Man likes a challenge and one of his greatest challenges is drilling.
As petroleum becomes harder to find and is located much deeper when it is found, so the drilling
industry keeps up with the need and builds bigger and more efficient equipment to dig down to
the oil.
2. Any successful system of drilling oil wells must provide first of all, a means of
fracturing or abrading the rocky formations to reach the oil reservoir, and second, it must provide
a means of excavating the drilling mud from the well. In addition, the walls of the well need to
be protected from caving and water and gas need to be sealed off. Wells are usually drilled
vertically or nearly so. But sometimes it may not be possible or desirable to drill a vertical well
because of some constraints. The well must of course be deep enough to reach the oil reservoir
and it should be wide enough to permit the introduction and operation of a pumping device
needed to make operation of the well profitable.
3. Percussion drilling is the most primitive and most efficient way of drilling which is
implemented by a wedge bit. The wedge bit is fixed on a steel rope or metallic rods to give
successive blows on the formation. When sufficient cuttings are accumulated on the bottom, a
special bucket with a valve extracts the cuttings from the hole. Nowadays there are special
transportable rigs for percussion drilling.
4. The rotary drilling method is comparatively new. The idea was introduced in 1901. In
the rotary method the hole is drilled by a rotating bit to which a force is applied. The bit is fixed
to and rotated by a drill string composed of drill pipe and drill collar with new sections or joints
being added as drilling progresses. Rotary drilling is used in different geological conditions, with
any agent such as air, gas, mud, jet bits of small diameters.
5. The major disadvantages of rotary drilling:
 Surface equipment must be of high power, a great part of it is wasted in rotating the drill
shaft and operating the surface equipment.
 Drill pipes must be of high quality.
 Hydraulic horsepower of pumps is not always used completely.
 The installations are very noisy which makes working conditions hard.
6. Rotary drilling comprises two types:
 the engine on the surface – rotary drilling; and
 the engine on the bottom of the well – turbodrilling and electrodrilling.
7. There are rotary drilling bits today which effectively cut through the earth. The drill
string, made of tough steel pipe, turns the bit and channels the drilling fluid down to lubricate it
and carry the cuttings away. The bit must be replaced when it wears out: and there has to be a
connection between the surface and the bit on the bottom.
8. In turbine drilling the bit is rotated by a turbo drill attached to the lower end of the drill
string. The turbo drill is powered by a multi-stage hydraulic turbine which is driven by the
drilling fluid. The turbine and rotary methods are interchangeable. Turbine drilling demonstrates
such benefits as:
 Fast penetration
 Elimination of twist-off and other hazards;
 Reduced drill pipe and tool join wear.
 Lower mud consumption.
 Reduced rig wear.
9. Turbine drilling is safe, fast and efficient and will substantially reduce well cost. The
turbo drill provides a hydraulic drive for the bit at the bottom of the hole and makes constant
rotating the drill pipe unnecessary. It can also be described as hydraulic rotary drilling.
 10. Novel drills. Major improvements have been made in rotary rigs over the years.
Considerable research has been done by the petroleum industry to develop novel drills. Novel
drills remove rock by four basic mechanisms: fusion and vaporization, thermal spalling,
chemical reactions and mechanically induced stresses.
11. The drills which fuse and vaporize rock are capable of heating above their melting
temperatures of 2000-4000 F. These fusion drills are varied because they can drill any type of
rock, but they have low drilling rates. The thermal spalling drills heat the rock surface to 700-
1100  F and create thermal stresses which cause "spall" of rock. Chemical drills use highly
reactive chemicals such as fluorine to drill rock at high rates. They have limited potential
because of the difficulty in handling large quantities of highly reactive chemicals and because of
the high cost of these chemicals. Drills which remove rock by mechanically induced stresses
have the greatest potential for drilling oil wells. Mechanical rock breakage is more efficient than
thermal spalling or fusion. These drills can drill any type of rock and they can operate in mud-
filled borehole.

Sample summary:
This text tracks down the evolution of the methods of drilling due to their growing
importance. This evolution is characterized by the development of drilling means and operations,
starting from the most primitive percussion drilling through more universal and sophisticated
rotary and turbodrilling to novel drills, such as fusion, vaporization, thermal spalling, chemical
reactions and mechanically induced stresses.
All these methods have their advantages and disadvantages, for example rotary drilling
needs high consumption of power, whereas turbodrilling is more efficient and economical than
rotary drilling, while both are interchangeable.
Ospanov Daulet, 2 year student of KBTU, 2004, teacher B.Jolamanova

Exercise 2. Arrange the statements in the descending order of generality

1)
A. All the methods of drilling have their advantages and disadvantages
B. These fusion drills can drill any type of rock.
C. The traditional methods of drilling have higher permeability rate.
2)
A. Educational software applications can be used to enhance students' learning by providing an
interactive, multimedia environment that can be more engaging.
B. Using software applications students can access different sections of the learning material.
C. Computers can help enrich students' learning experience.

Exercise 3. Read the paragraph and mark the sentences from it as important (I) or unimportant
(U) information pieces.
The open source approach is a convenient way for a large number of loosely organized
programmers to contribute to the development of a piece of software. Usually they are unpaid
volunteers who donate their time. They enjoy programming and have a need for that particular
piece of software, so it is in their interest to help improve it by adding new features or fixing
bugs. One person, or a small group, acts as the project coordinator and maintains the official
version of the source. Other people suggest bug fixes, contribute new features, or improve the
design of existing modules. The coordinators examine and test these contributions and decide
how to integrate them into the current source.

_____1) The open source approach is a convenient way for a large number of loosely organized
programmers to contribute to the development of a piece of software.
_____2) Usually they are unpaid volunteers who donate their time.
_____3) They enjoy programming and have a need for that particular piece of software, so it is
in their interest to help improve it by adding new features or fixing bugs.
_____4) One person, or a small group, acts as the project coordinator and maintains the official
version of the source.
_____5) Other people suggest bug fixes, contribute new features, or improve the design of
existing modules.
_____6) The coordinators examine and test these contributions and decide how to integrate them
into the current source.

Exercise 4. Compress each paragraph into 1 statement.

1) Computers can be programmed to generate images and animations that model other systems.
These systems can be those that exist in the physical world in which we live (for example,
people and objects), as well as those from the imagination (e.g. life on the moon and mythical
beings). For example, the Sim Theme Park program allows users to design their own roller
coasters, and provides the option to turn off gravity.
2) Simulations can also be used to emulate scenarios that may be too dangerous to practice with
real people. Pilots often use simulations when learning about new equipment. Furthermore,
computers can be used to model elements that are hard to observe such as molecular structures.

Exercise 5. Compress each set of facts into a generalized statement.

Set A
1) BG Group has launched a new Graduate School at the Kazakh – British Technical University
(KBTU) in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
2) Both BG and joint sponsor, Shell, will each contribute USD 250,000 in sponsorship to KBTU
over a two year period in support of postgraduate programs.
3) For the past six and a half years, BG has provided Southampton University with core
resources to implement an environmental education and development program in Kazakhstan.
4) The Chair runs a very successful Masters degree program in Environmental Management in
Almaty.

Set B
1) The depth of an oil-well is controlled by the depth at which oil is found.
2) The diameter of the oil string depends largely on the expected productivity of the well.
3) The number of casing "strings" and their diameter depends on the local conditions and the
expected depth of the well.
4) The diameter of a well varies.

Set C
1) To help transfer western experience in environmental management to the emerging nation, in
1993 BG opened the Chair of Environmental Technology. Based at the Almaty Institute of
Power Engineering and Telecommunications (AIPET), the Chair develops practical, affordable
solutions to address some of Kazakhstan's severe environmental problems.
2) For the past six and a half years, BG has provided Southampton University with core
resources to implement an environmental education and development programme in Kazakhstan.
The Chair runs a very successful Masters degree programme in Environmental Management in
Almaty.
3) BG developed performance measures to provide new projects with benchmarks to assess the
environmental impact of the development.
4) Awareness guidance has been developed, introducing the subject of biodiversity and
providing a basic toolkit for operators in each country to start to investigate the local
implications for their business.
5) BG will ensure that the conservation objectives of protected areas are fully considered within
the environmental impact assessment and decision making processes in the Company.
Exercise 6. Find the key sentence in the paragraph below:
No longer just a tech producer, China is becoming a gargantuan tech consumer. China is dotted
with rabbit warrens of small electronics boutiques, selling everything from known brands to
home-made kit, multi-coloured CDs to 2GB memory cards. No-one can accuse the Chinese of
being behind the times. It will come as little surprise that China is now the world's largest cell
phone market, with more than 380 million mobiles. And, just like internet penetration, the
number is rising at an impressive rate. Just like the rest of the world, they are in love with their
phones.

Exercise 7. Read the passage and enlarge its suggested summary with the missing important
information.
Original passage:
China is so ready to compete with US technology that, in one particular case, it bought the
company. In December 2004, Chinese PC manufacturer Lenovo did the unthinkable - it bought
part of IBM. The part, that is, that makes PCs. Lenovo was already China's largest PC maker but,
after the IBM deal, it has shot up from 9th largest to 3rd largest PC manufacturer in the world.
Lenovo's Alice Li told Click: "It's a very important transaction for us. For Lenovo that
acquisition makes us a truly international company. "We've accumulated an international
management team and reputable international brands - for example, Thinkpad - and all the
patented technology related to that brand. And we also now have an immediate worldwide
distribution network."
Suggested summary: The passage focuses on China's expansion.

Exercise 8. Identify the logical links between the given sentences and compress them into one,
using appropriate connectors
1) Tools to breach computer systems that require minimal computer system expertise are
increasingly available.
2) More people can hack into computer systems, steal confidential data on a computer, alter, or
even corrupt, targeted computer systems.
3) Intruders can use your computer to attack your organization, other corporations, and even
governments.
4) Computers can be used to achieve detrimental effects if we, as computer users, are not aware
of security vulnerabilities and do not take steps to prevent computer attacks.

Exercise 9. Define the type of logical relations (right column) between the opposed vocabulary
units in the left column:

1 Computer VS mainframe, minicomputer

2 Portable computer VS desktop A General – specific
3 Research-learning B Cause-consequence
4 Small size VS mobility C Contrast
5 Notebook VS laptop D Equivalence
6 Computer VS mouse E Method-purpose
7 Programming VS automation F Part-whole
8 Input devices VS output devices
9 Output devices VS printer
10 Scanner VS printer