Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Room 1
Room 1
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Writing a summary
What is a Summary?
Features of a summary
Only the major ideas are included in summary, all other information is discarded.
Must convey the same meaning/ viewpoint as the original paragraph. Summary should
A summary presents the gist of some information. It focuses on the important points of a given
paragraph and most importantly conveys the essential facts faster.
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7 Steps to Write a Summary Step
Step 4- Form sentences using the selected ideas. You may write in your own words. Insert the
sentences into the table.
IMPORTANT
Example Paragraph
The 65th National Independence Day of Sri Lanka will be held on a grand scale in Trincomalee,
in the historical Gokanda under the theme of "Prosperous motherland and an affluent tomorrow".
The main parade will be held from the Gandhi roundabout to the Fort Fredric, and the
Independence Day celebrations will be held at the Mcheizer Stadium in Trincomalee.
(59 words)
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1 The 65th national independance day
Checklist :
The 65th national independence day celebrations of Sri Lanka will be held in Gokanda,
Trincomalee.
(18 words)
Exercises:
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Summarize the following text
At the end of the Civil War in 1865, the reunited states of America entered a new era of commerce
and entrepreneurship. Businessmen made their fortunes supplying the vast marketplace of the
Midwest with the latest domestic appliances and tools. Lighting was one area in which huge
technological strides were made. And with the development of electricity as a reliable power
source, a race began in the late 1870s to patent an efficient form of electrical lighting. At the
forefront of this contest were two American inventors, Thomas Alva Edison and Hiram Maxim.
Edison was already famous for his invention of the phonograph and various telegraph
instruments. But he was at least as much a businessman as he was an inventor. Edison approached
investors directly rather than submit himself to the industrialists and their specifications. His
experience of developing prototypes of other inventions had made him familiar with the
loopholes in patent laws. As a result Edison's usual practice was to patent every advance made
by his research team, however small. Edison flourished in the world of commerce, too. His
company bought up almost all the stocks of a rare chemical that was essential for making the
filament lamps, which almost destroyed the rival Electric Lighting Company.
Hiram Maxim, on the other hand, was an archetypal inventor - ploughing away, busily working on
ideas, but not giving a thought to their commercial potential until after the final "eureka" moment.
In his mid 20s he had invented the first sprinkler system in Boston, only to fail to impress investors
of its worth. In 1878 he was hired by Hans Schuyler of the US Electric Lighting Company in New
York. As a further incentive, over and beyond his wages of $10 a day, Maxim was due a quarter
share in anything he produced for the company. Aware of the inventor's work on gas machine
lighting in Massachusetts, Schuyler placed him in charge of operations to produce electric light.
Within a year Maxim had installed the first electrical "arc" lighting system in the Equitable
Insurance Company building in New York.
The rivalry between the two men intensified when Edison finally produced his own lamp.
Though the two lamps were very similar, Edison's gift for self-promotion again gave him the
upper hand. At the Congress of Electricians in Paris in 1881, Edison and Maxim both set up
displays of their lamps. Edison's designs dominated the headlines, in part because his own
Parisian staff had written many of the press reports.
www.readersdigest.com
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After the civil war American
entrepreneurs started supplying domestic appliances
and tools to Midwest. With
the development of Electricity, American
inventors searched for an efficient
form of electrical Lighting. Edison
and Maxim were special among
them. Edison was an inventor
and a Businessman. He patented
every new research done by
his Team. He bought all
stocks of chemicals Used in
production Of filament Lamps. Maxim
Was the inventor Who invented
the sprinkler System. He worked
for US Electric Lighting Company,
where he was due a
quarter share of his Productions
To the Company. He was
placed in charge of operations
to produce electric Light. He
installed the first Electrical Lighting
System in Equitable Insurance Company.
At the congress of Electricians
in 1881, they both setup
displays of their lamps but
Edison’s designs Dominated. Rivalry between
Thomas Alva Edison and Hiram
Maxim
Speaking:
Bring any newspaper article to the class. Read it in the class and tell the summary to your friend.
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Listening:
Listen to the documentary and summarize it in groups of three.
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Conjunctions
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A conjunction is a word that "joins". A conjunction joins two parts of a sentence.
and, but, or, nor, for, yet, so although, because, since, unless
We can consider conjunctions from three aspects.
1. Form
Conjunctions have three basic forms:
Single Word
for example: and, but, because, although
2. Function
Conjunctions have two basic functions or "jobs":
• Coordinating conjunctions are used to join two parts of a sentence that are grammatically
equal. The two parts may be single words or clauses, for example:
- Jack and Jill went up the hill.
- The water was warm, but I didn't go swimming.
3. Position
3.1 Coordinating conjunctions
Coordinating conjunctions always come between the words or clauses that they join.
The short, simple conjunctions are called "coordinating conjunctions":
A coordinating conjunction joins parts of a sentence (for example words or independent clauses)
that are grammatically equal or similar. A coordinating conjunction shows that the elements it
joins are similar in importance and structure:
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Eg: I like [tea] and [coffee].
[Ram likes tea], but [Anthony likes coffee].
after, although, as, because, before, how, if, once, since, than, that, though, till, until, when,
where, whether, while
main or subordinate or
independent clause dependent clause
subordinating
conjunction
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Fill in the blanks with the most suitable conjunction
1. I need to work hard …………………… I can pass the exam.( so that / so / but)
2. …………………..he was the best candidate, he didn't win the elections. (So / Although /
Since)
3. ……………………you come back from your trip, we'll meet to discuss the problem. (So
/ Where / When )
4. They said that the movie was fantastic, ………… I watched it. ( so / since / but)
5. ……………………….he was very ill, he didn't take any medicine. ( Though / Although
/ but)
6. I don't know ………………… I can buy a pair of jeans. ( there / anywhere / where)
7. She went to the shops……………………….. couldn’t find anything that could fit her
needs. ( so / hence / but)
8. Everybody likes him because he is nice ……………. helpful. ( but / and / though)
9. ……………………….. he was angry with her, he didn't utter a word. ( but / since /
though)
10. Keep quiet ……………….. go out. (or / so / but)
(A) Or
(B) And
(C) But
(D) Because
(A) Until
(B) Because
(C) So
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(D) But
(A) As
(B) Or
(C) And
(D) But
4. Read over your answers ______ correct all mistakes before you pass them up.
(A) Or
(B) And
(C) Because
(D) While
5. Keep the food covered ______ the flies will contaminate it.
(A) Or
(B) And
(C) Until
(D) Though
(A) But
(B) As
(C) Though
(D) Because
(A) either, or
(B) neither, nor
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8. She had an unpleasant experience ______ she was in Thailand.
(A) But
(B) And
(C) Because
(D) While
9. The committee rejected the proposal ______ they did not think it was practical.
(A) Or
(B) But
(C) Though
(D) Because
(A) And
(B) While
(C) Until
(D) As
Signposting
In academic writing, the author is responsible for making the text as clear as possible for the reader.
We have seen elsewhere that this requires the writing to be explicit; to anticipate and address the
reader’s questions. An active reader will want to know what the author’s aims are and how they
will be achieved, what the author’s position is about key issues, how the argument is constructed
and how ideas relate to each other. Good writers use signposting language to signal the reader
where these answers can be found.
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• Major signposts that signal key aspects of the work, such as purpose, structure, author’s
stance, main points, direction of the argument, conclusions.
• Linking Words and Phrases that show connections between sentences and paragraphs.
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The aim of this study is to …. • Listing:
• Exemplifying:
Read the extract from a presentation below and write the signposting language in
the correct place.
I’d like to summarize So, first of all Let’s move on to my second
point
We’ve seen that Then I’ll move on to And in the final part I’ll focus
on
In conclusion So, that was This brings me to the final
section on
We have also seen that I’ll start by looking at Now, I’ll be happy to answer
the questions you have
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………………………………………………………………………. Why team work is so
important, ……………………………………………………………………….. the key to
successful teamwork,…………………………………………………………………………. The
problems that can arise from poor team work.
…………………………………………………………………… why is good teamwork
important? Well, obviously it's essential for the success of any project, and it can increase levels
of job satisfaction for employees as it enables relationships to develop and each team member can
feel they have a significant role to play.
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