STUDY AND WRITING SKILLS
84
8.5
STUDY SKILLS
SUMMARISING
1
a
Work with a partner and discuss the questions.
1
When do you need to summarise things in your life?
2
Are your summaries generally formal or informal?
Written or spoken?
1
b
Discuss what you think makes a good summary.
2
a
Are these statements true or false, do you think?
Give reasons.
1
A summary is a short version of the original text.
2
To write a good summary, you must understand
every word in the original text.
3
A summary is generally about one-third of the length
of the original text.
4
You should use your own words when summarising.
5
You must not change the order of the ideas in the text.
6
You should never use words from the original text.
7
You must not include any quotations from the
original text.
8
A summary should not include your own opinions.
9
It is difficult to do a summary if you cannot
paraphrase well.
10
It is helpful to find synonyms for words when
summarising.
2
b
Which of the ideas that are true did you think of in
Exercise 1b?
3
Put the stages of writing a summary below in order.
a
Highlight the key points in the original text.
b
Make notes of the key points. Paraphrase the points,
do not copy them.
c
Check the summary to make sure it is accurate
and complete.
d
Read the original text carefully and check the
meaning of unknown words.
e
Write the summary from your notes.
4
Work with a partner. What do you understand by
the terms
paraphrasing
and
topic sentences
? Read the
text below to check.
When you summarise a text, you need to select the key
point in each paragraph. The main point is usually in
the topic sentence. This is generally the first sentence
of the paragraph, though it may appear in other places,
including at the end. You also need to paraphrase the
important points. This means that you express them in a
shorter, different way, using your own words if possible.
5
Topic sentences
Look at paragraphs 1–3 of the
article on page 80. Underline the topic sentence in
each paragraph, and identify one important idea that
supports it.
Paragraph 1
Topic sentence: Now, in the 21
st
century, we’ve seen a
new dynamic that is pushing the boundaries of invention
and innovation – global cooperation.
Supporting idea: Scientific and technical research and
development is now so complicated and sophisticated
that no one scientist, however brilliant, can know it all.
6
Paraphrasing
Read paragraph 1 of the article
again and say which paraphrase below is better.
Give your reasons.
Paraphrase A
In this century, new ways of dealing with the world’s
problems are the result of experts from different fields
working together rather than from achievements by
individuals. For example, at CERN, scientists from
different countries have joined together to find solutions
to complex problems. (44 words)
Paraphrase B
Global cooperation can result in invention and
innovation. This depends on advances in different
fields. One individual cannot find new ways of solving
problems. New solutions need cooperation. Scientists
at CERN are studying the problems of the universe.
These can only be solved by experts from diverse
fields. (47 words)
7
Work with a partner. Read paragraph 2 of the
article. It contains 129 words. Discuss the summary
below. Give reasons why it is
not
a good one.
Scientists have to collaborate to innovate. There are
now over 8,000 scientific journals in the world. One
person cannot be an expert in all the areas of research.
Professor Langer at MIT has made breakthroughs in
the medical field. He has done this by forming teams
from different disciplines to find new polymers for
treating a medical condition. He is always trying to
find new global collaborators. (67 words)
