SUMMARY WRITING

Requirements for a good summary  introduction:(usually one sentence or one paragraph) covers the main topic + the source e.g. The Economist of 16 June 2007 reports on the problem of This is further made  concise(as brief as possible, danger: loss of clarity)  clear (clear sentences and clear structure)  objective(only the author’s ideas, no personal views)  accurate (true and precise information on essential ideas)  complete(all key ideas, not necessarily in the same order )  rephrased sentences (avoid copying, rewrite in your own words if possible)  coherent(runs smoothly, sentences are logically linked)

Layout and other issues  block style (no indentation)  paragraphing (one idea per paragraph, check:heading)  avoid one-sentence paragraphs  use topic sentences (first?)  avoid long sentences, long paragraphs, unnecessary words,...

I am writing to complain about a management motivation training course organised by your company that I attended on March 30th of this year. The main reason that I was not satisfied with the course is that the presenter was totally unprofessional. In the first place, he was fifteen minutes late and didn’t even apologise. Secondly, he was obviously unprepared and was unable to organise his graphics. On top of everything, he finished half an hour early and didn’t take any questions. I had spent a significant amount of money on this course and expected to gain some useful insight and tips on motivating my team. The only thing that I learned was how not to give a presentation. As a minimum, I expect a refund from your company to compensate me for the money and time I have wasted. If this is not forthcoming, I will take the matter up with the Professional Management Seminars Organisation. PARAGRAPHING EX.

I am writing to complain about a management motivation training course organised by your company that I attended on March 30th of this year. The main reason that I was not satisfied with the course is that the presenter was totally unprofessional. In the first place, he was fifteen minutes late and didn’t even apologise. Secondly, he was obviously unprepared and was unable to organise his graphics. On top of everything, he finished half an hour early and didn’t take any questions. I had spent a significant amount of money on this course and expected to gain some useful insight and tips on motivating my team. The only thing that I learned was how not to give a presentation. As a minimum, I expect a refund from your company to compensate me for the money and time I have wasted. If this is not forthcoming, I will take the matter up with the Professional Management Seminars Organisation. PARAGRAPHING EX.

Is this a coherent text?  The Economist (7Oct 2006) reports on battles for natural resources that are being supplemented by the battles for talent. W.Churchill observed that “the empires of the future will be the empires of the mind.” Human resources managers point out in some surveys that “attracting and retaining” talent is their number one goal. The hunt for talent has gone global. Companies are moving better jobs offshore and governments have progressed from relaxing immigration laws to luring highly qualified people. Only talent does not guarantee good management. Components like experience, ethical codes and internal controls are also needed. In Enron, talent was promoted faster than other components.

Better if paragraphed??  The Economist (7Oct 2006) reports on battles for natural resources that are being supplemented by the battles for talent. W.Churchill observed that “the empires of the future will be the empires of the mind.” Human resources managers point out in some surveys that “attracting and retaining” talent is their number one goal.  The hunt for talent has gone global. Companies are moving better jobs offshore and governments have progressed from relaxing immigration laws to luring highly qualified people.  Only talent does not guarantee good management. Components like experience, ethical codes and internal controls are also needed. In Enron, talent was promoted faster than other components.

Cohesion and coherence  The Economist (7Oct 2006) reports on battles for natural resources that are being supplemented by the battles for talent. This is in line with the opinion of W.Churchill who said that “the empires of the future will be the empires of the mind.” Also, human resources managers point out in some surveys that “attracting and retaining” talent is their number one goal.  Indeed, the hunt for talent has gone global. Companies are moving better jobs offshore and governments have progressed from relaxing immigration laws to luring highly qualified people.  However, talent only does not guarantee good management. Components like experience, ethical codes and internal controls are also needed.This is proved by the case of Enron where talent was promoted faster than the other components.

LOGICAL RELATIONS and words and expressions that can help to identify them (MK: p.27,...) LINKING DEVICES (CONNECTORS)  Illustrations (examples):  Listing  Clarifying  Cause-effect relationship  Contrast

CONNECTORSYMBOL Illustrations,examples: For example, for instance, as an example...,To illustrate the point,... Listing: There are three reasons why..., (First)Firstly,..,Secondl y,Thirdly,....Further, Furthermore,..., Moreover,...,Also,... e.g

CONNECTORSYMBOL clarifying: In other words,..., namely,.. cause-effect : as, because, because of, consequently, therefore, due to, owing to, thus,since contrast : however, on the contrary, on the other hand, nevertheless, conversely, although, though, even though, yet i.e. → vs.

Assessment A good summary is...  not a piece of plagiarism (author/source)  accurate  concise  complete  clear  objective  coherent