2. Objectives After Studying the unit, the students should be able to:  Write a summary

3.  She brought home several Chinese and English novels, a few copies of Time and Newsweek, and some textbooks. She intended to read all of them during the winter vacation.

4.  She brought home a lot of books and magazines to read during the vacation.

5. Summary Writing Ⅰ. Definition brief restatementessential  A summary is a brief restatement of essential thought of a longer composition.

6. brief: ★ a summary can’t cover everything and must be shorter than original writing; ★ usually it includes the thesis and the main supporting points.

7. restatement: ★ it reproduces faithfully the theme of the original in our own words; ★ one should not interpret or comment; ★ All one has to do is to give the gist of the author’s exact and essential meaning.

8. Essential: ★ it gives the main information about a piece of writing or speech; ★ usually it includes the thesis and the main supporting points.

9. Ⅱ Characteristics of a Summary 1.Length one-fourth one-third A summary should usually be about one-fourth to one-third as long as the original passage. ★ You may use fewer words than the number prescribed, but in no case may you exceed the limit.

10. 2.Point of View Use the third person point of view 3.Tone : 3.Tone : objective and impersonal Don’t express our own ideas, but faithfully represents the ideas of the original writing.

11. 4.Cover all the main information Your reader need no reference to the original to understand what its main ideas are. 5. Follow the logical order of the original passage, 5. Follow the logical order of the original passage, if possible (and desirable). Ideas and facts need not be rearranged.

12. 6.Use complete sentences 7. Use our own words Use different words with the original one. Don’t copy the language.

13. 8.Use quotation if you cite some important words of the original article 9. Use present tense to report the general ideas and use past tense to refer to past experiences.

14. 10.Summary writing is an exercise in compression. In writing a summary, we should: --- omit the details. --- reduce the examples. --- simplify the descriptions. --- eliminate all repetitions.

15. 10.(continuing) --- compress wordy sentences and change phrases to words. e.g. His courage in battle might without exaggeration be called lion-like. → He was very brave in battle. e.g. They acted in a manner that rendered them liable to prosecution. → They acted illegally.

16. 10.(continuing) --- Use general words instead of specific words e.g. She brought home several Chinese and English novels, and some textbooks. She intended to read all of them during the winter vacation. → She brought home a lot of books to read during the vacation.

17. 10.(continuing) --- Use the shortest possible transitions. e.g. But, then, thus, yet, and for (at the same time, on the other hand, etc.)

18. 10.(continuing) --- Put the main points of a dialogue in indirect speech.

19. Ⅲ How to Write a Summary 1.Read and understand the source 2. Underline the thesis statement and the main supporting points →We should decide what parts are essential and what parts are comparatively unimportant and can be omitted without much loss.

20. 3. Write the summary →begin the summary by mentioning the author, the article’s title and the author’s thesis; →state the supporting points one by one; →revise.

21.  His courage in battle might without exaggeration be called lion-like.  He was very brave in battle.

22.  The account the witness gave of the incident made everyone that heard it laugh.  The witness’s story was absurd.

23.  John fell into the river and, before help could reach him, he sank.  John was drowned in the river.

24.  He was hard up for money and was being pressed by his creditor.  He was in financial difficulties.

25.  Beautiful mountains like Mount Tai, Lushan Mountain, and Yellow Mountain, were visited by only a few people in the past. Today, better wages, holidays with pay, new hotels on those mountains, and better train and bus services, have brought them within reach of many who never thought of visiting them ten years ago.

26.  Beautiful mountains like Mount Tai,  today accessible to many people  better wages, paid holidays, new hotels and better communication  once visited by only a few people

27.  Beautiful mountains like Mount Tai, once visited by only a few people, are today accessible to many, thanks to better wages, paid holidays, new hotels and better communication.

28. V Exercise This article talks about the reasons why students cheat in exams. Students cheat in exams by many ways even though they will have to face severe punishment if they are caught. The author thinks there are three main reasons. The most important reason is the fear of failure. Those students are greatly worried that if they fail not only their relationship with their parents and friends will be affected but also their “educational future.” (continuing)

29. The second reason is that some students are not confident and don’t think they can pass the exam. The last reason is that some students just want to challenge the school rules to “show off to their friends”. They take risks for pleasure. Although the author doesn’t see any effective means to stop students cheating in exams, he advises students to think “Is it worth being caught and getting punished.” (141 words)