1. Summary Skill

2. Checking Homework Summarize the main idea of the whole reading.

3. Objectives 1. Know the characteristics of a good summary 2. Learn the techniques in summary writing 3. Practice summarizing

4. I. What is a summary? A summary is a shortened passage, which retains the essential information of the original. It is a fairly brief restatement --- in your own words ---of the contents of a passage. Note: You simply report back what the writer has said, without your personal opinion.

5. II. Characteristics of a good summary It can be understood without reference to the original text; It should cover all the topics mentioned in the original text; It is brief without any unnecessary detail; It should follow the organization of the original text

6. III. Techniques in summary writing 1. Paraphrasing To paraphrase means to completely and correctly express other people’s ideas in one’s own words.

7. ★ Read the original carefully and comprehend its meaning wholly and correctly. ★ Consider the original text as a whole, not in isolated sentences. Steps of paraphrasing

8. Examples: 1. The muse of painting came to my rescue.(10-11) (Painting made him get rid of grief and depression) 2. When Winston again fell from office.(63-64) (when Winston lost the position of authority again)

9. 2. Grasping the central ideas 1) Sometimes the topic sentence can tell youSometimes the topic sentence can tell you the main idea of a paragraph. III. Techniques in summary writing 2) If you cannot find one, then write your own topic sentence by combining important ideas from two or more sentences in the section.

10. 1) Finding the topic sentence to summarize. Practice: To find a paragraph which has topic sentence.

11. Examples: My father, Winston Churchill, began his love affair with painting in his 40s, amid disastrous circumstances. As First Lord of the Admiralty in 1915, he had been deeply involved in a campaign in the Dardanelles that could have shortened the course of a bloody world war. But when the mission failed, with great loss of life, Churchill paid the price, both publicly and privately: He was removed from the Admiralty and lost his position of political influence. Main Idea: Churchill was removed from the Admiralty and lost his position of political influence because of the failure of the Dardanelles.

12. 3. Ways of condensation Use synonyms or synonymous phrases Painting in oils turned out to be Winston's great love. (Finally painting became Churchill’s favorite hobby.) Turn complex sentences into simple sentences In 1921, the death of his mother was followed two months later by the loss of his and Clementine's beloved three-year-old daughter, Marigold. (In 1921, Churchill lost his mother and daughter.) III. Techniques in summary writing

13. 4. Covering the all the topics of the original text. Practice: 1) How many sections of the text can be divided into? 2) Could you summarize the main idea of each section? III. Techniques in summary writing

14. Practice Please recheck your summary writing. Is it too long? Have you cover all the topics? Is your summary brief?

15. Definition and examples of a general term: Here is an example of how to substitute a general term for a list of items in order to summarize this sentence: details: "John bought some milk, bread, fruit, cheese, potato chips, butter, hamburger and buns." general term: "John bought some groceries."