SUMMARY WRITING

SUMMARY WRITING

 COMPILED BY- DR. SALUNKHE T. B.

What is summarizing?

The word ‘summary’ means substance, abstract, condensed statement. All these words mean the same thing at bottom. It is also called ‘precise-writing’. Simply speaking, summary means a condensation of a long passage reducing it to 1/3 of its length but easy to grasp the ideas from it.    

How to summarize the given passage:

When a student is given a passage to summarize it, what he needs to do is to point out the main points and omit what is only subsidiary. For this, he is expected to make a summary as follows:

1. Read the given passage carefully at least for two times and get the contents of it. We cannot make a good summary unless we have carefully studied and understood the material we want to summarize.

2. Avoid all colloquial expressions, a catalogue of particular things, proverbs, quotations,  figures of speech, illustrations, reasons, arguments, and examples.

3. A summary should be written in reported speech.

4. A summary is always written in our own words.

5. To shorten the length of a passage, a word for a phrase, a phrase for a clause should be used.

6. In doing all activities, originality of the passage must not be lost. An original force of the given passage must be maintained in our summary.

7. Don’t add your own points though you have additional information about the contents of the passage.

8. A summary should be in all probability in one paragraph.

9. The language of the summary should be clear and simple.

10. It should not be longer than one third of the original passage.

11. Figurative language should not be used in summary.

12. Suggest suitable title. 

Heading or Title:

From the examination point of view, we are asked to supply a suitable title or heading for our summary. Here we need to find some word, or phrase, or short sentence that will sum up the main subjects of the passage. This may serve as our heading or title we desire for.

Occasionally, the passage may have the topic sentence which can be used as the title or heading of the summary. This topic sentence is always found at the beginning or at the end. But if the subject matter is not clarified from the first or the last sentence, try to  get a clear idea of the subject  from the passage as whole, and condense it  in suitable heading, or find out some apt word or phrase from the given passage, and use that as title.

If the passage consists of a story, then select the major character or main event around which the whole story revolves, as the title of the summary.  

Example:

Trees are useful to us in many ways. They give us cool shade. They also provide fruits to eat and firewood to burn. They give us timber to build houses with and various items of furniture. They also give us papers on which our books are printed. 

More important than all this is that they supply the atmosphere with oxygen, which is essential for life. Here, by trees we mean all the vegetation including grass, shrubs, creepers, etc. 

Animals and human beings breathe in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide. Green plants absorb this carbon dioxide and, with the help of sunlight, turn it into food and oxygen. Carbon is used to make starch and oxygen is released into the atmosphere. 

But most important of all, trees, and in fact all plants, help to protect the surface of the earth and prevent floods. Our earth has a covering of fine soil on the surface and this covering takes millions of years to form. But sometimes a single heavy shower washes away this valuable soil. This does not happen in forests or other places where there are plenty of trees. The tree stops the free flow of water and their roots hold the soil together, thus the soil is protected from being washed away. Moreover forest soil quickly absorbs rain water and thus helps to prevent sudden floods. (227 words)

Summary:

                        Trees Are Useful

Trees are very useful as they provide us with fruits, firewood, timber and paper. But most importantly, they provide oxygen, which is essential for us to live. They also prevent soil erosion and floods. Trees help to hold the soil together and the roots soak up water quickly, so flooding does not occur, nor does the soil wash away.(61 words)

COMPILED BY- DR. SALUNKHE T. B.