Summarising Introduction

Summarising is the process of selecting and paraphrasing the essential information from an original source. It follows note-making and involves analysing paragraphs or passages to create a concise plan for writing. The goal is to present the main ideas clearly and briefly without losing the original meaning.

Key Elements of Summarising

• Selection: Identifying important ideas and facts.
• Paraphrasing: Expressing the ideas in your own words.
• Conciseness: Keeping the summary brief and to the point.
• Clarity: Using precise language and suitable connectors.

Examples

Original: "Children who show intelligence far beyond their age often turn out to be mediocre in adult life."

Summary: "Precocious children often turn out to be mediocre in adult life."

Original: "Her genius was marked by excellence in the various arts, languages and science."

Summary: "She was a versatile genius."

Practice Set

Level 1 – Easy

• Identify the main idea in a short paragraph.
• Rewrite a sentence using one word for many.

Level 2 – Moderate

• Summarise a given paragraph in your own words.
• Underline important ideas in a passage.

Level 3 – Challenging

• Write a summary of a long passage, maintaining all key points.
• Use suitable connectors to link ideas smoothly.

Answer Key

Answers will vary but should include the main ideas, use precise language, and avoid examples or repetitions. Summaries must be concise and coherent.

Quick Reference

• Summarise by selecting and paraphrasing main ideas.
• Use precise and clear language.
• Avoid examples, explanations, and repetitions.
• Practice using one word for many.

Glossary

• Summarising: Condensing information to its main points.
• Paraphrasing: Rewriting text in your own words.
• Conciseness: Expressing ideas briefly and clearly.
• Connectors: Words that link sentences and ideas.

How To Make Summary

The process of making a summary involves several important steps that help in condensing the original text effectively.

Steps to Summarise

• Underline important ideas in the passage.
• Write down these ideas, abridging verbs where necessary.
• Avoid including examples, explanations, or repetitions.

Instead of nominalising points (changing verbs into nouns), expand the points into full sentences and link them using suitable connectors. Precision in expression is essential. The summary should contain all the main ideas of the original passage.

Example

Original: "Children who show intelligence far beyond their age often turn out to be mediocre in adult life."

Summary: "Precocious children often turn out to be mediocre in adult life."

Practice Set

Level 1 – Easy

• Underline the main ideas in a short paragraph.
• Rewrite sentences using one word for many.

Level 2 – Moderate

• Write full sentences from given notes using connectors.
• Identify and remove examples and repetitions from a passage.

Level 3 – Challenging

• Summarise a complex passage maintaining all key points.
• Use precise language and suitable connectors effectively.

Answer Key

Summaries should be clear, precise, and include all main ideas without examples or repetitions. Sentences must be linked smoothly using connectors.

Quick Reference

• Underline important ideas.
• Write full sentences with connectors.
• Avoid examples and repetitions.
• Be precise and clear.

Glossary

• Nominalising: Changing verbs into nouns.
• Connector: Words like 'and', 'but', 'therefore' that link ideas.
• Precise Expression: Using exact and clear language.

Sub-Titling

Sub-titling is the practice of giving suitable titles to different sections of a long piece of writing. It helps convey the main idea or theme of each section and assists the reader in understanding the structure and flow of the text.

Purpose of Sub-Titling

• Conveys the main idea or theme of each section.
• Helps readers grasp sub-topics at a glance.
• Breaks the monotony of reading long passages.

Guidelines

• Sub-titles should be brief and relevant.
• They should reflect the content of the section accurately.
• Use sub-titles to organize content logically.

Practice Set

Level 1 – Easy

• Identify suitable sub-titles for given paragraphs.

Level 2 – Moderate

• Write sub-titles for sections of a long passage.

Level 3 – Challenging

• Organize a long passage into sections with appropriate sub-titles.

Answer Key

Sub-titles should be concise, relevant, and clearly indicate the theme of the section. They should help the reader navigate the text easily.

Quick Reference

• Use sub-titles to highlight main ideas of sections.
• Keep sub-titles brief and meaningful.
• Use sub-titles to organize long passages.

Glossary

• Sub-title: A heading given to a section of a text.
• Monotony: Lack of variety causing boredom.
• Theme: The main subject or idea in a piece of writing.