Topic X Summarising

3
LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this topic, you should be able to:
1. Identify the necessary and unnecessary features in a summary;
2. Describe the various stages of summary writing; and
3. Write effective summaries of articles and reports.

INTRODUCTION

In todays fast-moving world, people are often very busy; they do not have the
time to read lengthy reports and articles. So, if you want your views to be heard,
you need to know how to say them in as few words as possible. The process of
condensing a lengthy article or report into a very brief and precise piece of
information is known as summarising.
Summarising is a very useful skill in the workplace. If you are able to write
executive summaries of lengthy reports, you will be able to save a lot of time. To
do this, however, you must master the basic skills of writing effective summaries.
Remember that summing up is a technique that adheres to strict rules. Stick to
these rules and keep your reports as concise as possible.

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3.1

35

WRITING EFFECTIVE SUMMARIES

A summary is a brief statement of the most important information in a text. It

should outline the main ideas in the text. Details, repetitions of facts and
unnecessary information should be omitted.
The following are important steps in writing an effective summary:
Step 1 Read the whole text carefully at least twice.
Step 2 Ask the following questions to get a better understanding of the text:
(i)

Who wrote the text?

(ii)

Why was it written?

(iii) When was it written?

Step 3 Look for the main ideas.
Step 4 Take notes or prepare a mind map.
Step 5 Keep the original text aside and write your summary based on the notes,
using your own words and sentence structures.
Apart from the steps above, there are also guidelines that need to be followed
when writing a summary:
(i)

Find the most important information that tells what the paragraph or group
of paragraphs is about. Write this into a topic sentence.

(ii)

Find two to three main ideas and important details that support your topic
sentence and show how they are related.

(iii) Combine several main ideas into a single sentence.

(iv) Substitute a general term for lists of items or events.
(v)

Do not include trivial information or unimportant details.

(vi) Do not repeat information.

SELF-CHECK 3.1
What is a summary?

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X TOPIC 3 SUMMARISING

3.1.1 Topic SentenceG

A topic sentence is a sentence that reflects the meaning of an entire paragraph or
a group of sentences. It tells what the passage is all about.
When you read a paragraph, look for the topic sentence first. If you cannot find
it, you can come up with your own topic sentence. How? You can do so by
combining important ideas from a few sentences in the paragraph.
Read the paragraph below.

It has been five years since the Multimedia Super Corridor was mooted and
then promptly launched with a massive push. Never before has a nation-state
committed itself so much to leapfrogging its capabilities into the information
and knowledge age. The support and commitment given to this project and
its associated flagships have been tremendous, drawing interest and action
from the tech players of the planet. From all corners of the globe, they
watched and voiced intentions to participate in this tech haven.
The underlined sentence would be a good topic sentence for the paragraph.
Do the exercise below to test your understanding on writing a topic sentence.

ACTIVITY 3.1
Look for the most important piece of information that tells what the
paragraph is about. Write this into a topic sentence.

From economic growth to exports and employment, computers

and other information technologies (IT) play an increasingly vital
role in the US economy. Although it comprises 8% of the US
economy as a whole, the IT sector accounts for nearly 30% of real
growth in Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 1994 to 2000.

SELF-CHECK 3.2
What do you know about a topic sentence?

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3.1.2

37

Main Ideas

A main idea refers to important information that tells more about the overall idea
of a paragraph or section in a text.
As an example, look at the paragraph below:

Among the greatest contributions made by the computer industry to

humankind is the invention of the Internet and the World Wide Web.
This has brought a wealth of knowledge to the doorstep of every
individual. People are now able to access information from any corner of
the world within seconds. It has also revolutionised the mailing system
with the introduction of e-mail and voicemail.
The underlined words form the main idea while the rest of the sentences explain
the main idea.
Sometimes, you may find several main ideas stated in different sentences in a
paragraph. Then, you might want to combine the main ideas into a single
sentence. How do you do that?
See the following example. Sentence 1 is the original sentence while Sentence 2 is
the one where all the main ideas are combined in a single sentence.
Sentence 1

The Multimedia Super Corridor has made Malaysia popular

among developed nations. It has also brought numerous foreign
investors into the country.

Sentence 2

The Multimedia Super Corridor has not only popularised

Malaysia but also brought in numerous foreign investors.

Reading without hands-on practice will not enhance your understanding. So, try
the following exercise to ensure that you have a good grasp of what has been
explained.

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X TOPIC 3 SUMMARISING

ACTIVITY 3.2
1.

2.

3.1.3

Underline the main ideas in the following paragraphs.

(a)

Today, the world is at a crossroad. Many plants and animals

are near extinction and the food chain is in jeopardy. If we
had tried to live in harmony with our environment instead of
fighting against it, we would not have caused such
widespread damage and the environment would not be in
danger today. If we continue to abuse our world, we will
almost certainly destroy it.

(b)

Every movement needs a leader if it is to be truly successful.

At various times in history, people have stood up to demand
political, social, economic or religious change. However, most
movements fizzled out as soon as some of the demands were
met. To unite people in a long-term struggle towards a goal,
charismatic leadership is necessary. As people are usually
more willing to fight or die for a leader than an idea, the
success of a movement often depends on the personality of
one individual.

Combine the following sentences so that they become shorter.

(a)

Mobile phones have become very cheap now. Almost every

Malaysian can afford one today.

(b)

Internet usage has grown tremendously in the last two years.

This is due to the untiring efforts of the government to create
an IT-literate Malaysian society.

(c)

The DCR-IP5E camera uses a Carl Zeiss lens. The Carl Zeiss lens
provides better contrast, colour saturation and image brilliance.
This helps you to get excellent video and still images.

Substituting with a General Term

A general term can be used to substitute a list of objects or events.

Example:

Johan bought some milk, bread, fruit, coconut, rice, butter, meat
and onions.
The underlined items can be replaced with the word groceries.

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ACTIVITY 3.3
Write a suitable general term for each list of items below.
List of Items

3.1.4

General Term

1.

Dining set, kitchen cabinet

_________________________

2.

Garden chairs and settee

_________________________

3.

Medical doctors, engineers

_________________________

4.

Accountants, architects and lawyers

_________________________

5.

Marker pens, white paper, stapler

_________________________

6.

Masking tapes, envelopes

_________________________

Omitting Details

Articles and reports often contain trivial or unimportant details which help the
reader to understand the contents better. However, in writing a summary, such
information should be dropped.
Look at the following paragraph.

The fact that the new Indian film Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham
(Sometimes Theres Joy, Sometimes Sorrow), known as K3G in India, has
found a place in Time magazine speaks volumes for the movies
reputation. This film, which teaches family values, comes at a time when
ethics and social values are sharply declining. Indias actors have
contributed their best and the movie should be seen by the whole family.
Its success should be judged not by the amount of money it makes but by
the impact it leaves on the audience. Karan Johar, one of the youngest
and most talented directors, deserves full praise and credit for his
splendid effort.
Now, look at its summary. Notice how unimportant details have been left out.

The new Indian film Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Gham has been commented
on in the Time Magazine. This film, which teaches family values, comes
at a time when ethics and social values are sharply declining. Karan
Johar, the director, deserves full praise and credit for his splendid effort.

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X TOPIC 3 SUMMARISING

Based on this example, let us have a hands-on activity by doing the following
exercise.

ACTIVITY 3.4
Read the following passages and rewrite them, with the key information
retained.
1.

The village of Boudhanath, or Boudha, about 4km east of

Kathmandu, is an age-old religious centre for Tibetan traders. But
the past 50 years have seen a considerable influx of refugees, some
of whom have become very wealthy businesspeople. Now, the
town is a thriving marketplace, social centre and pilgrimage site;
making a visit to Boudha feels like a short trip to Lhasa without the
political complications.

2.

Japan is prone to earthquakes and typhoons. But sound

construction, education and communications mean that the people
are less vulnerable than citizens of poorer nations. Japan suffered
43 disasters from 1960 to 1981 with an average of 63 deaths per
disaster; Bangladesh had 63 catastrophes over the same period
with an average death toll of over 10,000.

3.2

DIFFERENT TYPES OF SUMMARIES

There are three types of summary that you may need to make at the workplace:
(a)

You may be required to summarise a text in one or two sentences only. A

brief summary like this is needed, for example, when preparing an abstract
for an article or essay you have written.

(b)

You may be asked to prepare a global summary, which involves writing a

detailed summary of the entire content of an article or report.

(c)

You may need to write an executive summary for a very detailed report.
This is an extraction of all the relevant information in a large body of text.

You have come to the end of this topic and this section. Before moving on, do the
following exercise to test your understanding of this topic.

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ACTIVITY 3.5
Read the passage below at least twice and then answer the questions.
Find a Home for Your Site

When you are shopping around for a host, keep the following two
questions in mind: How complex will your website be? How much traffic
do you realistically expect it to generate?
Most hosting services offer a variety of packages based on the hard disk
space required and the monthly volume of data transfer. In this context,
the Web pages and images viewed by visitors translate into data which
they download to their systems. The hosting service will charge you
according to these two variables  hard disk space and data transfer
volume  and will add incremental charges if you exceed preset limits.
The amount of server space and data-transfer units you need can vary
widely. In general, a static billboard site may take up only a megabyte or
less on the server while a dynamic billboard may require not only a few
megabytes of server space but also several hundred megabytes of data
transfer per month.
But these are just general guidelines. Static billboard sites may be basic
but some can enjoy heavy rates of traffic that necessitate gigabytes of data
transfer per month. On the other hand, a storefront that offers a select
number of obscure specialty items may have relatively modest server
needs.
The reality is that it is difficult to project exactly how much server space
and data transfer you will end up needing, so it is important to get
flexible terms. Do not let anyone rope you into a long-term contract. Most
providers will let you switch packages from month to month so that you
can minimise costly overrun charges.
In addition to cost issues, you need to decide how critical it is to keep your site
up every minute of the day. Most web hosting services guarantee your site will
be up 95% to 99% of the time. This sounds impressive at first but at the 95%
level, your site could be down for over eight hours in the course of a week.
Ask the hosting service if it uses multiple connections from different providers
to the Internet backbone. If one provider is down, traffic can still get in and out,
and your business can stay online. Check to see that credit is given whenever
downtimes exceed the guarantee and that support personnel are on call
around the clock. Programs that connect Web pages to databases can break
down at any time.

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42

If you are going to collect personal and credit card information, you will need
a secure server. Most hosting services now offer this feature directly or
through partnership with a secure service provider but you have to pay extra
for it.
(Jeremy Harold Hendriques,
Editor, Computer International
Vol. 123. March 2009)
1.

Write the answers to the following questions:

(a) Who wrote the text?
(b) Why was it written?
(c) When was it written?

2.

Identify the main ideas in all the paragraphs.

3.

With the help of the information given, fill this mind map.

4.

Now you are ready to summarise the entire passage. Follow all the
steps you have learned in the lesson.

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A summary is a brief statement of the most important information in a text. It

should describe most of the main ideas in the text but omit details and
repeated information.

In writing an effective summary, you need to read the text carefully, at least
once or twice.

Ask questions about when the text was written and for what purpose.

Look for main ideas, prepare notes or a mind map and write the summary
based on the notes, using your own words. The notes or mind map will
ensure that you do not leave out important facts in the summary.

A topic sentence tells what the passage is all about.

A main idea refers to important information that tells more about the overall
idea of a paragraph or section in a text.

A general term can be used to replace a list of objects or events.

Trivial or unimportant details should not be included in a summary.

There are three types of summary  brief summary, global summary and
executive summary.

Brief summary

Main idea

Executive summary

Topic sentence

Global summary

Trivial information