SAMPLE SUMMARY:
The effects of television on us.
There are numerous effects of watching television. Firstly, television provides knowledge and information. In addition, it is the cheapest source of entertainment and recreation, and is able to provide a great variety of programs. However, watching too much television can be addictive, a waste of time and can deteriorate vision. On the other hand, advertisements on television inform us about new products as long as they are not too many of them, which can be very irritating. Television is also an educational tool. Television has also been used as surveillance tool.
The Basic Rules of a Good Summary..
1- The aim: through summarising, you develop a READING SKILL, i.e. to come up with the main ideas in a text and organise them. You are not always going to be asked to summarise a WHOLE text, but just PART of it. So, always read the instruction carefully! It will also help you a lot to answer some reading exam questions like "What are the differences between X and Y?" or "Summarise the events in X's life after he finished school" etc.
2- What you should do first is to scan the text and meanwhile note down the main ideas. (these are usually found in the first sentence (i.e. topic sentence) of the paragraphs. (Attention: main idea occasionally can be found WITHIN the paragraph & a paragraph can also include MORE THAN ONE MAIN IDEA, so be careful!)
3- Leave out the details, unnecessary examples, repetitions and personal comments.
4- Introduce the subject with topic sentence ( whatever the summary is about). The following sentences will be your supporting details.
5- All the while be economical: give the MAXIMUM meaning with MINIMUM words.
6- Use your OWN words.
7- Use necessary connectors/ transitions. ( Fistly/ Secondly/ Next/ because etc. -depending on the atmosphere of the summary)
8- Remember your summary should be in the form of a PARAGRAPH !!! Not a list!
9- Lastly, know that, you will most probably come across a summary question in the first reading pop quiz. However, summary skill is going to help you throughout the term in your reading classes. It will help you to analyse a text, find the necessary info and removing irrelevant ideas when answering reading questions.
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