chapter iii: the essay lecture 2: summary writing
TRANSCRIPT
Chapter III: The Essay
Lecture 2: Summary Writing
The Essay: Summary Writing
Writing a summary
Why?
How?
Class work
Writing a summary – why?
• Practice in writing summaries will benefit you in important ways as a student and as a writer:
Writing a summary – why?
• It will give you practice in close, attentive reading, and train you to do justice to what you read (rather than reading into a work only what is familiar to you).
Writing a summary – why?
• It will strengthen your sense of structure in writing: how a writer organizes material, develops his or her points, and moves from one point to another.
Writing a summary – why?
• It will develop your sense of what is important in a written work, enabling you to distinguish between key points, the material backing them up, specific examples and illustrations, and mere asides.
Fire! Fire ! !
Writing a summary – how?
in your own wordsSummary:
Method:
Skills :
Writing a summary – how?
Express the central idea
Condensation Paraphrase
√√
topic idea topic sentence developing sentences expressions ways to express
※※
√
in your own wordsSummary:
Method:
Skills :
Writing a summary – how?
Express the central idea
Condensation Paraphrase
√√
topic idea topic sentence developing sentences expressions ways to express
※※
√
Condensation
1. The dining table is covered with a white cloth. The maid has laid the table in the usual way and has put the right number of knives, forks, spoons and glasses for each person. There is also pepper and salt, oil and vinegar and mustard 芥末 . On the left of each person is a table-napkin and a plate with a roll on it. In front of the host there is a carving knife and fork.
Condensation
• A shorter summary:
• The table was laid for dinner.
Condensation
1. The dining table is covered with a white cloth. The maid has laid the table in the usual way and has put the right number of knives, forks, spoons and glasses for each person. There is also pepper and salt, oil and vinegar and mustard. On the left of each person is a table-napkin and a plate with a roll on it. In front of the host there is a carving knife and fork.
1
2
3
condiment tableware
other things
Condensation
• A shorter summary:
• The table was laid for dinner.
• A longer summary:
• The table was laid for dinner with enough tableware for each person and condiment and other things needed.
√(4)
(3) & (4)
(2), (3) & (4)
√√
Condensation
2. Points of information: (1) The ship met a storm. (2) The radar went wrong. (3) The ship struck a reef. (4) The ship sank. •The shortest telegram:•The longer telegram:•The longest telegram:
Condensation
3. The housewife reported that the new detergent cleaned well, that it had a pleasant smell and that it was sold in a charming pink box.
central idea
less important
detail unimportant detail
Condensation
4. The new jet plane was painted scarlet, with a silver device on each wing and its name in gold on the fuselage. On its first flight it broke the world air speed record.
21
3
central ideaunimportant
detail
less important
detail
• What is paraphrase?• A restatement of a text or passage in another
form or other words, often to clarify meaning.
• How to paraphrase a sentence?• Using other words (e.g. synonyms)• Adopting another structure
Paraphrase
1. He had a good command of English.
2. He is not content with his present salary.
3. She has an appreciation of modern art.
4. Prevention is better than cure.
Paraphrase
1. He had a good command of English.
2. He is not content with his present salary.
He was very good at English.
He knew English well.
He is not satisfied with his present salary.
Paraphrase
3. She has an appreciation of modern art.
4. Prevention is better than cure.
She has a good understanding of modern art.
It is better to prevent it from happening than try to put it right afterwards.
Paraphrase
5. The teacher said, “Don’t be late again, Bob.”
6. Although it rained heavily they went swimming.
7. I had much difficulty in reading this book.
8. Nobody went short of coal that winter.
Paraphrase
5. The teacher said, “Don’t be late again, Bob.”The teacher told Bob not to be late again.
They went to swim despite the heavy rain.
6. Although it rained heavily they went swimming.
Paraphrase
7. I had much difficulty in reading this book.I found this book very difficult to read.
No one lacked coal that winter.
8. Nobody went short of coal that winter.
Paraphrase
9. Tom goes in for sports.
10. I cannot put up with his laziness any longer!
11. Work hard or you will fail the final exam.
12. We wouldn’t have succeeded without their help.
Paraphrase
9. Tom goes in for sports.Tom likes sports.
I can no longer tolerate his laziness!
10. I cannot put up with his laziness any longer!
Paraphrase
11. Work hard or you will fail the final exam.
If you don’t work hard, you will fail the final exam.
If they hadn’t helped us, we wouldn’t have succeeded.
12. We wouldn’t have succeeded without their help.
Paraphrase
13. Your eyes were bigger than your stomach.
14. We all expected you for the party last night.
15. Courage is not the absence of fear, but conquest of fear.
16. I was thinking of making a fresh start the next term and working hard. I was serious about it.
Paraphrase
13. Your eyes were bigger than your stomach.
You ate less than you had expected.
We all expected you for the party last night.
14. We all waited for you last night because we thought you would come to the party.
Paraphrase
15. Courage is not the absence of fear, but conquest of fear.Courage doesn’t mean that there is nothing for one to fear but that one can act in spite of fear.
I plan to work hard next term and I mean it.
16. I was thinking of making a fresh start the next term and working hard. I was serious about it.
Paraphrase
1. The little girl sat on the floor surrounded by a toy telephone, a rattle, a big plastic ball and a large number of highly colored building bricks.
The little girl sat on the floor surrounded by toys.
Class work: write a one-sentence summary
2. The book contained information about such subjects as how a radio works, the development of radar and the splitting of the atom.
The book contained information about modern science.
Class work: write a one-sentence summary
3. In the evenings he developed and printed his own films or amused himself with his stamp-collection or the radio he was making.
In the evenings, he engaged in his hobbies.
Class work: write a one-sentence summary
4. A railway train cannot run until the track has been laid. Ships need ports and quays. Lorries and cars need roadways. Aero planes need aerodromes with concrete runways. But a helicopter is free to go almost anywhere without anything built on the ground.
Helicopters, unlike other forms of transport, do not need ground installations to operate.
Class work: write a one-sentence summary
5. The man had plenty of things to occupy him that morning. He had overslept. The hotel had forgotten to call him and now he was late for an important business appointment. He dressed quickly, shaved hurriedly, grabbed his briefcase and hurried off down the hotel corridor.
The man was in a great hurry that morning.
Class work: write a one-sentence summary
Homework
• Read:《奠基》 pp45-48 （四种文体的缩写）• Fill in the blank: pp169-170• Summary writing: pp188-190 (due next week)• Next time, don’t forget to take your outline on
“E-mail” and some paper with you.
Tips
• Have a clear purpose in mind before you start reading and note taking. Decide what and how much detail is needed.
• Reread the passage until you understand it thoroughly. • Jot down the main points. • Set aside the original, and rewrite the text in your own
words.• Always check your version with the original. Ensure that
your paraphrase represents the author's meaning without distortion.