When we are studying a text, perhaps with a view to writing notes or summary, the main point or idea in a paragraph is conveyed through the “topic sentence”. This is the sentence which states the main idea r topic of a paragraph.

All other sentences in the paragraph develop the idea or theme stated by the topic sentence. An important summary skill is the ability to identify topic sentences of paragraphs as a way of identifying the main points or ideas of individual paragraphs. You may never be asked to summarize a whole passage.

How do you go about summarizing a composition? There are five stages

1. Find the relevant parts of the text: First you have to find quickly the relevant parts of the text.

2. List or find the key points: Summaries must contain the key points, each point included earns a mark. Some students make a list of pints to include if there is time, others underline them in the book if it is their own.

3. Write a rough draft of the entire composition.

4. Write your own final draft of the summary and make necessary adjustments.

5. Final check: Check your final draft for careless errors.

When you skim read text successfully, you get the gist very swiftly, but when you are asked to write a summary, you need to be much more careful. A summary is a short statement of what someone has said or written about a subject. It should contain only the main points. Non-essential or irrelevant information should be omitted.

The diagram indicates steps you should go through to write a summary:

Notes:

The summary must bring out the key elements in the composition.

The first person ‘I’ must be avoided in summary.

The summary should be written in your own words, it does NOT just lift whole sentences from the original composition.

Follow these four steps

1. Understand: These four steps are strongly recommended – (a) survey (b) a quick read (c) read the question carefully (d) a careful read of the passage
2. Choose: Choose those parts of the text relevant to the question. If the book is yours, mark it in pencil; make rough notes – a list of points will do
3. Rough draft: Write a rough draft of your answer, and compare it with the question. Alter as necessary. Don’t worry if you make several false starts.
4. Final Version: Write out your corrected answer and check it through for any careless errors.

Exercise

1. What are punctuation marks?
2. Mention and explain at least three punctuation marks.
3. What is the period/full stop mark used for?
4. List and explain the various steps to effective summary writing.