Golden Rules of Summary Writing

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Golden Rules of Summary Writing

• Rule 1 You must pay close attention to the
  instructions (rubric) given and follow them.
• Rule 2 Read the rubric carefully to isolate key
  instruction words. These tell you what you have
  to summarise. Keep them in mind as you write your
  summary, otherwise your answer will become
  irrelevant.
• Rule 3 Distractors and Elaboration points should
  not be included in your summary.
• Rule 4 A topic sentence is a warning to keep
  alert.
• Rule 5 Always keep the rubric in mind.

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8 Steps to Successful Summary Writing

• Read the summary question very carefully and
  underline key
• words.
• 2. Re-read the part of the passage covered
  by the question and
• underline all the relevant material.
• Make brief notes in your own words of all the
  points you have
• underlined.
• Write out your notes in complete sentences,
  concentrating
• purely on writing accurately.
• Read your summary once you have finished writing
  it. Check
• for tenses, spelling and punctuation.
• Should your summary exceed the word count, edit
  it again.
• 7. If time permits, write the final draft
  on a FRESH SHEET
• OF PAPER.
• 8. Write the honest word count at the
  bottom.

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Summary Passage Tourism

• Keep to the word limit allowed.
• Use only the area of text specified.
• Use the opening ten words provided.
• Write in continuous prose.
• Summarise the benefits and disadvantages of
  tourism.

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Paragraph 1

• Content Points
• Local people share the new-found wealth of the
  foreign visitor.
• Hotels have sprung up, creating new employment
  for the local population.
• Visitors with money to spend encourage business.
• Restaurants and craftsmen benefit particularly.
• Tourism now provides a more substantial income
  than before.

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Paragraph 2

• Distractors phrases or whole sentences which
  are irrelevant to the rubric.
• Distractors in this paragraph
• First two sentences of the paragraph One might
  expect future of the holiday industry.
• Content Points
• A new hotel is built every month.
• These create more jobs.
• Linking and replacing with own words
• New hotels are constantly built, creating
  employment.

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Paragraph 3

• Topic sentence one which highlights the points
  which will be, or have been, made in the rest of
  the paragraph.
• However- linking device which indicates a
  change of direction of ideas.
• Alert you to disadvantages now.
• Elaboration points ideas, phrases or sentences
  which do not form points in themselves, but give
  extra information as examples or explanation of
  ideas.

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Paragraph 3

• Elaboration points
• Visitors begin to look elsewhere for safer
  beaches and waters to swim in.
• The trees that would have kept the earth intact
  are no longer there.
• Merely explain the consequence of the fact that
  sewage spills untreated into the sea and why
  landslides are bound to happen.

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Paragraph 3

• Disadvantages of tourism
• There are overcrowded beaches.
• The concrete jungles of endless hotels lose their
  appeal.
• Holiday towns cannot support the massive influx
  of visitors.
• Sewage spills untreated into the sea.
• Hundreds of square kilometres of forests in
  Austria and Switzerland have been destroyed to
  make way for winter sports for tourists.
• This destruction has caused endless
• landslides.

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Paragraph 4

• Disadvantages of tourism
• Thousands of holidaymakers trek through the
  forest land of Nepal.
• Precious trees and plants are destroyed.
• The inhabitants of Nepal do not benefit
  financially.
• Tourists spend their money on goods
• and food imported from outside
• Nepal.

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Paragraph 4

• Elaboration point
• One area of Nepal is invaded by 36 000 walkers a
  year
• This sentence tells you that one area of Nepal
  does not have enough provisions and accommodation
  for the tourists.
• However, it is not a disadvantage of tourism but
  a consequence of it.

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Paragraph 5

• Sentence 1 Topic sentence
• The word suffer indicates one of the key
  instruction words from the rubric, i.e.
  disadvantages.
• Sentence 2 Elaboration point
• This sentence merely extends the idea of Sentence
  1.
• Sentence 3 Content points numbers 1 2
• Farmland makes way for hotels, roadsand airports
• The old way of life has gone.

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Paragraph 5

• Sentence 4 Elaboration point
• The sentence reflects on the contents of the
  previous sentence.
• It tells you 2 things about the farmers way of
  life he worked hard and he was independent.
• However, it tells you nothing whatsoever about
  the benefits and disadvantages of tourism.
• Sentence 5 Content point number 3
• This sentence makes the point that people who
  used to be farmers earn more through tourism,
• Here, the emphasis is on one-time farmers
• (not the same point as the point made
• about higher wages in Para 1) so this is
• a benefit.

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Paragraph 5

• Sentence 6 Content point number 4
• The farmer is no longer his own master.
• Sentence 7, 8 9 Content point number 5
• The writer is making the general point that the
  farmers good nature is being exploited.
• He is earning more money, but he has lost his
  independence and must please his employer rather
  than himself.
• So the point is the farmer has to be obedient
  (or submissive) involves making a general
• point from a particular example.

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Completed Summary
Countries benefit from the growth of tourism, for
local people share the wealth of the visitors.
New hotels create employment, while visitors
expenditure encourages business, particularly
among restaurants and craftsmen. Tourism provide
better income. New hotels are constantly built,
creating even more jobs. However, disadvantages
include overcrowded beaches and concrete jungles
of endless hotels. Holiday towns cannot support
all the visitors, and sewage spills untreated
into the sea. Large areas of forests in Austria
and Switzerland have been destroyed for winter
sports, causing landslides. Thousands of tourists
trek through the forests of Nepal, destroying
precious trees and plants. Local people do not
benefit financially because tourists buy
imported, not local, goods and food. Farmland
makes way for hotels, consequently destroying the
old way of life. Although the farmer earns more,
he is no longer his own master, and needs to obey
his employer. (144 words)
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Additional Points to Take Note

• Link content points using a present participle
  when possible e.g. Hotels opened, creating
  employment.
• Use pronouns wherever possible without obscuring
  the sense e.g. he instead of the author,
  they instead of the tourists.
• Dont use topic sentences, even if original text
  uses them. E.g. There were many disadvantages
  brought about by tourism, just get straight on
  to writing down the disadvantages.
• Dont think that contracting words will save
  words. They wont.

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The End