EL 103 Summary Writing
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Name :
Class :
EL 103 Summary Writing
Learning Objective : Learn to condense relevant information
1127/02 Comprehension includes a 25 marks summary question – students should aim high for summary
precisely for its points and its ease of accomplishment. This module traces the principles of summary writing.
Index
Content*
Page
A
The Concept of Summary
2
B
Article : To Make a Long Story Short: Summary Skills for Better Readers and Writers
3
C
An Overview of Summary Writing
4
D
Making Sense of the Passage
4
E
Breaking Down the Summary Instructions
7
F
Finding the Points
8
G
Paraphrase the Points
9
H
Marking Scheme
11
*compulsory curriculum
1
Created by Clara Yeo for City Harvest Education Centre | Revised 03/24/09
EL 103 Summary Writing
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The Concept of Summary
Summary skills are often used today in...
Movie Synopsis : ‘Bolt’ by Walt Disney Pictures
Taken from http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bolt/#
For super-dog Bolt (voice of JOHN TRAVOLTA), every day is filled with adventure, danger and intrigue - at
least until the cameras stop rolling. When the star of a hit TV show is accidentally shipped... For super-dog
Bolt (voice of JOHN TRAVOLTA), every day is filled with adventure, danger and intrigue - at least until the
cameras stop rolling. When the star of a hit TV show is accidentally shipped from his Hollywood soundstage
to New York City, he begins his biggest adventure yet - a cross-country journey through the real world to get
back to his owner and co-star, Penny (voice of MILEY CYRUS). Armed only with the delusions that all his
amazing feats and powers are real, and the help of two unlikely traveling companions - a jaded, abandoned
housecat named Mittens (voice of SUSIE ESSMAN) and a TV-obsessed hamster named Rhino (voice of
MARK WALTON) - Bolt discovers he doesn’t need superpowers to be a hero (© Walt Disney Pictures).
Book Review : 'Twilight' by Stephenie Meyer
Taken from http://bestsellers.about.com/od/fictionreviews/gr/twilight.htm
Twilight is told by 17-year-old Bella Swan, who moves from Phoenix to the small town of Forks, Washington,
to live with her dad for the remainder of high school. There, she meets Edward Cullen and his family, who
possess an other-worldly and irresistible beauty and grace to which Bella is drawn. Twilight is the tale of
Bella and Edward's burgeoning relationship, brimming with standard teenage drama alongside the
unexpected, because, after all, Edward and his family are vampires. These undead friends have chosen to
deny their urge to drink human blood, instead slaking their thirst with the blood of animals. Bella soon finds
out, however, that not all vampires in her life are constrained by such scruples.
The book has been praised for its treatment of sexuality and morality. Although there's plenty of yearning
and sensuality, there is no sex, drinking, or drug use. Edward refuses Bella's desire to be turned into a
vampire herself, on grounds that it wouldn't be the right thing to do.
Twilight is an easy and enjoyable read. Its first-person viewpoint keeps the the pages turning. This isn't a
masterpiece of literary achievement, however. You have to take it for what it is –- a unique and entertaining,
if not flawlessly written, story. Twilight will almost certainly appeal to teenage girls and many women of all
ages, but probably not to the majority of males. It's sure to make readers eager to devour the next three
novels.
Exercise 1
Summarise in one sentence what the writer is wanting to convey.
Mr Jeremy was very upset and this is what he said,
“For many many times, the projector in Synergy 1 was not switched off. Please ensure that the projector in
Synergy 1 is really switched off. It may seem to be switched off because there is nothing projected on the
screen. Though nothing seems to be projected from the projector itself, it is still switched on. You can still
see that the light on the projector is switched on.Next time, if you are using the projector in Synergy 1,
check by ensuring that the light on the projector has been switched off. This is what I mean: If there is still
light, press the “power off” twice on the remote control while pointing it at the projector. If you simply can't
switch it off after you have pressed the button twice on the controller, point the controller towards the
projector and keep on pressing “power off” from every direction till it is completely switched off. If you still
don't get it, please tell me. I will show you how to do it.”
Discuss : What is a summary?
What is summary writing?
2
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EL 103 Summary Writing
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To Make a Long Story Short: Summary Skills for
Better Readers and Writers
20 June 2006
have quite a significant population of students who are
learning English, and one method that I found especially
helpful for them was looking for key words in the article or
the text. And so we would kind of develop their background
knowledge first, and then they would look for key words that
AA: I'm Avi Arditti, Rosanne Skirble is away. With us this
week on Wordmaster: Emily Kissner, a sixth-grade teacher were important.
in Pennsylvania and author of a new book called "Summarizing, Paraphrasing and Retelling."
"And using some of these techniques like finding the main
idea and looking for the structure of the text helped them to
EMILY KISSNER: "When you summarize, you need to first -- by the end of the year, they were writing some really competent summaries. And that really shows they were underchoose what's important in the text -- look for the main
ideas. And a good way to do that is to look at what the au- standing the texts."
thor refers to over and over again, because that's probably
what's important.
AA: "What would a bad summary look like?"
"And then you need to condense those main ideas. You
need to get rid of the repeated ideas. You need to exclude
the trivia, those little details that are in there to keep you interested but really don't contribute to the main idea."
EMILY KISSNER: "A lot of students, and a lot of adults, use
what's called the copy-and-delete method: 'Oh geez, I have
to write this summary. I don't really know how. I'm just going
to go through and pick up a few sentences here and a few
sentences there, copy it down, I'll leave out a few sentence,
AA: "And then from there, you've boiled it down, you're look- and I have something that looks like a summary.' So when
you're seeing a lot of text that's directly taken out of the
ing for the important ideas, how do you begin to put them
main article, you can tell that the writer of that summary isn't
down on paper?"
working with very effective strategies for summarizing."
EMILY KISSNER: "Different readers use different methods.
There's been a lot of research on retelling, which is where AA: "Now what's the difference between summarizing and
paraphrasing? Since the title of your book is 'Summarizing,
you just retell the important ideas to someone else. Even
without someone telling you it's good or bad, retelling what Paraphrasing and Retelling,' what's the difference?"
you've read changes something about how you store the information in your brain and helps you to understand it better. EMILY KISSNER: "Paraphrasing is just putting ideas into
So one great way to start summarizing is just to turn to
your own words. So, for instance, you could read a parasomeone else and say 'Hey, I just read this, listen to what graph about global warming and you could paraphrase it
the author's talking about.'
and it could be just as long as the original paragraph. The
key part with paraphrasing is that it's in your own words.
"And from there, you can maybe list some of the main ideas. With summarizing, you have a more formal product that is
And then if you need to write a formal summary to give to shorter than the original text."
someone else, you can kind of look for the connections between those ideas and then use those to frame your sum- AA: No one says any of this is easy, even for teachers. Emimary."
ly Kissner recalls the day she told her students about her
book.
AA: "You write in your book here, you say: 'Left to their own
devices, most students write the topic of a text when they're EMILY KISSNER: "And then one kid just looked at me, and
asked to write a main idea.' Now what's the difference be- raised his hand and with a kind of sly smile said, 'Missus
tween the topic and the main idea?"
Kissner, could you summarize the book for us?' And suddenly I was put on the spot and I had to put all of what was
in the book to the test to try to summarize this book in a way
EMILY KISSNER: "The topic is usually just one word or
that the students could understand."
phrase to which everything in the text refers. So, for instance, if you were reading about dinosaurs, the topic of the
book could be 'dinosaurs.' A main idea is usually a sentence AA: "And did you pass the test?"
that explains why the topic is important or explains something about the topic. So one article about dinosaurs might
be 'dinosaurs evolved to many unusual creatures.' And so EMILY KISSNER: "Well, I think I did. [Laughter] It's hard to
then everything in the text would go back to that main idea." do on the spot."
AA: "Do you find these techniques of summarizing to be
helpful at all, or especially helpful, to English learners?"
EMILY KISSNER: "Where I teach right now, we actually
3
AA: "Summarizing, Paraphrasing and Retelling," by Emily
Kissner, is published by Heinemann. And that's Wordmaster
for this week. Our e-mail address is word@voanews.com
and find us online at voanews.com/wordmaster. I'm Avi
Arditti.
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EL 103 Summary Writing
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An Overview of Summary Writing
1. Summary writing should reduce the length of the original passage by at least two – thirds, using
conjunctions to compress ideas.
2. Every important idea must be retained, preferably in the order in which it appears in the original.
3. Unimportant points, including details, illustrations and anecdotes, should be discarded.
4. Although you should be as brief as possible, guard against being so condensed that you obscure
the point of passage.
5. Do not insert your own opinions or thoughts; instead summarize what the writer has to say about
the subject.
6. A first draft of the summary should be written, then checked to see that it contains the main ideas of
the passage. Check the draft for expression errors, repetition or vague phrasing; then write a
smoother final version.
MAKING SENSE OF THE PASSAGE : Topic Sentences, Elaborating Sentences, Examples (TEE)
Summary is simply 2 things :
1. Getting the right points
2. Paraphrase : Putting the points together in an original way
For the two things to come together, we need to make sense of what we are reading. By understanding its
parts, we will begin to better comprehend its entirety.
i.
Identify Topic Sentences
“A topic sentence states the main idea of a paragraph. It is the most general sentence of the paragraph. All
the other sentences serve to explain, describe, extend, or support this main-idea sentence.“1
“Most paragraphs you read will begin with the topic sentence. However, some topic sentences come in the
middle of the paragraph; others come at the end. Some paragraphs have no stated topic sentence at all; in
those cases, the main idea is implied. Students are usually advised to use topic sentences in all their work to
be certain that the writing has a focus.”2
Example 1
Here is an example of a proper paragraph with supporting sentences.
What is the topic sentence? (Ask yourself what the paragraph is about.)
I had a wonderful summer. First, I started sleeping in every day. I would then go swimming with my friends.
I stayed up late watching TV a lot, and I went to camp for a week. I wished my summer would never end!
"I had a wonderful summer" is the topic sentence. Everything else supports that idea. The final sentence is the
concluding sentence. It sums up what the author wants to communicate in the paragraph. "I wished my summer would
never end!".
1 Scarry, Sandra and John. The Writer’s Workplace, 5th edition. Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1999
2 ibid
4
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EL 103 Summary Writing
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ii.
Identify Elaboration
Elaboration is are the parts of the passage that expands on the key points of the topic sentence.
Good elaboration stays within the demands of the topic sentence and does not go astray.
Example 2
“Regardless of what some people may think, the desert is a beautiful place.” What do you think may be in
the elaborating sentences?
The key phrase is obviously “the desert is a beautiful place”.
The two points that stand out are “desert” and “beautiful place”.
The elaborating ideas expand on these two points.
Example 3
Find the sentence that doesn't fit the passage.
Regardless of what some people may think, the desert is a beautiful place. The blossoming wildflowers in
the spring are a joy to see. Spectacular sunsets delight the eye. Sometimes I go swimming. The occasional
quail or roadrunner dart across the sandy roads. It is a unique experience.
What doesn't belong? "Sometimes I go swimming" has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic sentence that states
that the desert is a beautiful place. Get rid of it!
Let's do an elaboration exercise together.
Exercise 13
Identify the topic sentence and its elaboration in the following excerpt.
Soon after the spraying had ended there were unmistakable signs that all was not well. Within two days
dead and dying fish, including many young salmon, were found along the banks of the stream. Brook trout
also appeared among the dead fish, and along the roads and in the woods birds were dying. All the life of
the stream was stilled. Before the spraying there had been a rich assortment of the water life that forms the
food of salmon and trout — caddis fly larvae, living in loosely fitting protective cases of leaves, stems or
gravel cemented together with saliva, stonefly nymphs clinging to rocks in the swirling currents, and the
wormlike larvae of blackflies edging the stones under riffles or where the stream spills over steeply slanting
rocks. But now the stream insects were dead, killed by DDT, and there was nothing for a young salmon to
eat.
3 Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
5
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EL 103 Summary Writing
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iii.
Identify Examples
Within the elaborating sentences are examples that writers use to help readers understand the point better.
Exercise 24
Can you identify the examples given in each paragraph?
Etiquette is dependent on culture; what is excellent etiquette in one society may shock another. Etiquette
evolves within culture. The Dutch painter Andries Both shows that the hunt for head lice, which had been a
civilized grooming occupation in the early Middle Ages, a bonding experience that reinforced the
comparative rank of two people, one groomed, one groomer, had become a peasant occupation by 1630.
The painter portrays the familiar operation matter-of-factly, without the disdain this subject would have
received in a nineteenth-century representation.
Etiquette can vary widely between different cultures and nations. In China, a person who takes the last item
of food from a common plate or bowl without first offering it to others at the table may be seen as a glutton
and insulting the generosity of the host. In America a guest is expected to eat all of the food given to them,
as a compliment to the quality of the cooking.
Exercise 35
Read the following passage. For each paragraph, identify its topic sentence, elaboration and examples.
Studying happiness is hard. What one man loves another loathes. One woman's joy is another's junk. Social scientists, therefore, have generally left the contemplation of smiles and satisfaction to poets and
philosophers. But that's changing. Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced Chick-Sent-Me-High-ee), a leading
expert on well-being, is establishing what he calls the world's first Ph.D program focusing on positive psychology and the analysis of happiness, at Claremont Graduate University in Claremont, Calif. "Even though
the things that make people happy seem ephemeral and immaterial, they are the most important things in
life, and they have not been studied very seriously," says Csikszentmihalyi, a professor of psychology and
management and author of Flow: the Psychology of Optimal Experience.
Drawing on his research on happiness, Csikszentmihalyi has three general pieces of advice for everyone.
Firstly, be attuned to what gives you genuine satisfaction. Although many people assume that popular activities like watching TV are enjoyable, their own reports generally indicate that they feel more engaged, energetic, satisfied and happy when doing other things.
Secondly, study yourself. To better understand their own happiness, Csikszentmihalyi says, people should
systematically record their activities and feelings every few hours for a week or two. In recording your observations, try to focus on how you actually feel, rather than what you think you ought to be feeling or what
you expect to feel. Afterwards, note the high points, particularly, and the low ones. Then try to adjust how
you spend time according to your findings.
Thirdly, take control. Repairing unhappy conditions requires active effort. People often assume external
conditions will change for the better or let chances determine their response. That's a mistake. "Get
control," Csikszentmihalyi says. When things aren't right, "you have to put in the same effort you would if
your business were in trouble. Just as markets move, life changes too."
Discuss.
1.
2.
3.
4.
What have we learnt so far regarding summary writing?
Are you able to pick out the points needed?
Do you know the difference between a topic sentence and elaborating sentences?
Try it out yourself by writing a short paragraph on a theme.
4 Taken from Wikepedia “Etiquette”, viewed 03/24/09
5 http://www.time.com/time/health/article, Jeremy Caplan, Getting Serious About Happiness, TIME Magazine, Tuesday, Apr. 03, 2007
6
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EL 103 Summary Writing
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BREAKING DOWN THE SUMMARY INSTRUCTIONS
Usually Summary has the longest bunch of instructions which needs to be read thoroughly before we begin.
Exercise 1
Answer the following questions. Do not copy anyone else's. Read everything before you begin. You have 3
minutes.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
Make 2 round circles beside this question.
Draw a huge flower above the line. ___________________
Stand up and sit down.
Name the tallest in class.
Name the kind of organisation that NKF represents.
Give a thought to the poor in Kenya.
Name the chattiest person in class.
“The lady in red is not wearing blue”. Describe the red you like.
What is the name of the first President of Singapore (clue : on your 2 dollar note)
Name someone who will make a suitable Prime Minister
Andrew Warth once said, “The pale light of the _________ deceives many travelers.”
Say “The Number One” very loudly.
Count the number of coins in your pocket.
Look tiredly at someone close to you.
Pretend there is a bird on your chair.
Work is the biggest enemy of __________ .
Agree with this statement : I enjoy flowers of all kinds, as long as they are fresh.
Get up and walk close to the door, and back to your chair, without a sound.
Whisper to your neighbour, “You need some love.”
The big bag of beautiful butterflies belongs to _____ .
Bad management is due to bad hygiene. Underline Yes or No.
The greatest thing in your world is :
Look at the ceiling and count to 5 seconds.
Imagine the class as a colony of ants.
Ignore all previous questions and keep quiet.
Exercise 26
Read and underline what the key summary instructions are. They should include
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
the way to write the summary
what to include in the summary
where to find the summary information
how many words
how to begin
how many marks are awarded
From Passage A :
Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the ways in which technology has brought
disadvantages and advantages to people's working lives and behaviour.
Use the material in Passage A from Line 25 to Line 80.
Your summary, which must be in continuous writing (not note form), must not be longer than 150 words
(not counting the words given to help you begin).
Begin your summary as follows :
Modern technology has affected our lives so much that we...
[25]
6 English O Level Paper November 2004
7
Created by Clara Yeo for City Harvest Education Centre | Revised 03/24/09
EL 103 Summary Writing
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FINDING THE POINTS
Step 1 : Change what the summary is looking for, into helpful, direct questions.
If you can change the instruction into a question, you will be able to see what kind of answers you need.
E,g. Illustrate in continuous writing, why young people prefer to use the internet and how the internet has
replaced traditional family time.
Becomes...
1. Why do young people prefer to use the internet?
2. How has the internet replace traditional family time? (2 key information underlined)
Exercise 1
Change the Summary Question into direction questions
1. Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the reasons why the money developed by
China proved so successful, why the money produced later by other countries also proved
successful, and why in the end our money today follows the Chinese model so closely.
[O level Nov 2003]
2. Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the ways in which technology has brought
disadvantages and advantages to people’s working lives and behaviour.
[O level Nov 2004]
3. Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the various ways in which Nature has
equipped animals and human beings so that they can survive.
[O level Nov 2005]
Step 2 : Look for answers that coincide with the questions.
Find the answers by using the questions as a sounding board.
This is the way to get the necessary details from the passage.
E.g. Why do young people prefer to use the internet?
They prefer to use the internet because ... (find answer 1 from passage)
They prefer to use the internet because ... (find answer 2 from passage)
How has the internet replace traditional family time?
The internet has replaced traditional family time by ... (find answer 3 from passage)
The internet has replaced traditional family time by ... (find answer 4 from passage)
Exercise 2
Find the direct answers from one of the summary questions in Exercise 1.
How many points can you find?
What was difficult to find out?
8
Created by Clara Yeo for City Harvest Education Centre | Revised 03/24/09
EL 103 Summary Writing
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PARAPHRASE : Putting the points together in an original way
Paraphrase by understanding the points and putting it in an effective way that doesn't change the meaning.
How do you paraphrase?
●
●
●
●
●
Omit details that are irrelevant to answering the given question. While doing that, do ensure that all
sentences are grammatical.
Breakdown or shorten the sentences from their conjunctions.
You may change the nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs and the sentence structure.
If there are indispensible words like names or certain nouns like “sun” or “moon”, leave them as they
are. You can't possibly change these words to “the big planet”!
Remember to check your Vocabulary, Grammar, Spelling after you put your words together in a
paragraph!
Example 1
Paraphrase the following line.
Now and then, we are rewarded with a chance to see our children do something for themselves and do it
well. (21 words)
To shorten…
We are rewarded with a chance to see our children do something for themselves and do it well.
We have the chance to see our children do something for themselves and do it well.
To paraphrase…
We want to see our children excel in what they do. (11 words)
Example 2
Summarise why Mary felt uncomfortable sitting in the car.
Begin with “Mary felt uncomfortable because...”
The sun was shining brightly onto the surface of the car...it was quickly getting hot. Mary who sat inside
squirmed under the heat and wished her mother hurried. The window was open but there was not enough
wind to ensure good ventilation.
Points :
1. sun was shining brightly on the surface of the car
2. the car was getting hot quickly
3. not enough wind to ensure good ventilation
In paraphrasing you should link like minded points together. Which are they?
Mary felt uncomfortable because
the sun was heating up the car very fast. (points 1 & 2 together)
The lack of wind made the still air inside more unbearable. (point 3 – if the ventilation is not good, it means
that it is bad. Bad ventilation means that the air is not moving. Therefore, the air inside would be still.)
Together....
Mary felt uncomfortable because the sun was heating up the car very fast. The lack of wind made it more
still air inside more unbearable.
9
Created by Clara Yeo for City Harvest Education Centre | Revised 03/24/09
EL 103 Summary Writing
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Exercise 1
Understanding Body Clocks
Your body clock is a tiny cluster of nerve cells in the center of your brain; it relies on sunlight to keep you
synchronized with planetary time. The quality of your sleep depends on how well your body clock is
synchronized. For example, if you go to bed every night at 11 pm and get up every morning at 7 am, you’ll
probably find yourself becoming sleepy and waking close to those times automatically, even if you don’t set
an alarm clock.
This happens because our bodies have the ability to keep their own time. In fact, we have two major
internal timing systems. The first is set by the light-and-dark cycle of the day. When you eyes sense the
sun, for example, they tell your brain it’s time to wake up. The second system regulates your body
temperature; it naturally rises during the day and drops during the night. This temperature clock is reset
through the routine of waking, sleeping, and possibly eating. Because we do these activities on day-to-night
cycle, the two biological clocks typically run in synch.
If your body clock is out of synch, it’s very hard to feel rested, no matter how much you sleep. The good
news is that it’s possible to reset your body clock. Try getting up at the same time every day for a week, no
matter what time you go to bed. Chances are you’ll soon find getting up easier. And the longer you get up
at the same time, the better your body clock will work.
1. Underline the main points in the above passage.
2. Paraphrase the main points in less than 50 words.
Discuss. What difficulties would you encounter in paraphrasing?
Try out an O level paper.
10
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MARKING SCHEME
Clearly, the full marks for O level summary question is 25. 15 marks are awarded for listing 15 relevant
points whereas the remaining 10 marks are awarded for language and paraphrasing adeptly. Please refer to
the last page for the O level marking scheme.
Marking Scheme
MARK TO A MAXIMUM OF 15 OUT OF 21 FOR POINTS.
AWARD A MAXIMUM OF 10 MARKS FOR STYLE.
NOTES:
1. Points to be rewarded and their marks are indicated on
the next page.
2. Introductory Words
Sequence errors
In general, only withhold the mark for a point if it is wildly out
of sequence or totally unsupported. Do not penalise the
point that then follows.
SUMMARY QUESTION: STYLE ASSESSMENT
The mark for Style incorporates TWO categories of writing,
namely OWN WORDS and USE OF ENGLISH. The table
which follows on the next page provides descriptors of the
mark levels assigned to these TWO categories.
No penalty for omission; no penalty for any errors made in
them or for incompleteness, but take into account any punc- In assessing the overall mark for Style, first of all assign the
tuation or grammatical error immediately following them
script to a mark level under the category
when assessing Style.
of OWN WORDS. Then arrive at the mark level for USE OF
Length
Draw a double line where the introductory words end, or
should end.
ENGLISH. Before deciding the mark for
this level, take the accuracy of the writing into account, in
particular the absence or frequency of
serious and minor errors. Underline only serious errors.
Add the marks for OWN WORDS and USE OF ENGLISH
Count to 150 the number of words used by the candidate af- together and divide by two. Raise any
ter the double line and write down
half marks to the nearest whole number. Add this mark to
this number at the bottom left of the candidate's answer.
the Content mark and show as a
DO NOT use the candidate's word-total without checking it.
STOP at 150 and cross out excess words.
total in the right-hand margin.
THE NOTES BELOW SET OUT TYPES OF SERIOUS
AND MINOR ERRORS
(N.B. This maximum takes into account the ten introductory SERIOUS ERRORS
words to tally with Rubric of question, i.e. 160 words.)
© UCLES 2008
Wrong verb forms.
Serious tense errors.
Marking Technique
Serious errors of sentence structure, especially in setting up
subordination.
(i) Indicate by numbered tick the point rewarded, e.g.
3 Omission or obvious misuse of prepositions.
(ii) Assign the mark scheme number to points rewarded on Wholesale misunderstanding over the meanings of words
all scripts.
used.
(iii) Assess qualities of Style separately. Add the Style
Serious errors of agreement.
Mark to the Content Mark and show
Ingrained weakness of punctuation, i.e. the habitual comma
as a ringed total in the right-hand margin.
replacing the necessary full stop.
Breakdown of sense.
Page 7, Mark Scheme Syllabus Paper GCE O LEVEL –
May/June 2008 1123 02
MINOR ERRORS
For answers shorter than the 150 words, award the
Style mark in the normal way, but apply the following
maxima:
Mis-spellings of a minor nature. Count as a serious error
when the form of the word is severely mangled.
Obvious slips of repetition or omission.
Minor errors of punctuation, i.e. the failure to complete pairs
of commas in parenthetical phrases/clauses, omissions of
stops after introductory words like 'however'.
0-25 (0); 26-50 (2); 51-75 (4); 76-100 (6); 101-125 (8)
[e.g. for sustained own words with error-free original complex structures, award 9 or 10 for Style for answer of 126
words, but only 8 for answer of 125 words. There is no need Indicate how you arrived at your mark for OW and UE, eito do proportional calculation]
ther by a short comment at the end of the script or by use of
If the candidate uses note-form throughout the answer, give
0 for the Style mark but allow the points where they are
clearly made.
11
left hand margin.
Created by Clara Yeo for City Harvest Education Centre | Revised 03/24/09
EL 103 Summary Writing
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Mark
10 - 9
8-7
6-5
SUMMARY STYLE DESCRIPTORS
Own Words
Mark
Use of English
• Candidates make a sustained attempt to
10 - 9
• Apart from very occasional slips, the
re-phrase the text language.
language is accurate.
• Any occasional errors are either slips
• Allow phrases from the text which are difor minor errors. Sentence structure is
ficult to substitute.
varied and there is a marked ability to
use original complex syntax outside text
structures.
• Punctuation is accurate and helpful to
the reader.
• Spelling is secure across the full range
of
vocabulary used.
• There is a noticeable attempt to re8-7
• The language is almost always accuphrase the text.
rate. Serious errors will be so isolated
• The summary is free from stretches of
as to be almost unnoticeable.
concentrated lifting.
• Sentences show some variation, including original complex syntax.
• Punctuation is accurate and generally
helpful.
• Spelling is nearly always secure.
• There are recognisable but limited at6-5
• The language is largely accurate.
tempts to re-phrase the text detail.
• Simple structures tend to dominate
Attempt may be limited by irrelevance or by
and serious errors are not frequent, aloblique or mangled relevance.
though they are noticeable.
• Groups of text expression are interlaced
• Where sentences show some variety
with own words.
and complexity, they will generally be
• The expression may not always be selifted from the text.
cure, but the attempt to substitute the text
• Serious errors may occur when more
will gain credit.
sophisticated structures are attempted.
• Punctuation is generally accurate.
• Spelling is mostly accurate.
4-3
• Wholesale copying of large areas of the
text, but not a complete transcript,
• Attempts to substitute own language will
be limited to single word expression.
• Irrelevant sections of the text will be more
frequent at this level and below.
4-3
• Meaning is not in doubt but serious errors are becoming more frequent.
• Some simple structures will be accurate, although this accuracy is not sustained for long.
• Simple punctuation will usually be correct, with occasional errors of sentence
separation.
• Spelling is largely accurate.
2-0
• Pretty well a complete transcript of the
text expression.
• Originality is barely noticeable.
• There will also be random transcription of
irrelevant sections of the text.
2-0
• Heavy frequency of serious errors, impeding the reading in many places.
• Fractured syntax is much more pronounced at this level.
• Errors of sentence separation are liable to be frequent.
Note 1: Scripts placed in last two boxes for OW cannot receive a UE mark from the top two boxes, as originality does not
apply. But accurate copying must score middle box for UE as this is the ‘best fit’ box.
Note 2: Relevance and irrelevance:
(i) wholesale or sustained irrelevance: ignore OW assessment and mark out of 4 max for Style. Use incidence of errors
to assess mark out of 4. Such scripts are rare.
(ii) recognisable OW limited by some irrelevance:5/6 for OW. Mark UE as normal.
(iii) Oblique or generalised relevance: 5/6 box for OW. Mark UE as normal.
(iv) Mangled or nonsensical relevance: 3/4 or 1/2 box for OW. Mark UE as normal.
12
Created by Clara Yeo for City Harvest Education Centre | Revised 03/24/09