写作summary讲义

SummarizingI. Definition: A summary is a brief restatement of the essential thought of a longer composition. It reproduces the theme of the original with as few words as possible. When one writes a summary, one should not interpret or comment. All one has to do is to give the gist of the authors exact and essential meaning.II. Uses of summary writing1. Summary writing is a very good exercise for improving reading comprehension.2. Summary writing is also helpful to composition writing.3. Summary writing has practical uses.III. Procedure1. Reading(1) First read the passage through carefully to get the gist of it.(2) Give a title to your summary.(3) You should now be in a position to decide what parts of the passage are essential and what parts are comparatively unimportant and can be omitted without much loss.(4) Jot down in brief notes the main points-the subject, the title and the details which you consider essential or important.2. Writing(1)A summary should usually be about one-third to one-fourth as long as the original passage.(2)The summary should be all in your own words.(3)You should follow the logical order of the original passage if possible.(4)The summary should be self-contained.(5)Summary writing is an exercise in compression.a. omit the details.b. reduce the examples.c. simplify the descriptions.d. eliminate all repetitions.e. compress wordy sentences and change phrases to words.f. use general words instead of specific words.g. use the shortest possible transitions.h. put the main points of a dialogue in indirect speech.Examples:1. His courage in battle might without exaggeration be called lion-like. 2. The account the witness gave of the incident made everyone that heard it laugh.3. They acted in a manner that rendered them liable to prosecution.4. John fell into the river and, before help could reach him, he sank.5. He was hard up for money and was being pressed by his creditor.6. Beautiful mountains like Mount Tai, Lushan Mountain, and Yellow Mountain, were visited by only a few people in the past. Today, better wages, holidays with pay, new hotels on those mountains, and better train and bus services, have brought them within reach of many who never thought of visiting them ten years ago.7. She bought home several Chinese and English novels, a few copies of Time and Newsweek, and some textbooks. She intended to read all of them during the winter vacation.8. Kate looked at Paul disapprovingly,“You use too much salt on your food, Paul-its not at all good for you!”Paul put down his knife and frowned,“Why on earth not! If