英语专业写作王星主编 section 2 summary-writing

1、After Studying the unit, the students should be able to:I. Definitionw A summary is a of thought of a longer composition. p107 a summary cant cover everything and must be shorter than original writing; usually it includes the thesis and the main supporting points. it reproduces faithfully the theme

2、of the original in our own words; one should not interpret or comment; All one has to do is to give the gist of the authors exact and essential meaning. it gives the main information about a piece of writing or speech;usually it includes the thesis and the main supporting points.II. Characteristics

3、of a Summary1. Length A summary should usually be aboutto as long as the original passage. You may use fewer words than the number prescribed, but in no case may you exceed the limit.2. Point of View Use the third person point of view3. Tone : objective and impersonal Dont express our own ideas, but

4、 faithfully represents the ideas of the original writing.4. Cover all the main information Your reader need no reference to the original to understand what its main ideas are.5. Follow the logical order of the original passage, if possible (and desirable). Ideas and facts need not be rearranged.6. U

5、se complete sentences7. Use our own wordsUse different words with the original one. Dont copy the language.8. Use quotation if you cite some important words of the original article9. Use present tense to report the general ideas and use past tense to refer to past experiences. 10. Summary writing is

6、 an exercise in compression. In writing a summary, we should:- omit the details.- reduce the examples.- simplify the descriptions.- eliminate all repetitions.(continuing)- compress wordy sentences and change phrases to words.e.g. His courage in battle might without exaggeration be called lion-like.

7、He was very brave in battle.e.g. They acted in a manner that rendered them liable to prosecution. They acted illegally.- Use general words instead of specific wordse.g. She brought home several Chinese and English novels, and some textbooks. She intended to read all of them during the winter vacatio

8、n. She brought home a lot of books to read during the vacation.- Use the shortest possible transitions.e.g. But, then, thus, yet, and for- Put the main points of a dialogue in indirect speech.a)John said, “I am very tired.”b)The teacher asked me, “Have you finished your exercises?”c)He cried out, “O

9、h, what a big house it is!”d)She said to him, Do not talk nonsense!“e)He asked Tylor, Why dont you go home?“Attentions:The changes of pronounsThe changes of time: yesterday, tomorrow, last year, next yearThe changes of venues 直接叙述间接叙述nowthentoday that daythis morning that morningyesterdaythe day bef

10、ore / the previous dayyesterday morning the morning before / the previous morninglast nightthe night before / the previous nightlast Mondaythe Monday before / the previous Mondayagobeforetwo days agotwo days beforetomorrowthe next daynext weekthe following weekherethere直接叙述直接叙述间接叙述间接叙述一般现在时态一般现在时态一般

11、过去时态现在进行时态现在进行时态 过去进行时态现在完成时态现在完成时态过去完成时态现在完成进行时态现在完成进行时态过去完成进行时态一般过去时态一般过去时态过去完成时态一般将来时态一般将来时态 过去将来时态*III. How to Write a Summary1. Read and understand the source2. Underline the thesis statement and the main supporting points We should decide what parts are essential and what parts are comparative

12、ly unimportant and can be omitted without much loss.3. Write the summarybegin the summary by mentioning the author, the articles title and the authors thesis;state the supporting points one by one;revise.Dos and donts for summary writing P108IV. Some Useful Expressions and Structures - refer to p109

13、V. Analyze sample 3 (P111)VI. Exercise 1 on P117. This article talks about the reasons why students cheat in exams. Students cheat in exams by many ways even though they will have to face severe punishment if they are caught. The author thinks there are three main reasons. The most important reason

14、is the fear of failure. Those students are greatly worried that if they fail not only their relationship with their parents and friends will be affected but also their “educational future.” The second reason is that some students are not confident and dont think they can pass the exam. The last reason is that some students just want to challenge the school rules to “show off