Chapter 5 writing a summary

Chapter 5Summarizing

Uses of summary-writing

What is a summary? It is the gist or main theme of a passage expressed in as few words as possible. What is the feature of a summary? It should be clear, brief, and complete. (including all the essential points)

What are the uses of summary-writing?

It enables people to get more out of their reading. It is an excellent training in concentration of attention. It makes us read with the mind. It is also a good exercise in writing a composition. It teaches us how to express our thoughts clearly, concisely and effectively. It practices us the ability to grasp quickly and accurately what is read, or heard, and to reproduce it briefly, clearly and concisely, which is very important to lawyers, scholars, businessmen, and government officials.

Procedures of writing a summaryProcedures

Readingwriting Revising

readingRead the passage through carefully and quickly

To take down some key words or notes

To get a general idea of the meaning

Supply a title or a topic sentence

Read the passage further for details

Decide what to be included in the summary

Jot down the subject, the title, and the details

Writing

Tips: be sure of the word limit required use simple, direct and correct English convey the massage fully and clearly

Revising

Compare the draft with the original and check the following points: Important ideas included; passage well connected; no mistakes; unnecessary words crossed out; copy neatly written out.

Sample

The conception of poverty and what to do abut it have changed over the decades. Under Social Darwinism the lazy and the inefficient were supposed to be at the bottom of the economic ladder as a consequence of the “law of survival of the fittest.” Society was conceived as a network of self-sufficient families which provided for their own. Needy persons outside a household (orphans, childless elderly, and the crippled) were provided outdoor relief grudgingly and as a temporary expedient. Although it was agreed the “poor will always be with us,” the inpidual was expected to improve himself through acts of his own will. Charity was thought to be encouraged to work harder.

At about the turn of the century, the closing of the frontier and the beginning of concern about natural resources brought uneasiness about the possible spread of beggary. The poor were a potentially dangerous class in terms of disease and disorder. The “poor” were seen as different from “paupers.” paupers were inpiduals well adjusted to being on the low end of the socioeconomic scale. Without shame or bitterness, they would not seek independence and a “better life.” For the mountaineers, subsistence dwellers, and some slum dwellers, the lack of wealth, it has been argued, reflects a preference not to pay the psychological costs of the struggle for riches or of adopting the middle-class work ethic of s

triving. In contrast, the worthy poor struggled to improve their lot against circumstances beyond their control: low wages, sickness, industrial accidents, widowhood, and so on.

Assignment P120