Q&A session on summary writing

1. Features of a summary
Academic Literacy
MPharmacy
Semester week 1
2012
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2. Features of a summary
a) Using the same order of facts
and ideas as the original.
Not necessary, unless you
are summarising a process
that logically needs the
same order as the original.
In fact, you probably need to
reorganise the information in
order to answer your
question. 2

3. Features of a summary
b) Using all the information from
the original.
No. The point is to choose what is
relevant to your purpose.
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4. Features of a summary
c) Using none of the same
vocabulary as the original.
No. Core vocabulary is essential
vocabulary and must not be
changed. However, the summary
should be in your own words.
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5. Features of a summary
d) Using different grammatical
structures from the original.
Yes. This will probably happen
naturally if you rewriting from
your own notes, not directly from
the text.
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6. Features of a summary
e) Emphasising the points you feel
are important in the original.
Yes. Part of the skill of
summarising is emphasising
important points (without saying
directly ‘I think this is important’).
Knowing how to select relevant
information is an essential part of
summarising.
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7. Features of a summary
f) Giving your opinion about or
commenting on the original text.
Definitely not within the
summary. However, you might be
asked to comment critically on
the content of a summary as part
of a task.
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