Tips for Effective Summary Writing

Wendy from WorldWideSpeak provides a tutorial on summarizing for English language learners. The video covers the definition of summarizing, its importance in academic and workplace settings, and offers five key tips for effective summarizing. These tips include understanding the original source, focusing on main points, maintaining the order of events, using your own words, and keeping it concise. The video concludes with a practice exercise to help viewers apply these skills.

What is the main purpose of summarizing in an academic or workplace setting?

• To confuse the reader

• To give personal opinions on the material

• To show understanding of the material

• To provide a detailed account of the original source

Which of the following is NOT an example of summarizing?

• Retelling a movie to a friend

• Describing every detail of an article

• Discussing the main points of a news article

• Giving a brief overview of a book

What should you do first when summarizing a reading?

• Change the order of events

• Focus on minor details

• Read the original source thoroughly

• Give your opinion on the reading

When summarizing, what should you focus on?

• Minor details

• Main points

• Exact words from the source

• Your personal opinion

Why is it important to keep the same order of events when summarizing?

• To make the summary longer

• To give your opinion

• To avoid confusing the reader

• To include more details

What is plagiarism?

• Using your own words

• Giving your opinion on the original source

• Copying someone else's words or sentences

• Summarizing in a concise manner

What is paraphrasing?

• Copying the original text exactly

• Rearranging and using different words to express the same idea

• Giving a detailed account of the original source

• Including your personal opinion

What does 'concise' mean in the context of summarizing?

• Long and detailed

• Short and to the point

• Including personal opinions

• Using exact words from the source

When summarizing a multi-paragraph article, how long should your summary be?

• As long as the original article

• A single paragraph

• Several paragraphs

• A single sentence

What should you do if you find details that are not crucial to the main points?

• Include them in the summary

• Ignore them

• Change the order of events

• Give your opinion on them