Hello .
The following text is about how to make a good summary for someone who learns English in an English class and should make summaries from the passages to give lectures in the class.
I hope it will be useful for you.
Whether as a teacher or a student, you have certainly noticed the nail-biting atmosphere of the class as well as the pale, too excited, quivering guys at the board saying some sentences like :
"….at that times he go there and didn't can say them nothing…. "
You know,
Summary is the most important part of the class activity because it shows:
1. You have understood the passage. (your reading comprehension ability)
2. You know enough grammar and vocabulary to make your own sentences. (your knowledge of grammar and vocabulary)
3. You can write you own passages; especially if your teacher asks you to write the summary in your notebook and checks it in class. (your writing ability)
4. You can pronounce words correctly. ( your speaking )
5. You can say sentences with a fluent native accent and intonation.
6. and lastly,
You are not the shy guy,
Who would try,
In vain,
With the mouth dry,
And sometimes, later, cry!
So let's get to the big question:
"How should a good summary be?"
In general, a good summary has to be:
1. short
2. simple
3. understandable
And never forget,
4. It must not be a copy of the passage!
To reach a good summary like this, there are some steps which we will work on here, one by one, using a sample paragraph.
(Of course these are not the only ways, but, I believe, of real help.) :
Note:
First of all you 'd better know that preparing a summary is not going to take only a couple of minutes; it is a pretty time consuming job depending on how much practice you have had during last semesters.
1. Read the passage and make sure you have understood it completely
"Do you realize that newly born children are not conscious that parts of their bodies belong to them? I learned this interesting fact in my psychology course from a book that claims a baby lies on his back, kicking his feet and watching the little fists flying past his face. But only very slowly does he come to know that they are attached to him and he can control them."
2. Now try to remember and write whatever you have understood from the passage :
(We call it paraphrasing.)
· Do not use the exact words which are in the passage. (Use synonyms instead)
· Do not use many big and unfamiliar sentence structures, phrases, and words.
· Your books should be closed here.
· Doing this part without the help of an English to English dictionary is impossible.
"Psychologist believe that childrens are not aware that their foots and fists which they are moving in front of them in the air are theirs."
3. Correct your mistakes and check you own passage with the one in the book to make sure you have not forgotten the important parts of the story.
· Some parts and sentences of the passage in the book can be omitted but some can not :
"Psychologists believe (that) newly born children are not aware that their feet and hands which are moving in front of them in the air are theirs."
4. Now use your own passage (your summary) as a note and practice hard until you can talk about it without looking at it.
Do not forget it is very important to finish one step and then go to the next one. Most students don't do this and they are more confused and upset in class.
Good Luck
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