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Summarizing

Summarizing. Granville TAFE EFS Lily Semester 2, 2010. The language of Summaries. Summaries require a special kind of writing. A good summary gives only main ideas. It does not include details.

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Summarizing

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  1. Summarizing Granville TAFE EFS Lily Semester 2, 2010

  2. The language of Summaries • Summaries require a special kind of writing. • A good summary gives only main ideas. It does not include details. • Before you begin to write a summary, you should think about who, when, where, why, what, and how.

  3. What is a Summary? • A summary is an overview of a text. The main idea is given, but details, examples and formalities are left out. Used with longer texts, the main aim of summarizing is to reduce or condense a text to it's most important ideas. • Summarizing is a useful skill for making notes from readings and in lectures, writing an abstract/synopsis and incorporating material in assignments.

  4. How to Summarize? • The amount of detail you include in a summary will vary according to the length of the original text, how much information you need and how selective you are: • Start by reading a short text and highlighting the main points as you read. • Reread the text and make notes of the main points, leaving out examples, evidence etc. • Without the text, rewrite your notes in your own words and restate the main idea at the beginning plus all major points.

  5. When to Summarize? • Summarize long sections of work, like a long paragraph, page or chapter. • To outline the main points of someone else's work in your own words, without the details or examples. • To include an author's ideas using fewer words than the original text. • To briefly give examples of several differing points of view on a topic. • To support claims in, or provide evidence for your writing. 

  6. Summary and EFS Writings • The main task in EFS writings is to make your own judgments about the acceptability of one (or a number) of comparison and contrast arguments, or propositions, or reports, or case studies. However, before these judgments can be presented in a piece of writing, it is necessary to provide an adequate summary of the arguments.

  7. Summary sections in your writing tasks • Should outline clearly to the reader the contents of the argument you are dealing with. (Whilst you can assume that your lecturer will be familiar with the argument, it is best to write your summaries for someone who has not necessarily read it, or who may have read it some time ago and forgotten its precise contents.)

  8. Summary sections in EFS writing • Should show that you have clearly understood the argument. This is best done by summarizing in your own words (with optional direct quoting of the most important phrases, sentences, etc. from the text).

  9. Summary sections in EFS writing Should contain reporting language to indicate clearly whose ideas you are dealing with. • Plato argues that… • Singer's view is that… • Singer’s response to Brown's argument is that…

  10. Student Summary • Consider the following summary from a student's writing. The summary is of Judith Jarvis Thomson's famous 'unconscious violinist' argument used to justify abortion.

  11. Student Summary • In her argument, Judith Jarvis Thomson concentrates on the issue of the right of a woman, in a situation of unwanted pregnancy, to decide what happens to her body. She believes that choosing abortion, or the death of the fetus, is justifiable. In arguing for this position, she begins by conceding that the fetus is a person from the moment of conception, and uses the analogy of an unconscious violinist. Imagine waking up in a hospital - Thomson suggests - to find yourself plugged into another person. The Society of Music Lovers kidnapped you after discovering that you are the only medically compatible person available to save their best violinist. They connected his circulatory system to your kidneys to extract poison from his system, and if you unplug him he will die.

  12. Student Summary • The point of Thomson's example is to show that if you voluntarily find yourself in a position where someone's survival depends on your continuing to support them for an extended period, you are not morally obliged to continue unless you implicitly or explicitly agree. In relation to pregnancy, she likens this idea to being pregnant through coercion or even failed contraception. If the pregnancy was not actively sought or wanted, the mother should be under no obligation to continue because, although she may not accept that the fetus is a person like the violinist, its right to life should not be at the expense of the rights of an unwilling 'body donor'. In attempting to explain the similarities of a situation of dependence, Thomson aims to establish that a person's right to life is not necessarily strong enough to override someone's right over their own body.

  13. Paraphrasing • does not match the source word for word • involves putting a passage from a source into your own words • changes the words or phrasing of a passage, but retains and fully communicates the original meaning • must be attributed to the original source

  14. Summarizing • does not match the source word for word • involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, but including only the main point(s) • presents a broad overview, so is usually much shorter than the original text • must be attributed to the original source

  15. Quotations • match the source word for word • are usually a brief segment of the text • appear between quotation marks • must be attributed to the original source

  16. What are the Differences? Paraphrasing • does not match the source word for word • involves putting a passage from a source into your own words • changes the words or phrasing of a passage, but retains and fully communicates the original meaning, and can be longer than summary • must be attributed to the original source Summarizing • does not match the source word for word • involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words, but including only the main point(s) • presents a broad overview, so is usually much shorter than the original text • must be attributed to the original source Quotations • match the source word for word • are usually a brief segment of the text • appear between quotation marks • must be attributed to the original source

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