How to write a Summary? | English Language for Grade 10 PDF Download

Write the Summary

• That’s easier said than done. You have got all your points, now you need to collate and organise it into one write-up using your own words.
• Write a one-line introduction that tells the examiner what you’re writing a summary on. Keep it short. In the example above, you could start the summary by writing : Poon Lim, a ship-wreck victim, managed to survive an astounding 133 days on an island all alone.
• Start organising the points: You could do it chronologically, advantage-disadvantage format or problem-solution format- whatever works for the task at hand. In the example above, writing points in their chronological order seems to be the right choice since it’s a narrative type of article.
• Use connectives, lots of them, to organise your points and add a sense of continuity. Some examples are: Firstly/Secondly/Thirdly, In Addition/Also/Furthermore, Consequently/As a result, Thus/Hence etc.
• Use your own words: Use synonyms of word in the passage, if possible. In the example above, the phrase ‘invented ways to find food and water’ can be changed to ‘came up with a system to obtain food and water’.
• You don’t have to write a conclusion: If the question asked you to write the summary on the entire passage, then maybe a conclusion would be fitting. But in questions like the one above, it is irrelevant to the question.
• Stick to the word limit: For the extended paper you have to write at least 100 word but not more than 120 words. For the core paper you need to write at least 70 word but not more than 80 words. Don’t write too much; scrap unnecessary points not relevant to the question; cut short words.