A SUMMARY

Selecting the points

Whether you have to write a summary or précis for an exam or whether you need to summarise a report for convenience, it is essential that you first thoroughly understand the meaning of the passage. Jot down the main points – using your own words. It is then a good idea to put away the original material and write the piece in your own words.

Sometimes you might be asked to summarise a piece using a certain number of words. Often the length required is a third of the original passage. Make sure you are within a word or two of the number required. Summarising is an excellent way of training yourself to write concisely. There is no room for any unnecessary words. Adjectives and adverbs should be deleted. So should any examples or illustrations. Save those for use in a longer report.

The final summary should be a competent piece of prose in your own words. It should read well and should follow all the rules you have learnt in Part 1 of this book. Study the following example:

Passage to be summarised

Napoleon and Josephine were married at a civil ceremony on 9 March 1796 after the bridegroom had kept his bride waiting for two hours. Josephine, who was thirty-two, was older than Napoleon and as her birth certificate was in Martinique, she conveniently took four years off her age. The bridegroom gallantly added a year to his so on the marriage certificate they both appeared as twenty-eight. No relations on either side were present and the Bonapartes, bitterly opposed to the marriage, pursued a vendetta against Josephine that lasted almost to the end of her life.

Napoleon soon found that he could not dominate his new wife as he could his soldiers. On their wedding night, she refused to let him remove her little dog, Fortune, from her bed where he always slept. Later her husband ruefully wrote, ‘I’ was told that I had the choice of sleeping in another bed or sharing that one with Fortune.’ The dog made his mark in history by biting the General in the leg!

The honeymoon was brief as two days after the wedding Napoleon left his new wife in Paris while he took up his post as Commander-in-Chief of the Army of Italy. From there he sent passionate love letters to her and she wrote back to him though not as frequently.

(Approximately 200 words)

Summary

Napoleon married Josephine on 9 March 1796. Each gave false ages so they were both registered as twenty-eight. The Bonapartes hated Josephine and objected to the marriage. Napoleon soon found he could not dominate his new wife as he did his soldiers. Two days after the wedding he left his wife in Paris and went to Italy as Commander-in-Chief of the army. From there he sent her frequent love letters but she did not reply very often.

(Approximately 70 words – a third of the original passage)

COMPILING A REPORT

A report, like a summary, should be concise, but examples and illustrations may be necessary in order to clarify points in the main body of the report. Unlike an essay, a report needs headings for each section and sometimes it is useful to include a brief summary of the whole report after the title page. It is important to plan the report before you start to write it. Note down all the points you hope to include and then organise them into a logical order.

The title page

The title page should contain the title of the report in the centre of the page with the name of the person who has compiled it underneath. Below this is the date. This page should also show for whom the report was written. (See Figure 2.)

The contents table

A contents table follows the title page. This may not be necessary if the report is short. However, if it is a long report, it is useful to list the paragraph headings and the pages on which they appear.

The introduction

In your introduction it is important to give the background to the report. You should explain who had asked for it, why it was written and what it is about. (See Figure 3.) Follow the Introduction with a brief summary of the Conclusions (see Figure 4).

The report

Make sure your report progresses logically from one point to the next. You have already planned it by noting all your points in the appropriate order so now write each paragraph in clear, concise prose. Use headings for each section and, unless the sections are very short, it is a good idea to start each section on a new page. This may be thought a waste of paper but it looks better and impresses the reader.

The conclusion

The report should be followed by your conclusion and a list

of the relevant recommendations you would like the readers to consider. Make them definite not vague. (See Figure 5.)

CHECKLIST

Summarising

• Make sure you understand the passage you are to summarise.
• Select the relevant points.
• Always write the summary in your own words.
• Write in clear, concise prose.
• Avoid unnecessary detail and examples.
• Keep to the correct number of words if told to do so.

Reporting

• Plan your report so the points follow logically.
• Produce a title page.
• Use a contents table with page numbers.
• Write an introduction.
• Write a summary of the report.
• Use headings for each section.
• Write a conclusion including, if relevant, your recommendations.

EXERCISES

• 1.Summarise the following passage in approximately 50 words.
  Josephine continued to entertain lavishly and spent a fortune on her clothes. She changed three times a day and was said to buy six hundred dresses and a thousand pairs of gloves a year. It was hardly surprising her husband was constantly complaining about her extravagance. But on one occasion her vanity saved her life. She was late in leaving for the opera because she spent some time rearranging a shawl, a gift from Constantinople, around her shoulders.
  Napoleon had already left in another carriage so Josephine’s carriage was some distance behind when there was a loud explosion. Fortunately Napoleon’s coach had already passed the danger spot but had Josephine been following as she should have been, she would certainly have been killed as many passers-by were. It was the second attempt on Napoleon’s life and the audience at the opera cheered in relief as he took his seat.

(See page 176 for suggested answer.)

• 2.You are a headteacher who has been asked by the governors to produce a report on the staffing position at your school. Produce a title page, an introduction and a summary of the report.