Dostanete delší anglický článek a máte z něho vytvořit krátké „summary“ v angličtině. Takto vypadá zadání u zkoušek na vysoké škole, u zkoušek pro získání certifikátu (FCE apod.) a nebo při testování Vašich znalostí angličtiny u přijímacího řízení do zaměstnání. Dnes si ukážeme několik chytrých rad a tipů, jak se s tímto úkolem co nejlépe vypořádat a získat vysoké hodnocení.
Purpose of summary
The purpose of a summary is to provide your reader with a brief, unbiased overview of the original text.
Steps to writing a summary
- Compare your summary with the original text and ask your self the following questions:
- Write your summary – it should be approximately 1/4 to 1/3 the size of the original article. (This may not always be the case with your exam.)
- Decide which, if any, details (and/or examples) are most necessary in order to understand the main ideas of the original text.
- Identify and underline or highlight the main ideas of the article.
- Read the article carefully.
- Do you present the ideas of the text in the same order at the original does? If not, does your summary have a logical order?
- Is the summary complete and accurate?
- Is it written in your own words? (In the case of your bachelor´s exam, make sure that your summary is not simply a translation!)
- Is it free of grammatical errors?
- Subject / verb agreement
- Verb tense (Generally present simple is udesd to discuss literature and is appropriate for summaries, even if the article is very old.)
- Proper word order
- Proper word forms
- Singular / plural agreement
- Pronoun agreement
- Spelling
Suggestions and useful tips
- Be thorough, but concise.
- Do not list statistics; just briefly describe general trends.
- Use direct quotes sparingly, it at all.
- Do not overuse examples.
- Do not use the title of the original text of the author´s name as a „headline“ or a title for your summary.
- Never offer any personal judgments of the original text in a summary!
- Do not refer to yourself in the summary, e.g. I just read an article.
- Avoid lists.
- Avoid bullet points.
- Avoid single sentence paragraphs.
- Do not translate.
- Do not use informal abbreviations such as „u“ instead of „you“.
- Try to use proper vocabulary, e.g. Customer service instead of care of customer.
- Using transition words is a good way to provide order for your summary.
- Your summary should demonstrate that you understood the original text.
- It is often best to keep your sentences short and simple.