What this lesson teaches
I can find the relevant points in a passage and summarise them in my own words within 120 words.
Syllabus 8881, Paper 2 questions: summary. Summary based on Passage 2 (8 marks).
I can write my summary and application answer in clear, accurate English, because they carry the language marks.
Syllabus 8881, Paper 2 scheme of assessment. Language: 15 marks (based on the responses to the summary and application questions).
I can present ideas accurately, in a clear order and without wasted words.
Syllabus 8881, 3.2.2. present ideas, information, arguments and perspectives in an accurate, coherent and succinct manner
Make a guess
A student rewrites a vivid story from the passage in their own words and puts it in the summary. How many marks do you think it earns?
- Extra marks, because the detail shows close reading
- Only the general point behind it can earn a mark
- Full marks for that part, since it is in own words
Show the answer
Only the general point behind it can earn a mark
Right. Summary marks go to points that answer the question. A story only shows a point, so keep the point and drop the story.
Find every relevant point, leave out the examples, and rewrite the points in your own words within 120 words.
The summary question is based on Passage 2 and is worth 8 marks. It names a topic, such as 'the benefits of close ties with neighbours', and the paragraphs to use. You collect every point on that topic and rewrite the points in your own words, in no more than 120 words in recent papers.
Start with the question. Underline the topic word, such as 'benefits', 'problems' or 'reasons'. Note the paragraphs named. A point on a different topic, or from outside those paragraphs, earns nothing however well you write it.
Next, find the points. A point is a general idea that answers the question. Examples, stories, names and figures are not points; they show a point. When you meet an example, ask what it proves, and summarise that instead.
Sort these
Summarise the benefits of close ties with neighbours. Is each line from Passage 2 a point to include or a detail to leave out?
Groups: Point to include, Detail to leave out.
- Regular chats with neighbours make people feel less lonely.
- Neighbours are often the first to help in an emergency.
- Neighbours are good for more than a friendly wave.
- Everyday watchfulness deters crime.
- Residents meet at the void deck or the playground.
- An elderly man's newspaper has not been collected.
- Sharing tools and bulk purchases saves families money.
- A spare sack of rice finds a new home through a chat group.
Show the answer
Point to include
- Regular chats with neighbours make people feel less lonely. Feeling less lonely is a benefit to the mind, a separate point from the practical ones.
- Neighbours are often the first to help in an emergency. It states a benefit in general terms, so it is a point. Rephrase it and keep it.
- Everyday watchfulness deters crime. Less crime is a separate benefit. It is short in the passage but still worth a mark.
- Sharing tools and bulk purchases saves families money. Saving money is a benefit. The tools and bulk buys only show how, so the point is the saving.
Detail to leave out
- Neighbours are good for more than a friendly wave. This is an opening line that leads into the points. It names no benefit of its own.
- Residents meet at the void deck or the playground. These are places, not benefits. The point is the trust that grows when groups mix.
- An elderly man's newspaper has not been collected. This is an example. Keep its point, that neighbours notice when someone needs help, and drop the story.
- A spare sack of rice finds a new home through a chat group. This illustrates sharing. The summary needs the benefit it shows, not the rice or the chat group.
Many schools mark the summary on a scale of points. A common scale gives full marks for about ten points, and fewer marks as the points drop. So aim to find ten or more. Short points count just as much as long ones, and they are the easiest to miss.
Now rewrite each point. Change the key words where you can, and change the sentence shape too. Some words, such as 'neighbours', have no easy substitute, and you may keep them. Copying a whole phrase from the passage suggests you did not understand it, and it may not earn the mark.
Write one paragraph of joined-up sentences, not a list. One sentence can carry two or three points if you link them with 'and', 'while' or 'which'. Leave out your own views, and do not add an introduction that repeats the question.
Finally, count. Markers usually stop at the word limit, so points after it are lost. Write a draft, count the words, then cut empty phrases such as 'it is important to note that'. The summary also shares the 15 language marks with the AQ, so clear, accurate sentences matter here too.
Sort these
Set 2, Passage 2 (printed further down, under Try it on a new passage) is about the benefits of crowds. Is each line from it a summary point or a detail you should leave out?
Groups: Summary point, Detail to leave out.
- Fans shuffle along a row so that a latecomer can sit.
- Big events bring money to a city.
- Hotels, food stalls and taxis fill up during big events.
- A crowd that stands together can give people the courage to speak up.
- People pass water bottles down the row and sing the same songs off-key.
- Crowds are where strangers learn to trust each other.
Show the answer
Summary point
- Big events bring money to a city. An economic benefit stated generally is a point. The hotels and taxis after it are only its examples.
- A crowd that stands together can give people the courage to speak up. Courage to voice a view is a separate benefit, so it is a point worth its own mark.
- Crowds are where strangers learn to trust each other. It states a general benefit in a few words, so it earns a mark once you reword it.
Detail to leave out
- Fans shuffle along a row so that a latecomer can sit. This is one example of strangers cooperating. Write the cooperation point, not the example.
- Hotels, food stalls and taxis fill up during big events. These name where the money goes. The point is the benefit to the economy, said once.
- People pass water bottles down the row and sing the same songs off-key. These actions only show strangers trusting each other. Keep the trust point and drop the scene.
- Summary
- Passage 2, 8 marks, 120 words in recent papers, own words.
- A point
- A general idea that answers the question. Examples only show it.
- Target
- About ten points for full marks on a common scale.
Practice passage: Passage 2 (our own)
Paragraph 1
Neighbours who know one another are good for more than a friendly wave. In an emergency, they are often the first to help, long before an ambulance or a relative can arrive. An elderly man who falls at home is more likely to be found quickly if the family next door notices that his newspaper has not been collected. Such everyday watchfulness also deters crime, because strangers behaving oddly are noticed.
Paragraph 2
Close neighbours also save one another money and time. They lend tools, share bulk purchases and swap childminding, so families need not pay for every service. In many blocks, residents run chat groups where a spare sack of rice or an unwanted cot quickly finds a new home. These small exchanges add up, especially for households on tight budgets.
Paragraph 3
Perhaps most importantly, neighbourly ties are good for the mind. People who chat with their neighbours regularly report feeling less lonely. Children who grow up among familiar adults gain confidence, since they have more people to turn to, and older residents who keep an eye on them feel useful. And when residents of different races and religions meet at the void deck or the playground, they come to see one another as people rather than as labels, which builds trust across groups.
Try it on a new passage: Set 2, crowds and civility (our own)
Passage 2, paragraph 1
Crowds have a bad name, but they are also where strangers learn to trust each other. At a big parade, people who have never met pass water bottles down the row, lift children onto their shoulders and sing the same songs off-key.
Passage 2, paragraph 2
Crowds do real good. A shared event gives people the sense that they belong to something larger than themselves. It gets strangers cooperating: fans shuffle along a row so that a latecomer can sit, and a packed platform parts at once for a wheelchair. Big events also bring money to a city, filling hotels, food stalls and taxis. A cheering crowd can lift the mood of a whole city for days. And a crowd that stands together can give people the courage to speak up when one voice alone would stay silent.
Your question
Using material from paragraphs 1 and 2 of Passage 2, summarise the benefits of crowds. Write no more than 60 words, in your own words as far as possible. This is a short drill; the exam summary allows 120 words.
Check your answer against the points
Strangers come to trust one another. People feel part of something bigger. Strangers cooperate and help each other. Events bring money to a city's businesses. A crowd can lift a city's mood for days. Standing together gives people courage to speak up. The bottles, shoulders, songs, row, wheelchair, hotels and taxis are details, not points.
A model answer (55 words)
Crowds help strangers trust and cooperate with one another, and they make people feel part of a bigger whole. Large events also boost a city's economy. A happy crowd can raise public spirits for days, and standing together can make people brave enough to voice views they would keep to themselves if they were alone.
Worked example: Packing two points into one sentence
Passage lines: 'In an emergency, they are often the first to help... Such everyday watchfulness also deters crime.' Here is how to turn them into one summary sentence.
- Point 1: neighbours help first in an emergency.
- Point 2: their watchfulness deters crime.
- Reword: 'first to help' becomes 'quickest to step in'; 'deters' becomes 'discourages'.
- Join: 'Neighbours are often the quickest to step in during a crisis, and their watchfulness discourages crime.' Two points, 17 words.
Try it step by step
Problem 1
Sentence: 'An elderly man who falls at home is more likely to be found quickly if the family next door notices that his newspaper has not been collected.'
Show the working
- Find the point: Point: neighbours notice when a vulnerable resident may need help.
- Strip the example: Leave out the elderly man, the fall and the newspaper. They only show the point.
- Say it in your own words: Own words: 'Neighbours can spot quickly when an older or frail person is in trouble.'
Problem 2
Sentence: 'They lend tools, share bulk purchases and swap childminding, so families need not pay for every service.' The first two steps are done for you.
Show the working
- Find the point: Point: sharing goods and childcare saves households money.
- Strip the example: Leave out the list of tools, bulk purchases and childminding as separate items.
- Say it in your own words: Own words: 'Sharing things and minding one another's children cuts household costs.'
Problem 3
Sentence: 'And when residents of different races and religions meet at the void deck or the playground, they come to see one another as people rather than as labels, which builds trust across groups.' Do every step yourself.
Show the working
- Find the point: Point: mixing with neighbours builds trust between racial and religious groups.
- Strip the example: Leave out the void deck and the playground.
- Say it in your own words: Own words: 'Everyday contact lets people of different faiths and races see one another as individuals and trust one another.'
Watch out for this
The more examples from the passage I include, the more marks I get.
Examples are not points. Each one uses up words without earning a mark. Keep the general point the example shows and leave the example out.
Check your understanding
Which is the best summary version of 'Such everyday watchfulness also deters crime'?
- Neighbours keeping an eye out discourages crime
- Everyday watchfulness also deters crime
- Neighbours often catch the criminals who come into their block
Show the answer
Neighbours keeping an eye out discourages crime
Right. It keeps the full point and changes the key words, so it shows you understood.
Check your understanding
Your draft summary is 150 words and the limit is 120. What should you cut first?
- Short points, because the longer points earn more marks from the examiner
- Examples, opinions and padding such as 'it is important to note'
- Your last few points, since they matter less than the points you found first
Show the answer
Examples, opinions and padding such as 'it is important to note'
Right. None of these earn marks, so cutting them keeps every point inside the limit.