Summary Writing is an important skill for the students as well as employees. In this article we will solve your doubts regarding how to write a summary.

First step in making a summary of a given passage is to understand the original extract clearly. There are certain principles to bear in mind while writing a summary; selection, order, conciseness, clearness, smoothness and unity.

6 Steps for Summary Writing

1 Selection: निवड It mainly lies in separating the essential from what is superfluous. During each reading, one can go on marking the salient points of the given passage then they can be afterwards paraphrased in one’s own words.
2 Order: क्रम A summary must also possess order. It must present a clear unbroken sequence of ideas. Do not change the order of events or reasoning in the original passage.
3 Conciseness: संक्षिप्त It is the chief quality of a summary, in fact its very soul. Avoid using a clause where a phrase would suffice; or a phrase where one word would be enough.

4 Clearness: स्पष्टता One must avoid all vague expressions and phrases and be very careful about missing the essential points. Failure to be clear means that you have not understood the original passage.
5 Smoothness: सहजता Various parts of the summary must neatly fit in with one another. Sometimes the use of links ‘but’, ‘and’ might take your Passage smooth.

6 Unity: एकरूपता The summary must have unity, in other words, it must be an organic whole, not a mere sum of various parts. Select your ideas carefully, join them properly, make them clear and concise and above all knit them together, indivisibly. When the summary has unity it is a complete literary form, independent of the passage from which it is derived it should be a miniature model essay, with a beginning, a middle and an end.

Do’s and Don’ts of Summary Writing

Do’s : Cover all the important points. Use minimum words maximum meaning.

Don’ts in Summary Writing
In your summary you must omit/exclude
1. All repetition of ideas, which the original writer might have resorted to for the sake of emphasis.
2. All illustrative comparisons employed in the original for the sake of literary ornament.
3. All round-about expressions.
4. All examples given in the original to expand or clear some abstract or vague ideas.
5. Any irrelevant ideas used for blowing up the size of the passage.

A few more don’ts
1. Do not use the words or phrases employed in the original passage.
2. Do not imitate the construction of the original sentences.
3. Do not introduce any ideas of your own.
4. Do not be irrelevant.

5. Do not materially exceed the limit of words indicated by the examiner.
6. Do not use telegraphic expressions.
7. Do not use phrases like, ‘In my opinion’, The writer says’ etc.

Summary Writing Examples

Read the following extract and write a summary with a suitable title. 3 Marks
(Remember 1 Mark for title and two marks for summary.)
Compering
Read the following passage carefully:-

The work of the heart can never be interrupted The heart’s job is to keep oxygen rich blood flowing through the body. All the body’s cells need a constant supply of Oxygen, especially those in the brain. The brain cells like only four to five minutes after their oxygen is cut off, and death comes to the entire body.

The heart is a specialized muscle that serves as a pump. This pump is divided into four chambers connected by tiny doors called valves. The chambers work to keep the blood flowing round the body in a circle.

At the end of each circuit, veins carry the blood to the right atrium, the first of the four chambers 2/5 oxygen by then is used up and it is on its way back to the lung to pick up a fresh supply and to give up the carbon dioxide it has accumulated. From the right atrium the blood flow through the tricuspid valve into the second chamber, the right ventricle. The right ventricle contracts when it is filled, pushing the blood through the pulmonary artery, which leads to the lungs – in the lungs the blood gives up its carbon dioxide and picks up fresh oxygen. Then it travels to the third chamber the left atrium. When this chamber is filled it forces the blood through the a valve to the left ventricle. From here it is pushed into a big blood vessel called aorta and sent round the body by way of arteries.

Heart disease can result from any damage to the heart muscle, the valves or the pacemaker. If the muscle is damaged, the heart is unable to pump properly. If the valves are damaged blood cannot flow normally and easily from one chamber to another, and if the pacemaker is defective, the contractions of the chambers will become less coordinated.

Until the twentieth century, few doctors dared to touch the heart. In 1953 all this changed after twenty years of work, Dr. John Gibbon in the USA had developed a machine that could take over temporarily from the heart and lungs. Blood could be routed through the machine bypassing the heart so that surgeons could work inside it and see what they were doing. The era of open heart surgery had began.

In the operating theatre, it gives surgeons the chance to repair or replace a defective heart. Many parties have had plastic valves inserted in their hearts when their own was faulty. Many people are being kept alive with tiny battery operated pacemakers; none of these repairs could have been made without the heart – lung machine. But valuable as it is to the surgeons, the heart lung machine has certain limitations. It can be used only for a few hours at a time because its pumping gradually damages the bloods cells.

ANS : Summary:- Working Of Heart

The heart is a vital organ of the body, which never stop working. It supplies oxygen rich blood to all parts of the body. It is divided into four chambers inter connected by valves. Blood is purified in the lungs and arteries carry it to different parts of the body. Heart disease has various cause such as weak muscles defective valves or a defective pace maker. The era of open-heart surgery began in 1953 when Dr. Gibbon developed the heart lung machine. Replacement of valves and other areas of a damaged heart is now possible.

Read the following extract and write a summary with a suitable title.

Children who are dyslexic have problems processing specific visual information, resulting in trouble reading and writing. Until recently, it was thought to be language-related areas of the brain which were deficient, but new research suggests that dyslexics have difficulty with the control of eye movement, or ‘eye wobble’. Scientists based at the Quiescent laboratory and researchers at the Dyslexia Research Trust are working together to adapt hi-tech spectacles, developed to monitor the eye movements of fighter pilots, into miniaturized versions for children as young as five.

It is hoped the technology will help children like the six-year-old boy who asked Dr Sue Fowler, a researcher at the Dyslexia Research Trust’s clinic, ‘Do you want to know a secret? All the words on the page move and I don’t know how they do it because they don’t have any legs.’ Other children with dyslexia may report a disturbing sensation of ‘glare’ from the printed page, making them rub their eyes frequently. In some dyslexic children, reading causes a headache.

Professor John Stein, professor of neurology at Magdalene College, Oxford, has spent 20 years researching the connection between lack of eye control and reading difficulties. He says, ‘We are visual animals and eye movements are possibly the most important movements we make because they allow us to inspect the world around us. I believe problems with eye wobble account for up to two-thirds of dyslexia cases.

‘Dyslexia is not a disease. It is a brain difference, like left-handedness. We also believe that a cell in the brain, the magno cell, is related to eye movement. It seems that magno cells in dyslexics do not develop as well as those in good readers. The professor, who trained at Oxford and St Thomas’s Hospital in London, will be meeting government officials to prepare for a trial of the hi-tech specs in primary schools in London and Hampshire. Professor Stein and his colleague, Dr. Fowler, used the first prototype on a child last summer.

Professor Stein explains, ‘Eye wobble is not obvious to the naked eye. The movements are small and very rapid. The hi-tech specs, which are worn for only a few minutes during tests, are the most accurate technique we have for detecting the amount of eye wobble. The child focuses on a point 18 inches away and then follows a moving target. The specs show whether the child’s eyes are tracking steadily, or whether they wobble. We would like the specs to be mass-produced, becoming cheap enough to be used in all primary schools.’

Dr. Fowler adds, ‘We see 800 children a year from all over the country. They are mostly aged seven to twelve, but people of any age can be assessed. Because we are a charity and investigations are part of our research, children are seen free.‘If we can get children early, their brains are flexible enough to enable them to improve control. After seeing them at the clinic, we give patients daily exercises to enable them to keep their eyes still and fixed on one object. In time, we believe these exercises become etched onto the brain. The result is that reading improves greatly.’

Summary Answer

Advancements in Dyslexia Research and Hi-Tech Solutions

The extract discusses recent research suggesting that dyslexia may be linked to difficulties in controlling eye movements, rather than just language-related brain areas. Scientists are collaborating to develop miniaturized spectacles, originally designed for monitoring fighter pilots’ eye movements, to help children with dyslexia. Professor John Stein, a neurology professor, believes eye wobble could contribute to two-thirds of dyslexia cases. The hi-tech spectacles aim to detect and address these issues, with potential trials in primary schools. Early intervention through exercises is emphasized for flexible brain improvement in dyslexic children.

Mind Mapping