O' LEVEL PAPER 2 READING CONTENT POINTS & SUMMARY WRITING

2. Paper 2: Reading
 TIME:1 hour 45 minutes, 50 marks
 Section 1: Reading for Ideas (25 marks)
 • Candidates scan a factual communication (or
communications) of approximately 700 words – e.g.
 report(s), article(s), advertisement(s), email(s), letter(s).
 • They identify and note down required information
– e.g. similarities and differences, or causes and
 effects, or advantages and disadvantages, or problems and
solutions, or actions and consequences.
 Only one example content point will be given as
guidance to candidates.
 • 15 marks are allocated for content points.
 • Candidates use these notes to write a summary of
160 words. 5 marks are allocated for language.

3. Introduction
 In summary writing, you are asked to condense a selected area
of text by:
 reproducing facts and ideas required by the question,
 using your own words as far as possible,
 keeping within the word limit specified by the question,
 in a well-constructed continuous paragraph.
 When marking the summary, the examiners will look at 2
categories:

4. Content and Style
 Content
- The key points you were asked to select from the
passage.
 Style
 The accuracy and quality of your writing.

- The extent to which you are able to use your own
words

5. FORMAT
 In this interactive lesson, you shall learn how to
improve your summary skills. A sample passage will be
provided, together with a summary question. We shall
look at both categories (content and style) separately.
 Ready to begin? Let's start

6. O’LEVEL ENGLISH

7. Passage
 GCE 'O' Level November 1996 Paper 2
 Read the passage, and we shall attempt to answer the
summary question together.

8. Now, here is the summary question set on the
above passage:
 The archaeologist Fiorelli undertook the task of uncovering the ruins of
Pompeii.
 Using your own words as far as possible, write a summary of the
problems he faced when he began his work, what methods he employed
to restore the ancient city accurately and how he used the volcanic ash
to produce his most dramatic discoveries.

USE ONLY THE MATERIAL FROM PARAGRAPH 4 TO PARAGRAPH
10.
 Your summary, which must be in continuous writing (not note
form), must not be longer than 150 words, not counting the words given
to help you begin.
Begin your summary as follows:
Over the centuries, people had eventually forgotten about Pompeii

9. THREE SIMPLE STEPS FOR
INDENTIFYING CONTENT POINTS
FROM THE PASSAGE
 STEP 1
 STEP 2
 STEP 3

10. STEP 1
 Read the question and pick out the key instruction
words.
 The archaeologist Fiorelli undertook the task of uncovering the ruins of Pompeii.
Using your own words as far as possible, write a summary of the problems he faced when he
began his work, what methods he employed to restore the ancient city accurately and how
he used the volcanic ash to produce his most dramatic discoveries.
 So in short, the question requires you to identify 3 key
areas:
 1. The problems Fiorelli faced when he began his work.
2. The methods he employed to restore the ancient city accurately.
3. How he used the volcanic ash to produce his most dramatic
discoveries.


11. STEP 2
 Mark out clearly the area of text to be summarised
from the passage
 USE ONLY THE MATERIAL FROM PARAGRAPH 4
TO PARAGRAPH 10.


12. Step 3
 Pick out the content points. Avoid the distractors and
elaboration points. Never lose sight of what the question wants!
 Distractors: phases or sentences which are irrelevant to the
what the question wants.
 Elaboration points: phases or sentences which do not form
points in themselves, but give extra information as examples or
explanations.
 Remember that there will be more points available than the
number you need to score full marks for content (15 marks).
Therefore, it is possible to score full marks for content!

13. Let's identify the content points
together - one paragraph at a time!
 PARAGRAPH 4
 Through time, Pompeii almost completely slipped from the world's
memory. Even among scholars, the precise location of Pompeii
remained unknown, primarily because a thick flow of molten rock
had poured over the area from eruptions in later years. This had
entirely altered the shape of the coast. Also, when the digging to
uncover the ruins began in the eighteenth century, the debris from
these excavations had been left in scattered heaps around the site,
further obscuring it. Rainwater, too, collected and had hastened its
decay. These early excavators had acted purely for the sake of
plunder; they made no genuine effort to investigate the past. This
did not come about until the appointment in 1860 of the
archaeologist Fiorelli as director of the excavations.


14. CONTENT POINTS
 Through time, Pompeii almost completely slipped from the
world's memory. Even among scholars, the precise location of
Pompeii remained unknown, primarily because a thick flow of
molten rock had poured over the area from eruptions in later
years. This had entirely altered the shape of the coast. Also, when
the digging to uncover the ruins began in the eighteenth century,
the debris from these excavations had been left in scattered heaps
around the site, further obscuring it. Rainwater, too, collected and
had hastened its decay. These early excavators had acted purely for
the sake of plunder; they made no genuine effort to investigate the
past. This did not come about until the appointment in 1860 of the
archaeologist Fiorelli as director of the excavations.
 Here's the points for quick reference:


15. Paragraph 4
 Read the paragraph and pick out the content points.
 Keep in mind that the question requires you to identify 3
key areas:
 1. The problems Fiorelli faced when he began his work.

2. The methods he employed to restore the ancient city
accurately.

3. How he used the volcanic ash to produce his most
dramatic discoveries.


16. ACTIVITY
 Write down the content points from this
paragraph
 Done? Let's move on to the next paragraph!

17. Paragraph 5
 Read the paragraph and pick out the content points.
 Once again, keep in mind that the question requires you to
identify 3 key areas:
 1. The problems Fiorelli faced when he began his work.
 2. The methods he employed to restore the ancient city
accurately.

3. How he used the volcanic ash to produce his most
dramatic discoveries.

Activity: Write down the content points from this
paragraph

18. Paragraph 6
 Read the paragraph and pick out the content points.
 Once again, keep in mind that the question requires you to
identify 3 key areas:
 1. The problems Fiorelli faced when he began his work.
 2. The methods he employed to restore the ancient city
accurately.

3. How he used the volcanic ash to produce his most
dramatic discoveries.

Activity: Write down the content points from this
paragraph

19. Paragraph 7
 Read the paragraph and pick out the content points.
 Once again, keep in mind that the question requires you to
identify 3 key areas:
 1. The problems Fiorelli faced when he began his work.
 2. The methods he employed to restore the ancient city
accurately.

3. How he used the volcanic ash to produce his most
dramatic discoveries.

Activity: Write down the content points from this
paragraph

20. Paragraph 8
 Read the paragraph and pick out the content points.
 Once again, keep in mind that the question requires you to identify 3
key areas:
 1. The problems Fiorelli faced when he began his work.
 2. The methods he employed to restore the ancient city accurately.

3. How he used the volcanic ash to produce his most dramatic
discoveries.

Activity: Write down the content points from this paragraph
 Do you think there's any content point in this paragraph? Hmm... Is it a
trick question? Shall we move on to the next paragraph?

21. Paragraph 9
 Read the paragraph and pick out the content points.
 Once again, keep in mind that the question requires you to identify 3
key areas:
 1. The problems Fiorelli faced when he began his work.
 2. The methods he employed to restore the ancient city accurately.

3. How he used the volcanic ash to produce his most dramatic
discoveries.

Activity: Write down the content points from this paragraph

It seems tough to find a content point in this paragraph! Could you find
one? If you're done with this paragraph, let's move on to the final
paragraph

22. Paragraph 10
 Read the paragraph and pick out the content points.
 Once again, keep in mind that the question requires you to identify 3
key areas:
 1. The problems Fiorelli faced when he began his work.
 2. The methods he employed to restore the ancient city accurately.

3. How he used the volcanic ash to produce his most dramatic
discoveries.

Activity: Write down the content points from this paragraph


23. 15 CONTENT POINTS
 Yes, we've finally reached the last paragraph! Do you
have at least 15 content points in your list?
 If you don't have at least 15 points, you need to go back
to the paragraphs to identify more content points!
 If you have at least 15 points, good job! Now, let's
review the content points together!

24. Content
 Here's the list of content points that I have compiled. The
points are listed according to the paragraphs that they are
located in. Please check your list with mine.
 Here's the points for quick reference:
 1. The location of Pompeii remained unknown.
2. Molten rock had poured over the area from later eruptions.
3. This had altered the shape of the coast.
4. Debris from excavations had obscured the site.
5. Rainwater had hastened the decay of the site.
 Do these points answer any key area required by the question?
Yes, these are the problems he faced when he began his work.

Content

25. Paragraph 5
 Here's the points for quick reference:
 6. Fiorelli's approach was disciplined/orderly.
 7. He removed all the debris.
 8. He installed a drainage system.
 9. He made a systematic study of the ruins.
 10. He traced the perimeter walls.
 11. He mapped out the site/divided it into districts.
 12. He identified/numbered the buildings
 Do these points answer any key area required by the
question? Yes, these are methods he employed to restore
the ancient city accurately.


26. Paragraph 6
 Here's the points for quick reference:
 13. He gave each object a precise description.
14. He recorded its position.
15. He left discoveries in their positions.
 Do these points answer any key area required by the
question? Yes, these are methods he employed to
restore the ancient city accurately.


27. Paragraph 7
 Here's the points for quick reference:
 16. He recorded his progress in journals.
 Does this point answer any key area required by the
question? Yes, this is one of the methods he employed
to restore the ancient city accurately.


28. Paragraph 8
 There is no content point in the paragraph below -
Pretty obvious, right?

29. Paragraph 9
 Here's the point for quick reference:
 17. He realised that human remains could be found.
 Does this point answer any key area required by the
question? Yes, this is how he used the volcanic ash to
produce his most dramatic discoveries.

30. Paragraph 10
 Here's the points for quick reference:
 18. He noticed there was a cavity.
19. He ordered liquid plaster to be poured into it.
20. He allowed it to solidify.
21. He had the surrounding ash removed.
22. He revealed figures/victims.
 Does this point answer any key area required by the
question? Yes, this is how he used the volcanic ash to
produce his most dramatic discoveries

31. DONE
 Alright, we have successfully managed to locate and
identify the content points from the paragraphs. There
are 22 in total, but you only need to have 15 content
points in your summary!
 Let's move on to the next part of this exercise - how to
improve the style of your summary!

32. Style
 You have learned a lot about the assessment of
content, and have developed some strategies to ensure
you locate and identify as many content points as
possible.

33. STYLE
 Now, let's look at style. There are 10 marks allocated to
the style in which your summary is written.
 The examiners judge the style of your summary
writing under 2 categories:
 1. Use of own words
2. Use of English

34. STYLE
 Use of Own Words
 Golden rule: The more you manage to avoid the
original wording (without losing the original
meaning), the higher your mark for own words will be.
 However, this does not mean you have to substitute all
the words in the passage. You just need to use your
own words as far as possible!


35. STYLE Use of English
 This can be classified under 3 sections:
 1. Mechanical accuracy
- The ability to write without making errors of grammar, spelling or punctuation.
2. Sentence structure
- The ability to write in sentences and to vary their types by using:
 Conjunctions, eg. and, but, since, when
 Present participles, ie. the part of the verb ending in -ing
 Relative pronouns, ie. who, whose, whom, which, that
 3. Organisation and linking

- The ability to organise and link your content points by:
 Combining points
 Taking a point in a later stage of the text and linking it to one made earlier
 Using linking devices
- To indicate a change of direction, eg. however, although, nevertheless
- To indicate a continuation of ideas, eg. in addition, also, furthermore


36. STYLE
 Alright, now that you have a better understanding of
style, let's practise!

37. Style
 Here's the list of content points that I have compiled earlier
 1. The location of Pompeii remained unknown.
2. Molten rock had poured over the area from later eruptions.
3. This had altered the shape of the coast.
4. Debris from excavations had obscured the site.
5. Rainwater had hastened the decay of the site.
6. Fiorelli's approach was disciplined/orderly.
7. He removed all the debris.
8. He installed a drainage system.
9. He made a systematic study of the ruins.
10. He traced the perimeter walls.
11. He mapped out the site/divided it into districts.
12. He identified/numbered the buildings.
13. He gave each object a precise description.
14. He recorded its position.
15. He left discoveries in their positions.
16. He recorded his progress in journals.
17. He realised that human remains could be found.
18. He noticed there was a cavity.
19. He ordered liquid plaster to be poured into it.
20. He allowed it to solidify.
21. He had the surrounding ash removed.
22. He revealed figures/victims.

38.  Activity: Apply style to these content
points.
 Remember that you should use your own words as far as possible,
check your mechanical accuracy, and have varied sentence
structure.
 You may want to classify these points into the 3 key areas
required by the question, so as to have better organisation and
linking for your summary. For now, do not worry about the word
limit.

When you're done, we shall take a look at 2 sample summaries of
the same passage done by 2 candidates!


39. SAMPLE SUMMARIES

40. SAMPLE SUMMARIES 11
 As both candidates have more than 15 content points in their summaries, they will both score
full marks (15 marks) for content.
 To assess which candidate has done better in summary writing, we need to compare the style
in which their summaries are written.
 Candidate A has done little to use his own words, but Candidate B has made a sustained and
successful attempt to use his own words.
 Both candidates have made no errors under mechanical accuracy.
 Candidate B used much more present participles and conjunctions than Candidate A, hence
showing more complexity in his sentence structure.
 Candidate B maintains a good 'flow' to his writing by maintaining an orderly sequence of ideas
and using linking devices, but Candidate A shows no clear attempts at organisation and
linking.
 Therefore, it is clear that Candidate B will score well in style assessment - for the use of own
words and for the use of English. Overall, Candidate B will score much higher than Candidate
A in summary writing.


41. Learning Points
 Let's review the summary writing skills we have
learned together!
 Summary Question
 Read the question properly.
 Pick out the key instruction words.
 Check the area of text to be summarised.
 Keep to the word limit laid down for the summary.
 Use the opening words provided in the question.


42. Content
 Locate and identify at least 15 content points.
 Avoid the distractors and elaboration points.
STYLE
 Organise your content points according to key areas
required by the question.
 Use your words as far as possible.
 Use a variety of sentence structures.
 Use linking devices.
 Check that your summary does not have grammar, spelling
or punctuation errors.



43. Congratulations!
You have successfully completed this lesson on
summary writing!
 Keep practising, and remember to use the skills
you have learnt here today to write better
summaries!