Summary - PMR

PMR 2007

Dear Editor,

     I am writing this letter to express my appreciation to all Malaysians who had made my visit to Malaysia a meaningful one.
    Upon reaching Kuala Lumpur International Airport, I took a taxi to Kuala Lumpur city.  The taxi driver greeted me with a warm smile and showed me to his taxi.  He was also kind enough to recommend places of interest that I should visit in your country.
    Over the next few weeks, I travelled around the country.  I visited Melaka, Pulau Langkawi, Pulau Redang and Genting Highlands, just to name a few.  In Langkawi, I had the opportunity to be with the locals and also enjoy home-cooked dishes.  I was truly touched by their friendliness and hospitality.  It was a wonderful experience!
    What I found unique about Malaysia is the way people of different races and religions live peacefully as one.  I noticed this from the way Malaysians celebrated their National Day.  Clearly, the way everyone came together is an excellent example of tolerance and understanding.  This is what Malaysia should highlight to the rest of the world.
    Let me say ‘terima kasih’ to all those who have made my stay a memorable one.  I will definitely come again and I would also promote Malaysia to all my friends back in England.

Andrew Jacob

Write a summary on why Andrew’s visit to Malaysia was a memorable one.

Your summary must:

• •not be more than 60 words, including  the 10 words given below.
• •be in continuous writing (not note form)
• •be written in one paragraph

Use your own words as far as possible without changing its original meaning.  Begin your summary as follows:

    

Andrew visited Malaysia and he was impressed with Malaysia because…..

Let us try this using what I have thought you....

1. The nouns are Andrew, Malaysia and a memorable one  
2. The difference here is just that the 10 given words could not be found anywhere in the text. But, the question is..." Andrew's visit to Malaysia was a memorable one" is the same as "my visit to Malaysia a meaningful one.
3. So, after that... that is in paragraph two onwards.. you could find the points.
4. I refers to Andrew, Kuala Lumpur city refers to Malaysia and The taxi driver greeted with a warm smile refers to a memorable one...
5. So...try to find more points...usually there are more than 5..List them down before you summarise the text..
6. Remember... it is a letter/ recount.. you will have to change the pronoun. 

How to write a good summary - PMR

You will be asked to write a summary of not more than 60 words in Section B of the PMR English Language Paper 2

• Read the question carefully and identify the nouns in the question (Underline them as this will help you to detect the points)   
• Then look at the 10 words given.         
• Try to find the 10 words in the text, sometimes not the whole 10 words could be found in the text. If, the 10 words is no where in the text, look back at the question; words from the question could be in the text. (Usually the points are directly after the words and in the second paragraph) 
• Read the text carefully to identify important facts/ points.
• Underline the important facts/points, leave out details like example or lengthy descriptions.
• Before you write your summary.. List down the points, write them down in your answer sheet and then, count the words. Name of people and places are considered as one word. Examples: Kota Kinabalu, Tun Mahathir Mohamad
• After that, do some cutting, pasting and joining; cut redundant words and try to join the points and re-organise them. 
• Make sure that what ever you do would not change the meaning.
• Then, as far as possible write out your summary using your own words,  but use the same tense as in the passage.
• You must use /begin your summary with the 10 words given.
• Use connectors or whatever suitable words to link the fact. 
• Write your summary in not more than 60 words and in one paragraph.
• Don't forget to write the number of words in brackets as the end of your summary.

Sample Question (Section B, Paper 2 – PMR 2006 )

Write a summary on why Zoo Negara has problems with the animals left at the gates.

Your summary must:

• •not be more than 60 words, including the 10 words given below
• •be in continuous writing (not note form)
• •be written in one paragraph
• Use your own words as far as possible without changing its original

meaning. Begin your summary as follows.

Zoo Negara accepts the abandoned animals but the dumping has ....

The ‘words’ – but the dumping has could be found in Paragraph 2, line 2.

Contents to why Zoo Negara has problems with the animals left at the gates:

1. 1.grown tremendously.
2. 2.animals arrive at the zoo ill and malnourished.
3. 3.Feeding and handling them incur costs.
4. 4.They might even bring diseases and infect other animals (The animals are quarantined for three months before they can go into enclosures).
5. 5.they take up the limited quarantined space the zoo has.
6. 6.Primates (are released into forests as they) attack each other in shared enclosures.
7. 7.The zoo does not accept species listed under CITES for illegal origins but these animals are also being left at the zoo.

Comment:

Based on the points above, we could see that : 

1. The first point directly connected to the 10 given word.
2. The second point, is connected to the the nouns - zoo, animals and problems.
3. The third point, is connected to zoo and animals; as feeding and handling is done definitely in the zoo and the pronoun them, refers to animals. While cost is the reference to problems.
4. The fourth point, they refers to animals, bring diseases refer to problems and other animals refer to zoo.
5. The fifth point, they refers to animals, limited quarantined spaces to problems, and there is the noun zoo.
6. Point six, primates refers to animals, attack each other refers to problems and close enclosure is definitely zoo.
7. Point seven, The noun zoo is there, so does animals and of illegal origins refers to problems.

In conclusion, if you have problems getting the points, try to find them based on the nouns in the question.  

TRY TO FIND THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THESE 2 ANSWERS.

Sample Answer 1:

Zoo Negara accepts the abandoned animals but the dumping has ....// grown tremendously. (C1) Animals arrive at the zoo ill and malnourished. (C2) Feeding and handling them incur costs. (C3) They might even bring diseases and infect others. (C4) So, they are quarantined for three months before they can go into enclosures and thus take up the limited quarantined space the zoo has. (C5) Primates are // released into forest as they attack each other in shared enclosures. The zoo does not accept species listed under CITES for illegal origins but these animals are also being left at the zoo.

1.

Contents =       5

Style and Presentation =       3

Total = 8/10

Sample Answer 2:

Zoo Negara accepts the abandoned animals but the dumping has ....// grown enormously. (C1) Animals of illegal origins,(C7) malnourished and ailing with infectious diseases (C2) and thus have to be quarantined are being dumped at its doorstep. (C4) Apart from having problem of inadequate quarantined space, (C5) primates also attack each other in shared enclosures. (C6) In addition, Feeding and managing them too incur costs. (C3)

                                                                                                                                               (56 words)   

Contents =         5

Style and Presentation =         5

Total = 10/10

1. LOOK AT HOW POINTS IN SAMPLE 2 ARE REORGANISED; POINT 7 GOING UP WHILE POINT 3 AT THE END.
2. CERTAIN WORDS, SUCH AS ILL IS CHANGED TO AILING.
3. LOOK AT HOW POINT 7,  2 AND 4 ARE JOINED.

** Remember:If it is a story..  

1. Remember to change the pronoun; I to he/she, me to him/her, mine to his/hers, he/she to what it refers to, we to they, us to them, our to their and etc..
2. The points in the summary must be written in sequence. (New)

Summary Exercise: PMR

Quite a lot of people today seem to think that sports and games are a waste of time. Actually they are of immense value, especially to people who spend their time working in air-conditioned offices most of the day.

Now let us consider the benefits of sports and games. First of all they make our bodies strong. They also prevent us from getting too fat and generally healthy. They also give us plenty of practice in making our eyes, brain and muscles work together. For example in tennis, our eyes see the ball coming, judge its speed and direction and pass this set of information on to the brain. The brain then has to decide what exactly to do - that is to send its orders to the muscles of arms, legs and so on.

Sports and games are of great benefit for character training. In their lessons at school, children learn such virtues as courage, discipline, cooperation and unselfishness. But what is learned in books cannot have the same effect on a child’s character as what is learned by experience. Such an experience is not always provided in an ordinary day-school. So one should understand it is what the children does in their leisure time that really prepares them to take their place in society as useful citizens when they grow up.

Write a summary on the benefits of sports.

Your summary must :

- not be more than 60 words, including the 10 words given below.
- Be in continuous writing ( not note form )
- Be written in ONE paragraph.

Use your own words as far as possible without changing the original meaning.

Begin your summary as follows:

Sports and games are of great value to us.

Summary Exercise: PMR

Read the passage below and answer the question that follows.

Bird flu (or Avian flu) infects birds and less commonly, pigs. Wild birds are the natural host for the virus, carrying it in their intestinal tract and excreting it in their droppings. Yet these birds only develop only mild and short-lived illness characterised by symptoms like ruffled feathers or less egg production.

However, domestic birds like chickens, farm ducks, geese and turkeys become very sick from bird flu and are very likely to die. Domestic birds can be infected when they roam freely and come into contact with infected wild birds, and share a water supply that is contaminated by wild birds droppings.

On a farm, the disease spread through the saliva, nasal secretions and droppings of infected birds. The virus can also be carried on the feet and bodies of animals, such as rodents.

An outbreak of bird flu is controlled by culling all infected or exposed birds and disposing of the carcasses.

Rewrite on the bird flu and how it spreads:

• in continuous writing form.
• in one paragraph.
• in your own words as far as possible.
• in not more than 60 words, including the 10 words given below.

Begin with:
Wild birds are the natural host of the bird flu...

Guideline to Summary Writing - SPM

Many students are concerned about summary writing for several reasons: they are unable to identify information relevant to the answer and are unable to put the information together into a coherent paragraph. Weak students have an additional problem to grapple with – language. While these concerns are genuine, there is no reason to fret as these problems can be easily overcome with proper guidance and help from teachers.

Let me remind you that summary writing is not a writing skill. It is largely a reading skill (you are required to select relevant information in the text) with a bit of writing thrown in (you have to string the points together into a unified text).

The task is made easier for you as you do not need to summarise the whole text, only certain aspects (usually two). Therefore, it is crucial that you read the question carefully and consider what information is relevant.

Remember, you need to identify at least 10 points (for content). So do not worry too much about paraphrasing. Focus on getting marks for content, not language.

Summary writing involves specific skills such as the following:

Selection – This means choosing information that is relevant to your answer. Information that is relevant to your answer depends on the aspect(s) of the text you are to summarise.

Condensation – This means reducing the length of the given information while preserving the important points. This can be done by omitting unimportant details, or using single words to replace phrases or clauses.

Reorganisation or rearrangement – This means taking the given information and arranging it in a different way.

Paraphrasing or restatement – This means saying something in a different way, without changing the meaning.

Guidelines for summary writing:

1. Read the question carefully. Ask yourself: “What am I required to summarise”.

2. Mark the first and last lines of the passage you are asked to refer to.

3. Then select information that is relevant to your answer. To do this, underline the relevant lines or ideas as you read the text. Always ask yourself: “Is this??” (For the summary below, you would ask: “Is this what Yunus did to help the poor? Is this an improvement in the lives of the women?”).

4. Look through the lines/ideas you have underlined.

5. Summarise these ideas, using condensation, reorganisation or paraphrasing skills.

6. If you cannot paraphrase ideas, see if there are words in the text that you can replace.

7. Begin the summary with the 10 words given and remember that the three dots after the tenth word mean you have to complete the sentence with some relevant information from the text.

8. Organise the ideas/points in the manner in which they are found in the text.

9. Adhere to the word limit. Writing more than the required number of words will not get you any marks. Anything far too short of the word limit means you lack content.

10. Pay attention to the tense (and sometimes pronoun) used in the given 10 words.

11. Write the summary in one paragraph.

Things to avoid

1. Do not include information not in the text.

2. Do not include your own ideas or opinions.

3. Do not spend too much time paraphrasing as you might end up losing marks for content unless you can do so without altering/distorting meaning.

4. Do not repeat ideas. Sometimes, an idea is repeated in the text and you may not notice it as it may have been paraphrased.

5. Do not include material from other lines in the text.

Tips on Summary Writing - SPM

1 Read the text once through and try to get a gist of what the text is all about.

2 Read the question and determine the task; look out for words like -feelings, response, what you saw and did, benefits, problems, advantages and disadvantages

3 Do not try to rephrase if you are not very good in English. It is better to select intelligently and join the sentences with connectors.

4 Content = 10 marks Language = 5 marks. So, it is better to go for content. If the sentences are lifted intelligently, you will get about 2 marks for language.

5 Memorise some synonyms as they are useful to replace single words. This will help you get more marks for language.

6 Do keep within the word limit as points after 130 words are not taken into account.

SIMPLE GUIDELINES TO SUMMARY WRITING - PMR

1. Before you start summarizing, make sure you understand the meanings of all the clue words given below. These clue words are crucial in guiding you to select appropriate main ideas.

• list, state, name ,arrange, narrate
• steps, ways, procedures, measures, process, rules
• causes, reasons, factors, problems
• effects, results of
• advantages, benefits, good, useful, likes
• disadvantages, bad, dislikes
• features, characteristics, types, methods
• events
• attractions, places , spots
• activities
• how to …overcome , solve , plan , make, celebrate
• how the …incident, disease,
• work
• scene
• experience
• importance / significant
• conditions
• contributions
• favourite
• purpose, aim, objective
• prevent, avoid

2. Then, familiarize yourself with simple conjunctions and sequence connectors as below:

• and , also, too
• next, then, after that, later
• besides that, apart from that
• firstly, secondly, thirdly…
• first, second, third…
• consequently, as a result of
• another…, other…

3. After that, practise selecting correct main ideas.

4. Next, construct the selected main ideas and shorten the ideas.

5. Finally, join, reorganize or rephrase the ideas.