Tutorial 5

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Summaries

1. Write a summary (less than 100 words) of the following piece of descriptive writing.  Remember that the first sentence should contain the author, name of text, and main idea. Begin:  “In Psychology, Morris explains. . .” 

This exercise is based on Chapter 5, The Summary, in Martin L. Arnaudet and Mary Ellen Barrett, Approaches to Academic Reading and Writing (Eaglewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1984).

The Neuron
The number of cells, or neurons, that make up the nervous system has been estimated at 100 to 200 billion.  Although neurons come in many different shapes and sizes, they are specialised to receive and transmit information.
In common with all other cells, a neuron has a nucleus, a cell body where metabolism and respiration take place, and a cell membrane which encloses the whole cell.
What makes a neuron different from other cells are the tiny fibres that extend out from the cell body.  These extensions are what enable the neuron to perform its special job - to receive messages from surrounding cells, carry them a certain distance, and then pass them on to other cells.  The short fibres branching out around the cell body are called dendrites. Their role is to pick up the incoming messages from their surroundings and carry them to the cell body.
The single long fibre extending from the cell body is called an axon.  The axon fibre is very thin and usually much longer than the dendrites.  In adults the axons that run from the brain to the base of the spinal cord can sometimes be as long as 3 feet, but most axons are only an inch or two in length.  The axon’s job is to carry outgoing messages - either to pass them on to the next neuron in a series or to direct a muscle or gland to take action.  When we talk about a nerve, we are referring not to a single fibre but to a group of axons bundled together like parallel wires in an electrical cable.  (From Psychology, p.32.)

2. Exchange your summary with another student.  Check the following points for them.
a) Does the summary begin correctly?
b) How was the main idea of “The Neuron” expressed? Could it be improved?
c) Should anything be added to this summary?  Should anything be cut?
d) Is the information in this summary well ordered?

3. Compare your summaries to the example below, then answer the questions in pairs.
a.  How long is the sample in proportion to the original text?  How long is your summary?
b. What information from the original has been included/excluded in the example summary? 
c. Are any details or examples included in the summary? 
d. Is anything inaccurate in the sample?
e.  Which words in this summary haven’t been changed from the original?  Why not? 

Summary 
In Psychology Charles G. Morris explains that the nervous system consists of cells called neurons whose purpose is to convey information.  In addition to the elements the neuron shares with other cells (a nucleus and cell membrane), it also has a group of fibres called dendrites and a long single fibre called an axon.  The dendrites receive messages and transmit them to the cell body, while the axon transmits messages, either to the dendrites in the next cell or directly to a muscle or gland which is then activated.   [89 words]

4. Now write a 1 sentence summary of  “The Neuron”.

Quoting and Summarising
5. Consider the following quotations and summaries taken from previous Engwrit assignment work. How successful are they?
From a summary of an article about binge drinking.
a. Binge drinking is commonly known as fast excessive drinking or simply “drinking to get drunk” (p. 30).
b. Figures supporting the increase in binge drinking are ridiculous, where binge drinking “accounts for 40 percent of all drinking occasions among men and 22 percent among women – and for women the figure is rising. About a third of young people aged 16 to 24, binge at least once a week”.

From a summary of an article about consumerism.
c. According to Dittmar, women are motivated more by the emotive and symbolic meaning of a product. …Women appear to be a lot more concerned  with sense of self and identity than males. For instance a woman when talking about her necklace “my necklace means a lot to me because it was given to me by my grandmother.” Emotion and symbolism.
Original:  Women’s reasons [for treasuring objects] …revolve around the role of possessions as symbols of interpersonal relationships and their emotional significance. A typical example is this woman’s account: ‘My necklace means a lot to me because it was given to me by my grandmother.’ [Women have a] more interdependent identity (concerned with embeddedness in close personal relationships).   

From a summary of a chapter on globalisation.
d. The result is ‘ the rich world has got the poor world it deserves’ (p21).
Original text:  …people [in poor countries] know that there is little point in changing the government if you can’t change its policies. The rich world, with a few exceptions, gets the poor world governments it deserves.

e. Monbiot states clearly that “the problem is simply formulated: there is, at the global level, no effective restraint to control the lives of the poor and weak” (pg. 15).
Original text: The problem is simply formulated: there is, at the global level, no effective restraint of the ability of the rich and powerful to control the lives of the poor and weak.