SUMMARY SKILLS

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I IDENTIFYING DETAILS
When summarising, keep only the gist (main idea) of the sentence. Leave out
examples and descriptions.
a. Identify adjectives
Adjectives are words that describe people and things.
adj adj
1\ / ~
Example 1: A big, fat rat ran across the slimy, littered floor of the
old railway station.
Gist of sentence: A rat ran across the floor ofthe railway station.
Leave out adjectives describing the rat, floor and railway station.
aic:lj:::' .
/ \ ~
Example 2: That Malaysian Idol contestant was tall, beautiful and talented.
Gist of sentence: That Malaysian Idol contestant was talented.
Tall and beautiful are adjectives that describe the contestant's looks.
In the Malaysian Idol contest, it is essential to be talented, so that is
the most important message of the sentence.
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b. Identify adverbs
Adverbs are words that describe action. They come after verbs and
usually end with .ly, but not always.
Example 1: The children screamed happily as they ran quickly out ofthe
school.
Gist of sentence: The children screamed as they ran out of the school.
1
adv adv
I I
Example 2: She thought long and hard about the problem.
Gist of sentence: She thought about the problem.
,--JI!DII
Identify and underline the adjectives in the sentences below. Then, write the gist of each s.er:="",:::.
1 The elegant, well-dressed woman drove a bright red sports car .
2 Dr Fong is a kind, well-known eye specialist .
3 The cranky old woman lived alone in a broken-down wooden shack .
4 Muzamir seems to be angry and moody most ofthe time .
5 They awarded the multi-million dollar contract to the most experienced cont,=-"":.:',
6 Everyone loved watching the new, animated movie .
7 Yesterday's Mathematics test was tricky and difficult .
8 Golfis a game which seems to be popular and addictive .
9 The assignment sounds tough and challenging .
10 Cellphones have become popular in Malaysia because they are quite affordaD:-:
c. Identify adjedive clauses
Sometimes, descriptions are written as clauses.
Adjective clauses which start with who, which, that, whom and :. ~ D ' , ,;,:" ::':en
marked off by commas.
Clause
I
Example: The man, who is shouting at the crowd, is a polleo2 in.5pectDr.
Gist of sentence: The man is a police inspector.
~
Identify and underline the adjective clauses in the sentences below. Then. write the gist of
each sentence.
1 The Liverpool team, which won the European Champions League, was given a fantastic
welcome .
2 Late students, who have not submitted their Geography project, will have ten marks
deducted .
3 The Anti-Smoking Campaign, which is organised by the government, has been quite
successful .
4 Parents, whose children do not turn up for sports practice, have been given letters.
5 The prize was donated by the man, who owns the only cyber cafe in town .
6 She donated the clothes that she had outgrown .
7 Jane, who was the wife of Tarzan, taught him to speak English .
8 Batik, which is a traditional form ofprinting fabric, is popular in the east coast .
Identify and underline tne adjectives and adjective clauses in tne sentences below. Tnen, write
tne gist of eacn sentence.
1 The Gawai Festival, which is a harvest festival, is celebrated in Sarawak .
2 The people, who were beautifully and colourfully dressed in their tribal costumes,
sang and danced.......
3 All the things left behind at the cineplex which are not claimed by 30 June will be
donated to charity .
4 The girl, who scored 17 As in the last SPM, was rewarded with a scholarship.......
5 A non-Chinese lion dance group, whose members are from all walks oflife, gave a
performance in Genting Highlands .
6 Body Shop, whose owner is an environmentally responsible woman, is against
animal testing .
7 Agroup of women, who are all breast-cancer survivors, will be taking part in the
coming Dragon Boat Competition that will be held in Penang soon .
8 The students' performance in Maths and Science, which are now taught in English,
has improved .
II USE ONE-WORD LINKERS
In summary writing for tests and examinations, the task is to write the gist of
the passage within the word limit required. In order to shorten a sentence
even more, choose one-word linkers instead of two- or three-word linkers.
Example:
Original sentence : As a conclusion, all drivers must obey traffic rules.
Condensed sentence: Therefore, all drivers must obey traffic rules.
The table below should help you to condense sentences and passages.
Not only... but also... And
As a conclusionlIn conclusion Therefore
Instead of...
In addition
The first reason is
The second reason is
The next step is
Ai3 a consequence
Ai3 a result
So that
Use

Firstly
Secondly
ThenlNext
Consequently/So
Therefore/So
To
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Condense the sentences below by substituting the linkers.
1 The Scrabble competition was not only exciting but also educational .
2 The first step is to draw up a plan for the project .
3 The second step is to saw the wood into the right sizes .
4 The last step is to join the pieces ofwood together using nails .
5 Ai3 a conclusion, saying "No" is the best way to prevent children from experimenting
with cigarettes.......
6 It rained continuously for two weeks. Ai3 a result, many landslides occurred along the
highway .
7 In addition to the Certificate the winner received R..\12OO .
8 They rushed home so that they could catch the first episode of the new Korean series.
III USE COLLECTIVE NOUNS
You must read a lot to increase your vocabulary. use of collective nouns
to replace a long list of examples.
Expressions that indicate to you that a list of examples will follow:
for instance, for example, like, such as, to illustrate, some examples are, etc.
Instead of Use
Apples, oranges and grapes Fruit
Hibiscus, daisies, roses Flowers
Cabbage, ladies' fingers, spinach Vegetables
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Instead of Use.....
Forks, spoons, knives Cutlery
Pots, pans, kettles Crockery
Pens, pencils and erasers Stationery
Managers, receptionists and clerks Staff
Test tubes, beakers, tripod stands Lab equipment
Cars, trains, boats and planes Vehicles
Runners, footballers, swimmers Athletes
Admiral, captain, sailors Crew
Shirts, trousers, dresses Clothes
Bags, shoes, scarves Accessories
,---mmm
Substitute the list of examples in each of the sentences below using a suitable collective noun.
1 All types ofslippers, sandals and shoes are not allowed in the computer laboratory. .
2 The use ofcellphones is not allowed on planes as it might affect the different meters
in the cockpit .
3 Eatingfresh guava, mangoes, papayas and pineapples will improve your complexion.
4 Malaysians donated a lot ofshirts, dresses, skirts, trousers and shorts to the victims
ofthe tsunami .
5 The cars, vans, buses and lorries could not pass the section ofthe highway that w
flooded .
as
6 Alicia buys all her belts, bags, shoes and hairclips only during the Mega Sales .
7 The forks, spoons and knives used in the hospital are regularly sterilised .
8 Students nowadays like to buy branded pencils, pens, pencil cases and notepads.
9 Some rural schools are often short oftest tubes, beakers, conical and flat-bottom
flasks, as well as other lab equipment .
10 All students representing the school in badminton, squash, football, volleyball and
tennis are exempted from classes tomorrow.......
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IV USE ONE-WORD TIME EXPRESSIONS
When summarising sentences which have two- or three-word time
expressions, substitute them with one-word time expressions.
Instead of...
"
Use.. "
All the time Always
Sometimes/Occasionally Now and then
Once in a while Seldom/Sometimes
Not so often Rarely
Regularly
Eventually
Habitually
Shortly
Suddenly
Daily
Weekly
Fortnightly
Monthly
Yearly/Annually
On a regular basis
In the end
As a habit
In a short while
All of a sudden
Once a day
Once a week
Once a fortnight
Once a month
Once a year
Twice a year BiannuallylBiannual
ondense tne following sentences witn one-word time expressions.
1 The lights in the hostel went out all of a sudden .
2 Sabahans celebrate Hari Keamatan once a year .
3 The Residents' Association in our neighbourhood organises gatherings twice a year .
4 The Clove pullout comes free with The Star newspaper once a month .
5 The guard does his rounds at the parking lot every night .
6 My friends and I go to the Multimedia Library on a regular basis .
7 Once in a while, our teacher will surprise us with a pop quiz .
8 The teacher refused to let me out of the classroom because the test was going to end
in a short while.......
V USE ONE-WORD LINKERS
Linkers are words or phrases that join ideas. They can be in the middle of a
sentence or beginning of a sentence.
VI USE A WORD TO REPLACE A PHRASAL VERB
Example: The children are not making any noise today.
The children are quiet today.
List of words to replace phrasal verbs:
Use. Instead of1..,. Use. .Instead o t ~ .
discover find out decrease go down
restrain hold back increase go up
leave go away wear put on
examine go through extinguish put out
submit hand in bully pick on
continue keep on indicate point out
arrange layout accept take on
illuminate light up resemble take after
omit leave out discard throwaway
,----tmm!B
Replace the phrasal verb highlighted in bold in each sentence with one word from the box.
write the word in the space given.
r e p r e s e h ~ s
recollside1.' :removed
1 The student took away all the shoes outside the classroom. (
2 Please come along with me to see the principal. (
3 The workers tore down the building this morning. (
4 Please try out the machine before buying it. (
5 SMS stands for 'Short Message Services'. (
6 Please throwaway all the rubbish. (
7 You should think over your decision carefully. (
8 The boy threw up after eating nasi lemak. (
)
9 Write down all the scores ofthe students. (
)
10 The typhoon wiped out many villages yesterday. (
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