SUMMARIZING, PARAPHRASING, CITING, AND SYNTHESIZING
FOR THE INTEGRATED WRITING RESPONSE
(A) Summarizing
When you give your response for Integrated Speaking Tasks, you should not simply repeat words from the passage or from lectures (see Lesson 20) The same is true when you write your response for the Integrated Writing Task You should shorten and simplify the material that you read and hear (summarize it) and write it in your own words (paraphrase it)
As mentioned in Lesson 21, it is a good idea to take notes on both the passage and the lecture When you take notes, you automatically summarize the material that you take notes on because you are writing down only key ideas and important supporting information Therefore, when writing your response, you should use your notes and look back at the passage only when necessary
Remember: When you write your response, you do not have to use all the examples from the passage or the lecture Try to simplify sentences and condense information from two or three sentences into one Eliminate any sentences, phrases, or words that are not necessary to explain the important information in the passage or lecture
(B) Paraphrasing
You must also paraphrase the information in the passage and the lecture In other words, you must express the ideas in the passage in your own words and using your own sentence structures When you paraphrase information, you are really “trans- lating” the author’s English into your own English
Again, by using your notes rather than the passage itself, you are less likely to take information word for word from the passage
Here are some techniques for paraphrasing information: iy J = = ra a
1 Change word forms
You can change nouns to verbs, verbs to nouns, nouns to adjectives, and so on This process usually involves making other changes in sentence structure as well
Examples:
When we look at a comparison between AandB When we compareAandB
The noun comparison is replaced with the verb compare There are a variety of solutions to problem C
There are various solutions to problem C
The noun variety is replaced with the adjective various
Trang 32 Replace words or phrases with synonyms Xis not allowed
X is not permitted
Permitted is a synonym for allowed Project Y was almost completed Project Y was nearly finished
The phrase nearly finished is synonymous with almost completed
Note: /t is not a good idea to use synonyms for concept words, technical terms, or “proper nouns” (words that begin with capital letters, such as names)
Example: The International Science Foundation is investigating the effects of gamma rays
In the sentence above, you would not paraphrase International Science Foundation (proper noun) or gamma rays (technical term)
3 Change the grammar
Trained scientists performed this research This research was performed by trained scientists
The active verb performed is replaced by the passive verb was performed by (For more information on verbs, see the Writing Tutorial on Grammar, Point 5,
pp 720-721.)
Note: Try to avoid replacing too many active verbs with passive verbs; active verbs are preferable because they are stronger than passive verbs
Several computer programs can be used to solve this problem
There are several computer programs that can be used to solve this problem A there + to be pattern is used in place of a subject + verb pattern
It’s easy to use A Using A is easy
The gerund using is substituted for the infinitive to use
This A, which is one of the most powerful Zs in the world, has This A, one of the most powerful Zs in the world, has
An appositive (noun phrase) is used in place of a relative clause
Study Y, which was conducted by sociologists in 2004, shows that Study Y, conducted by sociologists in 2004, shows that
Trang 44 Reverse negatives Ais not as easy as Ais harder than
A comparative phrase (harder than) is used in place of a not+ as as phrase
It’s not uncommon to see Z
It’s common to see Z
A double-negative phrase such as (not uncommon) is replaced by a word with a positive meaning (common)
The least expensiveB The cheapestB
The negative superlative phrase least expensive is replaced by a superlative word with the same meaning, cheapest
5 Change the word order
For many years, people have believed A People have believed A for many years
The prepositional phrase for many years is moved from the beginning of the sen- tence to the end of it
After this problem has been solved, work on X can continue Work on X can continue after this problem has been solved
The adverb clause after this problem has been solved is moved to the end of the sentence
6 Change sentence connectors
Although there is a lot of evidence to support theory Y, not all scientists believe it
There is a lot if evidence to support theory Y; however, not all scientists believe it
The transition word however is used in place of the adverb-clause marker although There are some dangers involved in B; therefore, researchers must be very cautious
Because there are some dangers involved in B, researchers must be very cautious
The adverb clause marker because is used in place of the transition word therefore
Trang 5Sample
Read these sentences from the passage:
The usefulness of animal testing has been shown over and over For example,
the very basis of modern medicine, the germ theory—the idea that diseases are caused by micro-organisms—was proven by the great French scientist Louis Pasteur by experimenting on chickens and pigs and other farm animals The
Trang 6Sample notes: O
Maybe import drugs like penicillin used anim experi but maybe would have been discovered anyway and many drugs invented w/out anim
iexperim
e.g quinine ether _aspirin and if some drugs had been tested on anim., maybe never develop: e.g.,.morphine kills pain in humans but stimul cats Sample Summaries/Paraphrases Passage:
Again and again, we've seen that animal testing is useful Louis Pasteur developed the germ theory, a foundation of modern medicine, by means of animai testing Important drugs such as penicillin and insulin were discov- ered by doing research on animals as well
Lecture:
Although some important drugs were first tested on animals, it is possible that these drugs would have been developed anyway And other useful drugs such as aspirin and quinine did not depend on animal research If some drugs had first been tested on certain animals, they probably would never have been approved for humans Consider morphine, for example For humans, morphine is a pain-killer, but it has the opposite effect on cats
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(C) Citing
When writing your response, it is important for you to cite information In other words, you need to clearly identify which information comes from the passage and which information comes from the lecture A number of structures can be used to cite information
Structures for Citing According to + noun
According to the passage, A is true B, according to the author, is also true
According to the lecture, C is no longer generally accepted
Yis a better method of solving this problem, according to the speaker The author's ideas may be correct, according to the professor, but they are misleading
Subject + verbs of reporting + that clauses Clause, subject + verb of reporting
Many verbs, including those listed below, are used to report information (Remember: You need to paraphrase the information in the that clause.)
tell* report suggest explain conclude
say argue state quote remind*
indicate cite claim discuss inform*
explain point out mention admit The author fells us that thatA
The lecturer says thatB is always
The article indicates that C should probably The writer reports that X may not
Y is not necessarily true, the speaker argues The speaker concludes, therefore, that Z
The speaker admits that the author has a good point, but he thinks that In her lecture, the speaker cites a study about X done by Professor Y
„
The author quotes Doctor Z, who says in an article, “
Trang 8Personal subject + verb of thinking (think, believe, know) + that clause
The professor thinks that
The lecturer believes that The author knows that
The verbs ask and wonder are used with indirect questions, not statements begin- ning with that
The professor wonders if C can really be true The author asks when Project X will be finished
Some verbs can be used only for counterarguments (arguments against an original argument): not agree; disagree; reject; contradict; challenge; take a different view; dispute the fact that/the idea that/the theory that
The author does not agree with idea A
The speaker disagrees with point X He says that The speaker also disputes the idea that X causes Y
The writer of the passage rejects the idea that Z is true In fact, the writer says that
The professor challenges the author's theory about A
(D) Synthesizing
When writing your response, you must synthesize key points in the passage and key points in the lecture Because most of the passages and lectures contain oppos- ing ideas, you will typically be bringing together and contrasting different points of view, There are various transition words, adverb clause markers, and other sen- tence patterns you can use to show contrast
Transition Words Showing Contrast however; on the other hand; in contrast
According to the paragraph from the textbook, A should sometimes be consid- ered a Y; however, the professor indicates that A should always be classified as
an X
The journal article says that B makes things clear The speaker, on the other hand, believes that B actually makes matters more confusing
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Adverb Clause Markers Showing Contrast although; even though; while
Although the professor believes that A is a good idea, the author of the passage thinks that B is a better one
According to the speaker, even though many experts agree that A is the best solution, there is some evidence that B will work too
The lecturer supports the idea that A is true, while the author thinks B is true Because the passage and the lecture often provide more than one idea or example supporting a point, you may also need to use structures that show addition
Transition Words Showing Addition Transition Words
moreover; furthermore; in addition; besides
The professor informs us that A is a problem; moreover, B is a problem as well The article indicates that X can be shown to be true in an experiment
Furthermore, Y can also be shown to be true in a similar experiment
There are many examples of Z, according to the passage In addition, there are
a number of examples of A
Adverbs
too; also; as well
The lecturer states that B is a common occurrence, and that C is too
The passage points out one of the weaknesses of plan X It also points out sev- eral strengths
According to the reading, there was a recent study on the subject of X done in Japan There have been some European studies done on this subject as well
Verbs
go on to say; add
The speaker first tells us A She goes on to say that
Trang 10Sample Synthesis and Citations
According to the author, we’ve seen again and again that animal testing is useful Louis Pasteur developed the germ theory, a foundation of modern
medicine, by means of animal testing Furthermore, important drugs such as
penicillin and insulin were discovered by doing research on animals
However, the lecturer takes quite a different view of animal testing The lec- turer says that, although some important drugs were first tested on animals, she believes it is possible that these drugs would have been developed any- way She goes on to say that other useful drugs such as aspirin and quinine did NOT depend on animal research Moreover, if some drugs had first been tested on certain animals, they probably would never have been approved for humans Consider morphine, for example According to the lecturer, morphine is a pain-killer for humans, but it has the opposite effect on cats Notice that the writer of this sample cites information from both the passage and the lecture The writer also uses an appropriate transition to contrast the information from the passage and the lecture (However, the lecturer takes quite a different view .)
EXERCISE 22.1
Focus: Summarizing and paraphrasing key points from passages and lectures Directions: First, read the points taken from the reading passage and take notes Then listen to the corresponding point given in a lecture and take notes Use your notes to summarize and paraphrase the information that you read and hear The first one is done for you as an example
Task 1
Trang 11614 Section 4 Guide to Writing
Notes on the passage: O steroids = great danger Aster > dinos, extinct In_ recent urs, sev near-misses Now only few programs all in N Hemi need int’l prog; both hemis
Summary/Paraphrase of the passage:
Asteroids might be very dangerous to all the people living on our planet Probably the dinosaurs were killed off when an asteroid smashed into the earth Recently asteroids have come close to hitting the Earth There are no major programs designed to observe asteroids Because of the danger, we need a comprehensive international program
» Now start the Audio Program Listen to part of a lecture in an astronomy class @
Trang 12
Notes on the lecture: O Aster do pose prob — but how much? large aster, global prob: 1 per 100,000 urs Can’t see all aster _e.g., ones from direct, of the sun No way to destroy
Summary/Paraphrase of the lecture:
Asteroids do pose a danger, but how serious is this danger? An asteroid capable of causing global damage strikes the earth only about once every 100,000 years With our current technology, we can’t see all asteroids We can’t see one, for example, coming from the direction of the Sun Even if we do see one, there is no way to destroy it before it hits the Earth
Task 2
Notes on the passage:
Two common forms of democratic government are the parliamentary system and the presidential system One way in which the parliamentary system differs from the presidential system is that, under this system, power is concentrated in the elected assembly—the parliament The executive branch is not separate from the parliament The prime minister and the
other ministers—the cabinet, in other words—are members of the assembly,
Trang 14Task 3
Trang 15Notes on the lecture: Summary/Paraphrase of the lecture: Task 4
Most environmentalists agree that the best way to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels is to increase the use of renewable sources of energy According to many environmentalists, wind power is a promising method of producing energy And it’s true that when electricity is produced by wind, there is no air
pollution, no toxic or radioactive wastes from wind power However, right now,
we just can’t claim that wind energy technology causes no environmental dam- age Some wind energy sites—they’re called wind farms—are very harmful to birds The worst offender is a huge wind farm in California at a place called Altamont Pass—it’s actually the second largest wind farm in the United States Over 5,000 birds a year are killed by the hundreds of spinning blades These birds include golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, and other rare predators No more wind farms should be built until we can protect birds from the dangers of
wind-powered generators