ELT365 · Day 207 — Summary Writing: Selection and Compression

Idea — Summary writing requires selecting main ideas and compressing them — cutting examples, repetition, and hedging. It is a separate skill from both reading comprehension and extended writing.

Example — A learner who answers comprehension questions correctly on a text may still write a summary that lists details rather than synthesising the main argument.

Try — Take a 200-word paragraph. Ask learners to write a 40-word summary. Are they the right 40? Compare summaries in pairs.

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