Look at the four ways in which summaries of the source have been attempted by students. Which of these are acceptable as summaries?

Salaries rise in line with fees

Students are borrowing more money to finance college education compared with 10 years ago but, when they graduate, their loan payments are taking up a smaller percentage of their salaries.

One-half of all graduates borrow some money, according to figures from the US Department of Education, up from 34 per cent in 1977. The average debt for recent graduates is $4,800, up from $2,000 in 1977.

The government has been deliberately shifting the emphasis from grants to loans, and more students have been forced to take out loans because of rising fees.

‘College students are borrowing more than they did 10 years ago to pay for rising college tuitions,’ said Acting Secretary of Education Ted Sanders. ‘But when you take earning into account, debt should not be a hardship for most graduates.’

(a) Students are borrowing more money to finance college education compared with 10 years ago but, when they graduate, their loan payments are taking up a smaller percentage of their salaries.

½ of all graduates borrow some money, according to figures from the US Dept. of Education, up from 34% in 1977.

The government has been deliberately shifting the emphasis from grants to loans, and more students have been forced to take out loans because of rising fees.

(b) Students are borrowing more money to finance college education than 10 years ago but, after graduating, their loan payments are taking up a smaller percentage of their salaries.

50% of all graduates borrow some money, according to US Dept. of Education figures, compared with 34% in 1977.

The government has deliberately been shifting emphasis from grants to loans. More students have been forced to take out loans because of increasing fees.

(c) More money is being borrowed by students to finance college education. Half borrow some money, compared with 34% in 1977, according to US Dept. of Education figures.

(d) More students (50%) are taking out loans to finance college education than in the past (34% in 1977) due to rising fees, the move away from grants being in line with US Government policy. However, the proportion of earnings needed to repay the money is smaller.

(The Times Higher Educational Suppliment, 15.3.91.)

Of the four summaries, (a) is clearly unacceptable as a summary and, if not acknowledged as a quotation, it would be plagiarism. Summary (b) is also unacceptable, even if it changes some of the wording in the original. It has very probably been written by copying from the original. The words have perhaps been changed because the student feels obliged to use his or her own words. This kind of copying or ‘modified plagiarism’ may disguise students’ lack of understanding of a subject or lack of ability to express ideas in their own words. By largely following the vocabulary and sentence patterns of the original, (b) fails as a summary, even if it deletes some less important information.

The author of summary (c) attempts to move away more from the vocabulary and sentence pattern used in the original but too many phrases are ‘lifted’. This still suggests that the student might not understand the original fully or has trouble putting the content into her or his own words. Only (d) is satisfactory as a summary, for the folloing reasons:

• It succeeds in conveying the essential information in fewer words, expressing the content of the six original sentences in two.

• It delets less important information.

• It departs more freely from the vocabulary and sentence patterns of the original.

• it successfully ‘combines across’ the paragraphing of the original.

Unlike (a), (b) and (c), the successful summary in (d) has very probably been written from notes on the original text rather than from the original itself.

NOTE-TAKING AND SUMMARISING SKILLS: TASKS

TASK 1