O-Level 80-Word Summary: The Method, with a Worked Example
This page teaches a 5-step method for the summary question in Paper 2. You will practise finding points and rewording them, then write your own summary.
What you have to do
You pick out the points the question asks for from part of the passage. You put them in your own words. Then you fit them into about 80 words, excluding the introductory words provided in the exam task.
Selection comes before shortening. A concise sentence is useful only if it keeps a point the question asks for.
How it is marked
| Area | What the examiner checks |
|---|---|
| Content | Select relevant, distinct ideas from the specified part of the passage. Keep within the question's focus. |
| Own words | Express the ideas clearly in your own words where possible, while keeping their meaning. |
Most marks are lost in 2 ways. You miss points because you rushed, or you copy instead of rewording. The method below deals with both.
How to answer
- Read the question focus. It says exactly what to summarise. An example is "the reasons people migrate to cities and the problems this causes". If there are 2 parts, you need points on both.
- Use only the paragraphs named. Ignore the rest of the passage.
- Underline every relevant point. Go line by line. Find more points than you need, because some will overlap.
- Reword each point in note form. Change the words and the sentence pattern. For example, "exorbitant rents" becomes "housing is very costly".
- Join the notes into 1 paragraph, then count. Use linking words. Trim to about 80 words. If the question gives an opening phrase, start with it.
Steps 3 and 4 decide your score. Make your notes first, then write the paragraph.
Separate a point from its illustration
For a question about the benefits of a school garden, “pupils grow mint, beans and tomatoes” is an activity. “Pupils learn how plants respond to different conditions” explains a benefit. Keep the detail that answers the question.
If two sentences repeat the same idea, combine them in your notes. If they give different benefits, keep both. Do not aim for a fixed number of points unless the task tells you to.
Compress without changing the claim
| Original practice sentence | Useful compression | Meaning to preserve |
|---|---|---|
| Some pupils who live far from school cannot attend the early sessions. | Early sessions exclude some pupils with long journeys. | “Some” does not mean all pupils |
| The club lends tools without charging members. | Members borrow tools free. | Borrowing is different from receiving tools to keep |
| Volunteers help with planting and also help with watering. | Volunteers plant and water. | Both activities remain |
Shorten repeated wording before deleting a distinct point. Keep qualifications such as “may”, “some” and “only” when they affect the meaning.
Use two passes when editing
First, compare your draft with the passage. Check that you have not strengthened a claim or added a cause the writer never gave. Then count and compress. Follow the word-count instructions on the question paper, including how the supplied opening words are treated.
Read the final version as a paragraph. Short phrases still need grammatical connections; a string of notes is harder to follow.
The practice paragraph
Cities attract young people seeking higher pay. An office worker may earn substantially more there than in a similar job in a small town. The choice of entertainment is another attraction: cinemas, concerts and evening events offer activities unavailable in many rural areas. Universities and specialist hospitals are concentrated in cities too, giving residents access to education and medical care. Yet the arrival of so many new residents creates difficulties. Demand for accommodation pushes rents beyond what ordinary families can afford. Roads designed for smaller populations become congested, and a short journey can take much longer than expected. People may also lose the close relationships they enjoyed in their villages. Although they live among thousands of others, they often do not know their neighbours and can feel isolated. These pressures make the move more complicated than the prospect of a higher salary initially suggests.
Question focus: Summarise the reasons people move to cities and the problems this creates.
Practise: point or detail?
Which option gives a reason for moving to cities that belongs in this summary?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (B) Universities and hospitals are concentrated in cities (access to education and healthcare)
B identifies access to education and healthcare, a reason given in the passage. A is not stated. C and D are not presented as reasons for moving to cities. A relevant point remains relevant even when quoted; this question tests selection, while the next tests rewording.
Which is the best rewording, in your OWN WORDS, of 'rents beyond what ordinary families can afford'?
Show answer & explanation
Answer: (C) 'housing becomes unaffordable for many people'
C expresses the affordability problem in a different sentence pattern. A repeats the original. B changes only 'ordinary' to 'normal', keeping nearly all the wording. D overstates the claim: the passage does not say every family is unable to afford housing.
Practise: write the summary
✍️ Your turn
Use ONLY the paragraph above. Write a summary of about 80 words on the reasons people move to cities AND the problems this creates. Put everything in your own words. Join the points into 1 paragraph. Keep each distinct reason and problem; avoid adding your opinion.
Reveal the model answer
Steps 3 and 4: the underlined points, reworded
| From the passage | In your own words |
|---|---|
| higher pay | better earnings |
| entertainment not found in the countryside | more leisure and entertainment |
| universities and hospitals concentrated there | access to education and healthcare |
| rents beyond what ordinary families can afford | housing becomes unaffordable |
| roads designed for smaller populations become congested | severe traffic congestion |
| lose the close relationships they enjoyed in their villages | a weaker sense of community |
Step 5: joined into 1 paragraph
People move to cities for better earnings, a wider choice of entertainment and access to universities and specialist medical services. However, the growing population increases demand for accommodation, making rents unaffordable for ordinary families. It also puts more vehicles on roads that cannot cope, causing congestion and longer journeys. In addition, newcomers can lose the close relationships they had in their villages. They may feel isolated in the city because they do not know the people living around them.
79 words.
Why the model scores well
| What the examiner looks for | Where it is in the model |
|---|---|
| Points on both parts of the question | 3 reasons and 3 problems |
| Own words throughout | "higher pay" becomes "better earnings". The housing and traffic problems are explained in new sentences. |
| 1 connected paragraph | "However", "also" and "In addition" connect the ideas |
| Within the limit | 79 words; all six main points remain. |
Common mistakes
| Mistake | What helps |
|---|---|
| Missing points | Find more points than you need in step 3 |
| Copying phrases | Reword every point in note form before you write |
| Points on only 1 part of the question | Check the focus for "and". Get points on both parts. |
| Going over the word limit | Count at the end and trim |
Where to practise
Three passages, each with the content points, a model and what to leave out. Work them in order: the first two give you 120 words so you can concentrate on finding the points, and the third is set at the length the exam actually asks for.
- Practice 1: Community Gardens · 120 words, finding and grouping points
- Practice 2: Teenage Sleep · 120 words, points spread across a whole passage
- Practice 3: Food Delivery · 80 words, the exam length, with material in the passage the question does not ask about
Compressing to 80 is the part that is actually being tested, so do not stop after the first two.
Back to O-Level continuous writing model · Next: O-Level visual text comprehension
More in this section
The published Summary Style band descriptors for O-Level Paper 2, worth 7 marks, and what the syllabus deliberately does not say about content points.