Английский язык для специальных и академических целей: Международные отношения и зарубежное регионоведение. Часть 1 - [95]

Similarly, German immigrants in Victorian Britain undertook some of the hardest work in the East End of London, including sugar baking. Russian Jewish immigrants in the late Victorian and Edwardian years found themselves working in East End sweatshops, while postwar British prosperity could not have happened without working-class immigrants from all over the world.

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However, migrants have not simply acted as a cheap labour force — as the number of foreign millionaires in contemporary London testifies. Fabulously wealthy businessmen such as Roman Abramovich have predecessors in German tycoons of the 19th century. Some of these may simply have owned bakers and butchers shops, but others helped to establish some of Britain's largest companies. Immigrant Ludwig Mond's son was one of the founders of ICI. Meanwhile, the descendants of the Russian Jewish migrants of the late 19th century have gone on to become major players in British industry and the professions, as have refugees from Nazi Germany.(222)

/from Arriving in Style by Panikos Panayi. History Magazine. July 2010/

When editing your summary answer the questions:

1. Have you accurately represented the author's ideas and key points (the author's emphasis)?

2. Have you written it in your OWN words? If you quoted the author, use quotation marks.

3. Have you mentioned the author periodically?

4. Have you included any minor details or your own ideas?

5. Is it the right length? (normally 1/3 or 1/4 of the original text)

6. Have you included all the necessary information in the introduction? (name of the author, the title of article, the name of magazine, journal, newspaper, date of publication)

Revise it for style, grammar, spelling and punctuation.

MORE ABOUT WRITING A SUMMARY

Focus on the Tone

Tone is the attitude the writer wants to convey, the emotional colouring of his/her writing

Formal, informal, angry, enthusiastic, detached, humorous, serious, optimistic, pessimistic concerned ..?

What makes you think so? How does it affect paraphrasing?

Read the extract and choose appropriate synonyms from the list below.

Mr Bercow's¹ biggest year for Christmas splurging was 2010, when more than £26,000 was spent on Christmas tree maintenance by the Commons authorities he controls. In 2009 it was felt necessary to spend £1,240 on decorations. That's a lot to spend on fairies⁶⁹⁷⁰, even for a man of his delicate aesthetics. Exactly what 'maintenance' of a Christmas tree entails is not explained. Does it mean Hoovering (пылесосить) the pine needles from the carpet?

/from “The Squeaker Decks the Hall with Bags of Money”. The Daily Mail. March 24, 2012/

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splurging: spending spree/ shopping / money wasting ¹²

It was felt necessary: [the Speaker] thought it a good idea/ decided

a man of his delicate aesthetics: a man of fine taste / artistically minded

entails: implies/ involves/ means

WRITING AN ABSTRACT

An abstract is a short formal original piece of writing which describes a much larger paper (article, chapter of a book or a book). It is similar to a summary but compressed even further. It presents the message and all the main arguments and conclusions (if any) of the complete paper. An abstract contains the key words of the original text; its main function is to give the reader a clear idea if the paper is worth reading.

Useful tips

/from the Writing Center of the University of Northern Carolina at Chapel Hill/

All abstracts include:

— A full citation of the source, preceding the abstract.

— The most important information first.

— The same type and style of language found in the original, including technical language.

— Key words and phrases that quickly identify the content and focus of the work.

— Clear, concise, and powerful language.

— Length ~10% of the original or less.

Abstracts may include:

— The thesis of the work, usually in the first sentence.

— Background information that places the work in the larger body of literature.

— The same chronological structure as the original work.

When writing an abstract:

Identify key terms:

Search through the entire document for key terms that identify the purpose, scope, and methods of the work. Pay close attention to the Introduction and the Conclusion. These sections should contain all the main ideas and key terms in the paper. When writing the abstract, be sure to incorporate the key terms.

Highlight key phrases and sentences:

Instead of cutting and pasting the actual words, try highlighting sentences or phrases that appear to be central to the work. Then, in a separate document, rewrite the sentences and phrases in your own words.

Don't look back:

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After reading the entire work, put it aside and write a paragraph about the work without referring to it. In the first draft, you may not remember all the key terms or the results, but you will remember what the main point of the work was. Remember not to include any information you did not get from the work being abstracted.

SAMPLE ABSTRACT

The Conclusion Chapter from Empire. How Britain Made the Modern World by Niall Ferguson. Penguin books LTD, London, 2004 sums up the most important contribution of the British Empire to the modern world. Its impact is seen as mostly positive, with the most remarkable legacy being free trade, free capital movements, free labour and English as the global language. The Empire promoted liberal capitalism, parliamentary democracy, the rule of law throughout its colonies. Though Great Britain is responsible for enslaving, killing and exploiting indigenous population at the beginning of the empire, later it contributed to the economic development of its colonies, particularly those that were at a low stage of development at the time of colonisation. What's more, after the collapse of the empire many of its former colonies benefited from British-style institutions and form of governing, which was cost effective, efficient and uncorrupted. The experience of the British Empire testifies to its overall effectiveness: ultimately, it paved the way for economic, legal and political globalization. (166 words)