Selecting relevant points

English Language · Reading: summary and selecting information. The idea in plain words, the rules to remember, the mistake to avoid and a worked example, written and checked by Mega Lecture.

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The idea

A summary question always gives a focus, for example ‘the advantages of cycling’ or ‘the causes of the flood’. Your job is to collect only the points that answer that focus.

Test each sentence of the passage with the focus words: ‘Is this an advantage of cycling?’ If the answer is yes, it is relevant. If it is an example, a story about one person, a figure that only illustrates a point, or background, leave it out.

Watch for repetition. Writers often say the same thing twice in different words. It still counts as one point.

Rules to remember

Find the focus words in the question: ‘causes’, ‘effects’, ‘advantages’, ‘reasons’, ‘what people should do’.
A point is relevant only if it directly answers the focus.
Leave out examples. They often follow ‘for example’ or ‘such as’, or name one person.
Leave out repetition: the same idea in new words counts once.
Leave out introductions, background, history and the writer’s comments.
Causes come before the problem and effects come after it. Do not mix them.
A general point is better than a single case: ‘it saves money’, not ‘my uncle saved 500 rupees’.

Common mistake

Including a point that is true and in the text but answers a different focus, such as a disadvantage in a summary of advantages. Test every point against the focus words.

Worked example

‘Walking is popular with all ages. It strengthens the heart and helps people sleep better. My aunt, for example, walks every evening in the park. It also costs nothing. However, summer heat makes long walks tiring.’ Which points belong in a summary of the benefits of walking?

The focus is ‘benefits’, so test each sentence: is this a benefit of walking?
Yes: it strengthens the heart, it improves sleep, it costs nothing.
The aunt is an example and the summer heat is a drawback, so both are left out.
‘Popular with all ages’ is an introduction, not a benefit.

Answer: Three points: a stronger heart, better sleep and no cost.

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