Summary and Information Transfer
Summary and information transfer
Summary tests selection and compression; information transfer tests accurate relocation of detail into a table, notes or form. Both reward precision, not volume.
Selecting and shaping
- Identify the question focus (e.g. "the benefits", not the whole passage).
- Mark only relevant sentences; delete examples, statistics, repetition, dialogue and imagery.
- Convert clauses to phrases: "because the roads were flooded" becomes "flooded roads".
- Join short points with a semicolon or participle.
Own words
Change word class or sentence structure and use synonyms, but keep proper nouns and technical terms. Do not change the meaning.
Worked example
Source: "Many students travel long distances, and because buses are unreliable, they often arrive late and miss the first lesson." Task: summarise the problems in 15 words. Answer: "Long journeys and unreliable buses make students late, so they miss first lessons." (14 words) Reasoning: "travel long distances" becomes "long journeys"; the cause-effect link is kept; the 15-word limit is respected.
Information transfer
Read column headings first; match the word class and length required; copy spellings exactly; do not add extra information.
Traps that cost marks
- Exceeding the word limit by one or two words.
- Lifting whole phrases instead of compressing.
- Adding opinion or outside knowledge.
- Including examples that carry no marks.
- Writing unconnected points with no linking.
- Miscopying names and figures.