Directed Writing, Summary and Information Transfer
What makes this different from free writing
Directed writing gives you the content; your job is to select, reorganise and reword it to a format and a word limit. Summary adds one more rule: say the same thing in fewer words, without copying the source's phrasing and without adding opinion.
Core rules
- Read the task twice and list the content points required (often given as bullets or notes).
- Use only relevant points. Ignore examples, anecdotes and statistics unless the task asks for them.
- Reorganise into the order the task demands, not the order in the passage.
- Change the wording: swap word class ('rose twice' becomes 'repeated increases'), combine two points into one clause, delete repetition.
- Count the words. Too few points loses content marks; over the limit can lose marks outright.
- For tables and forms, match the grammar of the gap: a noun phrase, not a full sentence.
Worked example
Source: 'The council plans three changes. First, rubbish will be collected twice a week instead of once. Second, households will receive free recycling bins. Third, a monthly fine of N$200 will be imposed on anyone burning waste in the yard.'
Task: summarise the three changes in no more than 25 words.
Draft: 'Rubbish will be collected twice weekly, free recycling bins will be given to households, and burning waste will be fined N$200 monthly.' (22 words)
Reasoning: all three points survive; 'instead of once' is deleted as redundant; passive structures are reworked; the figures stay because they carry information; no sentence is lifted intact; no opinion is added.
Traps that cost marks
- Copying whole phrases instead of rewording.
- Missing a content point that appears late in the passage.
- Inserting your own view or a conclusion.
- Writing notes where continuous prose is required, or prose where a form is required.
- Losing accuracy while paraphrasing, so a fine becomes optional or a fee becomes a ban.