How To Write a Summary for the UEE

Dear students, as you all well know, the first question of the University Entrance Exam (=UEE) is : 

Write a summary of the text in English, including the most important points, using your own words  - approximately 50 words (1 point).

Here are some tips for a good summary of this kind:

1. Do questions 2 (True/False) and 3 (Find words in the text that match the ones given) first. This will make you go over the text a few times, which will help you understand not only the text as a whole but also the main concepts.
2. Useful expressions to start the summary - in order to state the main idea, the topic sentence: The text is about..., this is the story of..., the text deals with...the author- writer- narrator states / suggests / criticizes / explains / points out / lists / highlights / argues/ puts forward... These expressions make it clear that it is not your piece but somebody else´s.
3. Use your own words: write it down as if you were explaining it to a friend. Work from memory to avoid repeating the exact words from the text
4. Be neutral: do not include your own opinions, just summarize what the author said
5. Do not repeat ideas, vocabulary...
6. Use connectors to fix your ideas together
7. Check for spelling, punctuation or grammar mistakes once you have finished writing
8. Check your length (45 to 55 words is ok, but nothing shorter or longer than that)

The videos below include tips to write a good summary. The first one includes some of the suggestions I included above but it is not meant for such a short summary as the one you will have to write.

 

The second video gives you some tips to summarize a story ( a novel, a film...).  Holly Bullock teaches you how to write a 20-word-long summary - but remember you must write about 50 words for the University Entrance Exam so ignore that part in the video.

Narrative: Tips to Improve Your Writing

The "Ba-Da-Ding Method" recommends including the following information to improve your writing:

• where your feet were
• what you saw
• what you thought

Learning to Listen in a Conversation

We are often taught ( and we, teachers, often teach) how to speak, but not how to listen in any kind of contexts. In this video you will get some advice about how to do that in a conversation. 

This is the final message: 

Learn to be the last one to speak, so that you can understand and make a decision

Internet Language

Cyber crime words explained:

Ransomware: This is malicious software used to block access to a computer until the user agrees to pay a ransom. 

Malware: A combination of malicious and software, this is the generic term for programs designed to infiltrate and damage computers.

Virus: Code or a malicious program that infects other programs or files on your computer and is designed to spread from host to host.

Trojan Horse: A malicious program that is designed to look like a bona fide program. Once installed it can be used to alter information, steal passwords or destroy files.

Spyware: This is software that is created to collect information about a user’s computer use without the knowledge of the person being targeted.

Dark net: The normal internet is the open web, while information accessible through the open web but sitting behind a password-protected interface is the deep web. You need a special browser to access the dark net or dark web, which allows you to surf anonymously and is said to be a haven for criminals.

Nobel Prize For Literature 2017

I guess you all know that Kazuo Ishiguro has won the Nobel Prize for Literature 2017.

The film below is a British dystopian science fiction, "Never Let Me Go", based on one of his novels. The story takes place in the late 20th century: human beings are cloned and bred for the purposes of harvesting their organs once they reach adulthood.

Improve Your Vocabulary

Next time you write an essay, improve your vocabulary using synonyms from this infographic.

 
Find more education infographics on e-Learning Infographics

The synonyms below may also be useful:

English Pronunciation: Phonetic Alphabet

Practice with the BBC: pronunciation and phonetic symbols: watch the video below and repeat the pronunciation of both individual sounds and words after the speaker. 

The video is very long but you can split it and watch it at different times. 

Social Networks

A Stunt: Tea For Trump

Dear 2nd BAC students, 

here is a good example of a pubilicity stunt. 

This is the way the company presented the commercial:

A US presidential candidate.

An Indian tea company.

One epic stunt.

In the summer of 2016, Indian tea brand Te-a-me tried to deliver an “intervention” to Trump at Trump Tower here in New York City: a four-year supply of its green tea. The spokeswoman in the fake video within the video reminds Trump that green tea is “proven to make people smarter” and that “it’s never to late to cleanse yourself.” But as you can see, there’s no proof the tea was actually delivered because it wasn’t. Still, the video has over a million views, so maybe it sold some product? Agency: Fisheye, Bangalore.

Song Of The Weekend: Darrelle London´s `Understand´

Song `Understand´by Darrelle London, a singer-songwriter from Toronto, Canada.