Summary Completion Strategies Tips Techniques

 

PREDICTION – When you read the summary, try to predict the type of 
word you will need to fill each gap from the context of the sentence. Is it an 
adjective, a noun, a verb etc ? 
 

USE OTHER CLUES – If you are able to predict the word form, e.g. 
adjective , look for the adjective closest to the key word in the text. This 
will probably be the word you need or a synonym of it. 
 

TIME MANAGEMENT – If you are struggling to find a specific missing 
word, take an educated guess and move on. Focus on getting the easier 
marks and come back to it later if you have time.
 

CHECK GRAMMAR – When you have entered your answer, check the 
sentence to ensure that it is grammatically correct. If it is not, your answer is 
wrong. 
 

DO NOT READ IT ALL – You do not need to read the whole text in 
detail, just the part that is summarized. The summary will normally relate to 
one secion of the text, probably 2 – 3 paragraphs. 

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Sample Reading Passage:
Prehistoric insects spawn new drugs 
By Steve Connor 
A Insects entombed in fossilised amber for tens of millions of years have provided 
the key to creating a new generation of antibiotic drugs that could wage war on 
modern diseases. Scientists have isolated the antibiotics from microbes found 
either inside the intestines of the amber-encased insects or in soil particles trapped 
with them when they were caught by sticky tree resin up to 130 million years ago. 
Spores of the microbes have survived an unprecedented period of suspended 
animation, enabling scientists to revive them in the laboratory. 
 
B Research over the past two years has uncovered at least four antibiotics from the 
microbes and one has been able to kill modern drug-resistant Bacteria that can 
cause potentially deadly diseases in humans. Present-day antibiotics have nearly all 
been isolated from micro-organisms that use them as a form of defense against 
their predators or competitors. But since the introduction of antibiotics into 
medicine 50 years ago, an alarming number have become ineffective because 
many bacteria have developed resistance to the drugs. The antibiotics that were in 
use millions of years ago may prove more deadly against drug-resistant modern 
strains of disease- causing bacteria.