How to Write a Summary

Task One
Task Two
Task Three
Task Four
Task Five
Task Six
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Task One

When you write a summary you need to be aware of what you should and should not do. Click on a text box below and drag it under the correct heading.

Task Two

Highlight the key points in the article ‘Disney to ban ads for junk food aimed at kids’ by Chris Isidore. This article appeared on the Web in MoneyCNN on 5th June, 2012. After you have highlighted what you think are the main points, compare your answer to an example that has already been done.

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Hold down the "x" key, and then click the highlighted text to remove it.
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Disney to ban ads for junk food aimed at kids

Walt Disney Co. unveiled new rules for its children's networks Tuesday that could ban ads for junk food marketed to those young viewers. CEO Robert Iger announced the new policy at an appearance with First Lady Michelle Obama in Washington. The policy will apply to Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, Radio Disney, and Disney-owned online sites oriented to families, effective by 2015.

Based on guidelines released by Disney Tuesday, many popular kids meals, such as Happy Meals from McDonalds or Fruit Loops breakfast cereal from Kellogg, would not be able to be advertised, according to nutritional information about those products on the companies' websites.

"Parents tell us they need our support and we're listening," said Iger. "And as it turns out, doing the right thing for kids just happens to be a smart strategy for the Walt Disney Company and for its businesses -- opening up new markets for us and building on our relationships with families."

The policy will not apply to ads on adult-targeted Disney networks, such as the various ESPN sports networks or ABC's prime-time programming, which are the major profit drivers at the media conglomerate.

Michelle Obama has been leading a national campaign for healthier diets. Her push includes new school lunch guidelines and a physical exercise program called "Let's Move" aimed at reducing childhood obesity. While the Disney initiative is limited to ads aimed at children, the First Lady praised the move and said she hoped other media companies would follow suit. "I'm thrilled that over the next couple of years, when our kids tune into their favorite shows on Disney channels or they log onto the Disney website, they will no longer be bombarded with unhealthy messages during those commercial breaks,'" she said.

According to the White House, American children see an estimated $1.6 billion a year worth of food and beverage marketing, and many of those ads are for food that are high in calories and sugar, but low in nutrition.

The nutrition guidelines are aligned to federal standards to promote fruit and vegetable consumption, and limit calories and saturated fat, sodium, and sugar in the products being advertised. Among the limits, each serving of food advertised on the networks can only have 1.1 grams or less of saturated fat, 2.5 grams or less of sugar and 600 milligrams or less of salt for breakfast or mini meal, 300 milligrams or less of salt for a side dish and 740 milligrams or less for an entire meal.

ABC spokeswoman Michelle Bergman said she could not say how much of Disney's advertising could be affected by the ban, or whether the company might expand the policy to its other networks. The Disney Channel itself does not carry advertising, although Disney XD does. The policy applies to the Saturday morning cartoon shows carried on Disney-owned affiliates of ABC, which includes the biggest markets in the country such as New York and Los Angeles. But it does not apply to all family oriented programming from the company, such as ABC Family or some prime-time shows.

Reprinted with permission from CNNMoney (money.cnn.com)

Possible Answer

Key point – Important action being taken. (We should find out why, when, what and any significant effects)

The date is a key point (When), but the other details are not necessary.

Based on guidelines released by Disney Tuesday, many popular kids meals, such as Happy Meals from McDonalds or Fruit Loops breakfast cereal from Kellogg, would not be able to be advertised, according to nutritional information about those products on the companies' websites.

A significant point – Disney has its OWN criteria about nutritional information.
The examples are not needed.

"Parents tell us they need our support and we're listening," said Iger. "And as it turns out, doing the right thing for kids just
happens to be a smart strategy for the Walt Disney Company and for its businesses -- opening up new markets for us and building on our relationships with families."

Disney is responding to parents’ concerns (Why).

Benefits (Effects)

The policy will not apply to ads on adult-targeted Disney networks, such as the various ESPN sports networks or ABC's
prime-time programming, which are the major profit drivers at the media conglomerate.

An important detail, because it tells us the scope of the policy.

Michelle Obama has been leading a national campaign for healthier diets. Her push includes new school lunch guidelines and a physical exercise program called "Let's Move" aimed at reducing childhood obesity. While the Disney initiative is limited to ads aimed at children, the First Lady praised the move and said she hoped other media companies would follow suit. "I'm thrilled that over the next couple of years, when our kids tune into their favorite shows on Disney channels or they log onto the Disney website, they will no longer be bombarded with unhealthy messages during those commercial breaks,'" she said.

Another reason for the new policy (Why).

The summary is not about Michelle Obama, so this elaboration is not necessary.

According to the White House, American children see an estimated $1.6 billion a year worth of food and beverage marketing, and many of those ads are for food that are high in calories and sugar, but low in nutrition.

A definition of junk food (What).

The nutrition guidelines are aligned to federal standards to promote fruit and vegetable consumption, and limit calories and saturated fat, sodium, and sugar in the products being advertised.
Among the limits, each serving of food advertised on the networks can only have 1.1 grams or less of saturated fat, 2.5
grams or less of sugar and 600 milligrams or less of salt for breakfast or mini meal, 300 milligrams or less of salt for a side dish and 740 milligrams or less for an entire meal.

An important detail, because it qualifies the information above about Disney having its own criteria.

Too much detail

ABC spokeswoman Michelle Bergman said she could not say how much of Disney's advertising could be affected by the ban, or whether the company might expand the policy to its other networks.

Uncertain speculation – not important

The Disney Channel itself does not carry advertising, although Disney XD does. The policy applies to the Saturday morning
cartoon shows carried on Disney-owned affiliates of ABC, which includes the biggest markets in the country such as New

York and Los Angeles. But it does not apply to all family oriented programming from the company, such as ABC Family or some prime-time shows.

Minor details

A key point, because it defines the policy more accurately.

Hide answer.

Task Three – Using Synonyms

Match the words on the left with the synonyms (or near-synonyms) on the right by dragging and placing the synonyms on the right next to the words on the left.

Task Four – Restructuring Language

Along with using synonyms, the ability to restructure sentences is an important summary writing skill. Rewrite the sentences below to include the words in brackets. You may need to change the structure of the sentence and the form of the word in brackets. Click on the button under each question to see a possible answer. Look at the following example:

e.g	Michelle Obama has been leading a national campaign for healthier diets. A national campaign (spearhead)
1.	Walt Disney Co. unveiled new rules for its children's networks Tuesday. New rules (release) New rules were released by Disney on Tuesday for its children’s networks. Hide answer.
2.	Disney’s new policy could ban ads for junk food marketed to those young viewers. The marketing of (as a result of) The marketing of junk food ads to young viewers could be banned as a result of Disney’s new policy. Hide answer.
3.	As it turns out, doing the right thing for kids just happens to be a smart strategy for the Walt Disney Company. It seems that doing the right thing for kids (prove) It seems that doing the right thing for kids is proving to be a smart strategy for the Disney company. Hide answer.
4.	The First Lady praised the move and said she hoped other media companies would follow suit. Michelle Obama (supportive/do the same) Michelle Obama was supportive of the move and said she hoped other media companies would do the same. Hide answer.
5.	According to the White House, American children see an estimated $1.6 billion a year worth of food and beverage marketing. According to the White House, (spend) According to the White House, $1.6 billion a year is spent on food and beverage marketing. Hide answer.

Task Five

Now write your own summary of the article ‘Disney to ban ads for junk food aimed at kids’ by Chris Isidore in under 200 words and try not to break any of the rules you learned in Task One. Compare it to the summary in Task 6.

Task Six

Read one possible summary of the article ‘Disney to ban ads for junk food aimed at kids’. Click on the gaps and choose the correct answer from the dropdown menu.

reports on (Chris Isidore does not present an argument, nor does he explain the announcement. He provides an objective report about the announcement.)

in light of (We don’t know for certain that Michelle Obama’s campaign was a major reason for Disney’s decision, although it could be true. Following suggests that the campaign came first and then came Disney’s decision. In light of suggests that the campaign had some influence on Disney’s decision, but not how much.)

However (On the other hand is used with on the one hand to show a contrast or contradiction. We use furthermore when we want to add another supporting point to an argument. This sentence explains the extent or limits of the new policy, so however is used in the same sense as but.)

Nevertheless (The purpose of this sentence is not to make a contrast or to add another supporting point to an argument. It is to announce something slightly unexpected, i.e. Despite making cuts to advertising, Disney is attracting new customers and clients.)

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