5.2 The 5Rs of summarising: reduce, reject, reword, reproduce, repackage
In this section, you will practise recognising the 5Rs in a summary.
Activity 9
Read the following example summary which uses all of the 5Rs. Then look at each of the four summaries below and select which of the 5Rs you can see in them.
Original text: Many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) tackle health issues around the world, for example the Red Cross and Red Crescent, which often step in following earthquakes and other disasters.
Summary: The involvement of NGOs in health problems
The 5Rs
- Reduce: the summary is shorter.
- Reject: it misses out the example.
- Reword: it uses problems instead of issues.
- Reproduce: it is accurate.
- Repackage: it compresses Many non-governmental organisations (NGOs) tackle health issues into The involvement of NGOs in health problems.
a.
reduce
b.
reject
c.
reword
d.
reproduce
e.
repackage
The correct answers are a, b, d and e.
Answer
Reduce, reject, reproduce, repackage.
a.
reduce
b.
reject
c.
reword
d.
reproduce
e.
repackage
The correct answers are a, b, d and e.
Answer
Reduce, reject, reproduce, repackage.
a.
reduce
b.
reject
c.
reword
d.
reproduce
e.
repackage
The correct answers are a, b, d and e.
Answer
Reduce, reject, reproduce, repackage.
a.
reduce
b.
reject
c.
reword
d.
reproduce
e.
repackage
The correct answers are a, b, d and e.
Answer
Reduce, reject, reproduce, repackage.
Discussion
None of the four summaries reword the original text enough yet. However, they do use the other four Rs. Too little rewording in a longer summary is regarded as plagiarism.