Description
Read the following article, write a summary, then read the 5 summaries provided and decide which one is best and why. What is wrong with the other 4 summaries?
Short Checklist for Summaries
- Be brief
- Use the same organization as the original
- Include the major points
- Report the content accurately
- Retain the original emphasis
- Paraphrase using your own words
- Maintain an objective point of view
Reading
Very few people in the modern world obtain their food supply by hunting and gathering in the natural environment surrounding their homes. This method of harvesting from nature's provision, however, is not only the oldest known subsistence strategy but also the one that has been practiced continuously in some parts of the world for at least the last two million years. It was, indeed, the only way to obtain food until rudimentary farming and very crude methods for the domestication of animals were introduced about 10,000 years ago.
Because hunter-gatherers have fared poorly in comparison with their agricultural cousins, their numbers have dwindled, and they have been forced to live in the marginal wastelands. In higher latitudes, the shorter growing season has restricted the availability of plant life. Such conditions have caused a greater dependence on hunting and, along the coasts and waterways, on fishing. The abundance of vegetation in the lower latitudes of the tropics, on the other hand, has provided a greater opportunity for gathering a variety of plants. In short, the environmental differences have restricted the diet and have limited possibilities for the development of subsistence societies.
Contemporary hunter-gatherers may help us understand our prehistoric ancestors. We know from observation of modern hunter-gatherers in both Africa and Alaska that a society based on hunting and gathering must be very mobile. Following the food supply can be a way of life. If a particular kind of wild herding animal is the basis of the food for a group of people, those people must move to stay within reach of those animals. For many of the native people of the great central plains of North America, following the buffalo, who were in turn following the growth of grazing foods, determined their way of life.
For gathering societies, seasonal changes mean a great deal. While the entire community camps in a central location, a smaller party harvests the food within a reasonable distance from the camp. When the food in the area is exhausted, the community moves on to exploit another site. We also notice a seasonal migration pattern evolving for most hunter-gatherers, along with a strict division of labor between the sexes. These patterns of behavior may be similar to those practiced by humankind during the Paleolithic Period.
Summary 1
By studying hunter-gatherers in today's world, we can better understand the people from prehistoric times. in a hunter-gatherer society, the surrounding vegetation limits the dietary options. In addition, the length of the growing season restricts the amount of gathering that can be done and requires more hunting and fishing for groups to survive. We note that groups must follow the herds and travel to new sites where edible plants are in season. Although few people are now dependent upon hunting and gathering, it is the most ancient lifestyle, and perhaps the only way to subsist before agricultural communities arose during the past 10,000 years. Furthermore, men and women have specialized tasks. Competition with agricultural societies has crowded hunter-gatherers into harsh terrains.
This is a good summary. The content is accurate, and all the major points are included. The problem here is that the writer did not follow the order in the original so the points are not in the same sequence and they are hard to follow.
Summary 2
Although few people are now dependent upon hunting and gathering, it is the most ancient lifestyle, and perhaps the only way to subsist before agricultural communities arose during the past 10,000 years. Competition with agricultural societies has crowded hunter-gatherers into harsh terrains. In a hunter-gatherer society, the surrounding vegetation limits the dietary options. In addition, the length of the growing season restricts the amount of gathering that can be done and requires more hunting and fishing for groups to survive. By studying hunter-gatherers in today's world, we can better understand the people from prehistoric times. We note that groups must follow the herds and travel to new sites where edible plants are in season. Furthermore, men and women have specialized tasks.
This is a good summary because it is brief, uses the same organization as the original, includes the major points, reports the content accurately, paraphrases using the summarizer’s own words, and maintains an objective point of view that does not include the opinions of the person summarizing the original.
Summary 3
Few people are now dependent upon hunting and gathering; however, it is the most ancient lifestyle, and perhaps the only way to subsist before agricultural communities arose during the past 10,000 years. Competition with agricultural societies has crowded hunter-gatherers into harsh terrains. In my opinion, we should help these groups to learn how to grow their own crops so that they will not have to have limited diets and will not have to move to new sites where edible plants are in season. By studying hunter-gatherers in today's world, we can better understand the people from prehistoric times, and that is good, but we should help them, too.
This is not really a summary of the original passage. Instead of a factual report, this paragraph includes opinions and judgments that the original author did not express.
Summary 4
Although very few people in the modern world obtain their food supply by hunting and gathering, this method is the oldest known subsistence strategy. Because hunter-gatherers have fared poorly, they have been forced to live in harsh environments with limited possibilities for their diet. By observation of modern hunter-gatherers, we know that people must move to stay within reach of the herds they hunt. When the food in the area is exhausted, the community moves on to exploit another site.
This summary is not paraphrased. Sentences are copied from the original. The summary would not be scored, and no credit would be assigned. This is the most serious problem in summarizing.
Summary 5
Few people are now dependent upon hunting and gathering, but it is the most ancient lifestyle, and perhaps the only way to subsist before agricultural communities arose during the past 10,000 years. It has been part of human cultures beginning two million years ago and continues to the present in some parts of the world. Modern hunter-gatherers provide us with information about prehistoric people. They probably moved to stay close to the herds they hunted and moved to take advantage of seasonal plants.
The problem in this summary is the emphasis. Too much attention is given to information in the first paragraph of the original reading, whereas points from the second paragraph are not included. Facts from the third and fourth paragraphs are only briefly mentioned.
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