Thursday, December 15

Summary answer keys

Before writing anything you must read the entire text. This will give you a general understanding and help you come up with the main ideas to create a solid summary.

After reading the text a first time and marking the main ideas of each paragraph, you must write five to seven sentences that give a rundown of the text. We chose to create six:

1. After almost one year of conflict and despite Russia’s efforts to turn the country into a failed state, Ukraine has resisted with pride, reinforcing its nationality.
2. Vladimir Putin’s war is putting his country’s governance in disarray and threatening Russia’s statehood.
3. The Russian clumsy annexation of Ukrainian regions not only fails to guarantee territorial legitimacy, but it also undermines its own internal cohesiveness. 
4. Moscow is failing to maintain discipline within its coercive power, while mercenary groups, ethnic militias, and even governmental security agencies go rogue. 
5. The Kremlin acts as the real enemy to the Russian people, forcing them to go to the front after a feeble preparation, to flee from their homes, or to be arrested. 
6. Russia’s grim fate seems to be inevitable and entangled with Putin’s, whether he prevails or is defeated.

With these sentences as your backbone, you can easily finish your summary. But do not neglect the use of linking words to connect the ideas and give coherence to your final text.

Ah, and always remember: do not give your own opinion of the issue. Only reword what the original text presented.

Check out our model below!

After almost ten months of conflict and despite Russia’s efforts to turn the country into a failed state, Ukraine has resisted with pride, reinforcing its nationality. By contrast, Vladimir Putin’s war is putting his country’s governance in disarray and threatening Russia’s statehood. One could highlight three important aspects that might drive Russia into institutional and social chaos. First, the Russian clumsy annexation of four Ukrainian regions not only fails to guarantee territorial legitimacy, but also undermines its own internal cohesiveness. While the fragile control over the Oblasts cannot prevent the Ukrainian army from regaining territory, it also encourages Russian republics to question Moscow’s legitimacy. Second, the Kremlin is failing to maintain discipline within its coercive power. In this context, mercenaries, such as the Wagner Group, ethnic militias, and even governmental security agencies behave without restraint and pursue their own interests.

Third and most importantly, the Kremlin acts as the real enemy to the Russian people. After losing more military personnel than expected, Putin has commanded a partial mobilization of approximately 300,000 people, forcing Russian citizens to go to the front after a feeble preparation. Desperate to flee from the horrors of war, hundreds of thousands have abandoned their homes since February, the majority of which are skillful young Russians that might undermine the country’s economy and demography in the future. Further, other Russian citizens, afraid of being arrested or sent to war, are torn about Putin’s war, which is causing social discontent. In essence, Vladimir Putin is in a tight corner. Whether he prevails or falls in battle, Russia’s grim fate seems to be inevitable.