sample summary writing answer

1 Dr Muhammad Yunus, a banker and economist, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2006 for his efforts to improve the economic and social conditions of the disadvantaged poor in Bangladesh. Hailed as a rare visionary, Yunus, who leads a simple life, wants to eradicate poverty from the world. 5 2 Dr Yunus’ fight against poverty began during the famine of 1974 which killed 1.5 million Bangladeshis. As a professor of economics at Chittagong University, he was teaching his students that the longer you work the more you earn. Yet, this economic theory did not seem to work in Bangladesh. He was dumbfounded to learn that people were starving despite working 12 hours every day of the week. 10 3 With the help of his students he set out to learn why these people were living in poverty. In the village of Jobra, near Chittagong University he came across women who made bamboo furniture. These women had to borrow money from moneylenders to buy the raw materials needed to make bamboo stools. They were also forced to sell these stools to the moneylenders to repay them. Their profit of 0.50 Bangladeshi taka was barely enough for them to support their families. 15 4 Dr Yunus discovered that these people were at the mercy of moneylenders who charged high interest rates for loans given out. They had no choice but to turn to moneylenders because traditional banks refused to give them small loans at affordable interest rates. Moreover, the banks considered these people repayment risks. 20 5 This prompted him to set up Grameen Bank in 1976 which gives out small loans or microcredit to destitute Bangladeshis. Loans as little as US$30 are given to very poor people to start their own businesses. Grameen has certain conditions - borrowers must be women. 96% of Grameen’s borrowers are women. Yunus discovered that women were more careful and responsible about their loans as 99% of them usually repay their loans. 25 6 Another brainchild of Dr Yunus’ is the Grameen Phone or Village Phone. With the Village Phone, the rural popluation of Bangladesh are now able to enjoy phone connectivity. Besides, this is another project which provides rural women with business opportunities. It works along the same principles of Grameen Bank, where rural women are given small loans to buy cellular phones so that they can set up “public call centres” at their homes. The women then use the money they earn to settle their loans. 35 7 Dr Yunus’ ideas have saved not only the poor from death but also given a new strength to women. Before Grameen, many Bangladeshi women were viewed as useless and a burden by their fathers and husbands. This largely stems from the traditional view that the man is the sole bread winner in a family. With no means to earn money, some of these women especially widows were forced to beg. Now, with microcredit, the women have proven to the men that they too are capable of taking care of their families and supporting them financially. Their self-esteem has also improved as they are now active financial contributors to the family. With more money in hand these women are able to provide better nutrition for their children. Grameen is also responsible for the improved social status of women as men seem to show them more respect. 45 8 Today Grameen also provides education and housing loans. Financing is also available for irrigation projects and other economic activities. But its main principle remains – helping the poor. Despite the success of Grameen, Dr Yunus is still not satisfied with the changes he has brought about. There is a lot more work that needs to be done to improve the living conditions of the poor. Dr Yunus hopes to use part of the US$1.4 million award he received to set up a company to produce low-cost, high nutrition food for the poor. The other plan he has is to set up an eye hospital for the poor in Bangladesh. 50

 

  Comprehension Questions 1-5

1. From paragraph 1,       

 (a). why was Dr Yunus given the Nobel Peace Prize?        

 (b). what is Dr Yunus’ aim in life?

2. (a). From paragraph 2, what is “this economic theory”?       

    (b). From paragraph 3, what did the women do with the money they   

          borrowed from the moneylenders?

3. From paragraph 4, give two reasons why poor Bangladeshis could not obtain  

    loans from traditional banks?

4. From paragraph 5,        

   

   (a). why are 96% of Grameen’s borrowers women?        

   (b). find a word which has the same meaning as poor.

5.(a). From paragraph 7, how has Grameen changed men’s treatment of  

          women? 

   (b). From paragraph 8, provide evidence that proves that Yunus is a selfless 

          man.

Summary question

Dr Muhammad Yunus is truly a selfless person who has dedicated his life to helping poor people.

Write a summary about:

• what Dr Yunus has done to help the poor and how his ideas have helped change the lives of women.
• Your summary must be in continuous writing
• not be longer than 130 words, including the 10 words given below.
• use material from lines 24 to 49

 Credit will be given for use of own words but care must be taken not to
 change the original meaning.

 Begin your summary as follows:  

 Dr Yunus’ mission to help the poor improve their lives began?

Summary Points

  1. What Dr Yunus has done to help the poor

•  set up Grameen Bank - which provides small loans to poor Bangladeshis    to help them start their own businesses
•  set up Grameen Phone - rural population of Bangladesh are now able to enjoy phone connectivity.
•  provides rural women with business opportunities

  2. How his ideas have helped change the lives of women

•  the women have proven to the men that they too are capable of taking care of their families and supporting them financially
• their self-esteem has also improved
• active financial contributors
• they are active contributors to the family
• with more money in hand they are able to provide better nutrition for their children
• improved social status of women as men show them more respect 

 summary answer  

•    Dr Yunus’ mission to help the poor improve their lives began when he set up Grameen Bank. Grameen provides small loans to poor Bangladeshis to enable them to start their own businesses. Besides Grameen Bank, Dr Yunus also set up Grameen Phone, which enables the rural population of Bangladesh to enjoy phone connectivity. This venture also provides rural women with business opportunities. Dr Yunus’ ideas have helped change the lives of women for the better. They are now capable of taking care of their families and supporting them financially. Their self-esteem has improved as they now take an active role contributing financially. With more financial control, they are able to provide better nutrition for their children. Most importantly, men show them more respect now than they did earlier. (126 words)

• Note: This summary has deliberately not been paraphrased to show you that you can actually lift ideas/sentences from the passage to write a coherent piece.