Tips and advice for summarising Japanese paragraphs?

3 comments

1. Hello! I am nowhere near as advanced as you are, but I’ve been enjoying the TODAI – Easy Japanese app; I think it’s relevant to you in that they allow you to submit your translations of the news articles and having done the translation line by line you’ll find it lots easier to make a summary of the newspiece. I also think news in particular lends itself well to summarization generally.

2. A good pattern to look for is usually:

   Rhetorical question. Explanation. Examples. Summary.

   まず、いつ、どんなルートを登るのがいいのでしょうか。一般的な登山期間は７月上旬から９月上旬までの約２か月です。この間は山小屋が開いていて、登山バスも走っています。登山ルートは全部で４つあり、歩く距離や難しさなどがルートによって違います。よく調べて自分に合ったルートを選びましょう。

   The rhetorical question gives us an idea of the information we’ll be getting. The next sentence gives us the bulk of the explanation. The examples tells use a bit more (superfluous) information.

   富士山に登る期間は7月から9月です。この間に一番便利ですが、詳しをちゃんと調べたほうがいいです。

   As a part of a longer piece, there’s other information which may be included here (better weather, etc.).

3. First, when and which route should one take? (Rhetorical question talking about the theme of the paragraph – were thinking about when to go and which route to take)

   Generally, the mountain-climbing season is the approximately 2-month window from the beginning of July to the beginning of September. (Explanation – a general time: two months in summer)

   During this time, cabins are open and your buses are also running. (Examples – there’s convenience)

   There are four routes in all, and the walking distance and difficulty differ depending on the route. (Examples – there are various routes with different degrees of difficulty)

   You should check and choose the route which best suits you. (Summary)

   The gist: The best time to climb Mt. Fuji is between July and August because it’s the most convenient, but you should make sure to check the details of the routes.