Standard phrases to be used in a review, précis, summary in English:

• This is a passage (an article, an extract) from (name of the book, newspaper)
• The passage (the article, the extract) is taken from ……
• The headline of the article is ….
• The passage can be studied as a self-contained unit
• The passage / the article is about (concerns, is concerned with, deals with) ……
• The passage deals exclusively with …..
• The passage seems to be telling us about ……
• The passage is a detailed account of …
• The passage points out that ……
• The point of question in the passage is …..
• The subject of the passage as stated in the first sentence is ….
• The article under discussion is …
• It is a well-known fact that the problem discussed is both acute and topical (much debated)
• The author of the article considers the question from all angles
• He puts forward an idea and develops it
• He provides the reader with a wide range of examples, situations, with different views of
• Drawing attention to a particular point, the author ….
• What is particularly striking in the article is that …..
• The emphasis falls on …
• Assessing the value of the text, I …..
• The article aims at convincing us of ….
• This particular article seems to serve as a demonstration of a universal problem
• The writer proves aware of current problems
• The article makes a significant impact on the reader
• It appears from the text that ….
• The author succeeds in catching the reader’s attention
• The question under discussion is debatable (of great interest)
• It is a topical issue
• It is a question of current interest
• It is one of the major problems of our civilization
• It is much talked about nowadays
• According to the writer, ….
• The question raised in this passage is of major interest and deserves consideration
• We are all deeply concerned with this problem
• This question arouses a response in some (most) people
• Though of minor interest, the question deserves consideration
• It may prove useful (valuable, effective, profitable) to start with a definition of what seems to be a key word in the passage (the title)
• The very title requires a definition
• We must make it clear from the start what the writer means by ….
• Several parts stand out in a passage
• The passage starts with a description, it then concentrates on …..
• Next it moves to ….
• Before coming back to …..
• After a short preamble in which all the themes are stated, the writer carries his reader into
• After a short introductory passage in which the writer supplies us with all the necessary indications, he proceeds to give us ….
• The passage is a logical sequence of descriptions (events, statements)
• The passage is a logically structured demonstration of ….
• The whole passage reads like a unified whole, not falling into parts
• The passage is a rather loose arrangement of statements
• The main points of interest in the article are as follows: ….
• …… is in the focus of the reader’s attention
• We shall focus attention on …
• …… which is of primary attention in the article and shows how the themes are developed
• The writer puts forward an interesting personal view of the situation
• The article reveals (throws light on) ….
• The article awakens (arouses, excites) interest
• The interest of the article is mainly of a factual kind
• The writer gives an account of a situation
• The writer gives a description of ….
• The writer poses a problem (raises a question, raises an issue, a point) ….
• The writer considers the arguments for and against
• The writer puts a subject, touches upon it, treats it, tackles it
• The writer concentrates on, focuses attention on, places emphasis, stresses (emphasises), discusses a problem, demonstrates, illustrates a problem
• I’d like to make some remarks concerning ….
• The author starts telling the reader that ….
• The author makes a few critical remarks on …..
• The article opens with the introduction of ….
• At the end of the article the writer sums it all up by saying that …..
• To emphasise (to stress, to underline)  ….  the writer uses …..
• On the one hand …., but on the other hand …..
• In conclusion I’d like to ….
• From my point of view …
• As far as I am able to judge ….
• My own attitude to this article is ….
• The following conclusions are drawn …
• The article draws our attention to …