When a passage says one idea in three ways, your summary should say it once. Merging repeats is what frees up the length you need for the other points.
This lesson is part of summary and synthesis. If you are still deciding which sentences matter, return to selecting central information first.
How do I find repeated ideas?
Read the passage and number each idea the first time it appears. When a later sentence only restates a number you already have, write the same number beside it.
Writers repeat in three ways.
- Restating: the same claim in new words, often after 也就是说 or 换句话说.
- Piling up: several sentences that each add one more example of the same thing.
- Echoing: the final paragraph repeating the opening claim in a different order.
Worked example
Here is an original passage about a night market.
夜市的摊位越来越少。老摊主说，租金年年上涨，生意却没有好转。年轻人不愿接手，因为收入不稳定。于是每年都有几个摊位关门，夜市渐渐冷清下来。
Number the ideas.
| Sentence | Idea |
|---|---|
| 1. Stalls are fewer | Idea 1: the market is shrinking |
| 2. Rent rises but business does not improve | Idea 2: cost pressure |
| 3. Young people will not take over, income is unstable | Idea 3: no successors |
| 4. Stalls close every year, the market grows quiet | Idea 1 again (shrinking) |
Sentences 1 and 4 say the same thing. The summary gives idea 1 once and the two causes once each: 夜市摊位减少，原因是租金上涨、生意不佳，以及年轻人不愿接手。
Four sentences became one, and every idea is still present.
The mistake that changes meaning
The common slip is to merge by deleting, so that a cause is merged with a result or a claim loses its condition. Students compress fast and do not reread the merged sentence against the passage.
Take a passage that says: 学校规定学生每周跑步两次；如果天气不好，改为室内运动。
| Version | Sentence | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| Wrong | 学校规定学生每周运动两次。 | Drops the condition about bad weather; also changes “running” to “exercise” |
| Right | 学校规定学生每周跑步两次，天气不好时改为室内运动。 | Both the rule and its condition stay |
Merging means joining ideas that belong together. It never means dropping the part that makes the idea true.
A merging routine for any passage
- Number the ideas, using one number for repeats.
- For each number, write the plainest version of that idea in a few characters.
- Join related numbers with a linking word, such as 因此, 而且 or 但是, that matches how the passage joins them.
- Reread the passage and confirm nothing was added.
Step 3 matters most. A wrong linking word changes the meaning even when every noun is right. 但是 tells the reader that two ideas clash, so using it where the passage only adds information misreports the writer.
Check yourself
Merge this original passage into a single sentence of no more than 40 characters.
社区公园最近安装了新的路灯。有了路灯，晚上散步的人多了。居民说，夜晚的公园比以前安全，大家也更愿意出门走动。
Answer
Number the ideas. Idea 1: new lights were installed. Idea 2: more people walk at night.
Idea 3: the park feels safer and people go out more. Ideas 2 and 3 overlap, since both say people use the park more at night.
A good merge: 社区公园安装路灯后，夜晚更安全，散步的人也增多了。
That is 22 characters. It keeps the cause (lights), the result (safer, more walkers) and the order the passage gives. It adds no claim the passage did not make.
What to study next
Merged sentences often still borrow the passage’s wording too closely. The next lesson deals with that: paraphrasing without changing meaning. Then test both skills in the summary practice set.
If you would like a teacher to check your merged sentences against the passage with you, see online one-to-one Chinese tuition.