Summarising points of view

1. Get into groups of three. Appoint a secretary. Then brainstorm all the ideas
you have about the problem below. Try to get as many ideas as possible.

John has fallen in love with Rachel, but John’s parents want him to marry Karen.
John doesn’t want to offend his parents, but feels very strongly about Rachel.
Rachel is in love with John too. What course of action should John follow?

2. In the same groups, edit your notes. This means:

 deleting lower quality ideas

 restructuring the remaining ideas
 adding more ideas to the restructured ideas.

Try to agree on the best idea.

3. When you produce your final thoughts on a problem, you can use the following
expressions:

Ultimately, it boils down to this: … (then say what you think)

When all’s said and done, … (then say what you think)
When push comes to shove, ... (then say what you think)
In the final analysis, … (then say what you think)
This is a tough one, but … (then say what you think)
At the end of the day, ... (then say what you think)

Try to rank them in order of formality, with number one as the most formal.

4. Now choose one of the phrases and use it to sum up your group’s opinion to
the class. Discuss all the groups’ opinions. State, at the end of the discussion,
whether you have changed your view or not.

5. Follow the same procedure with these problems:

Jane comes from a poor family, but desperately wants to get a degree. If she
gets a degree, she will end up with very large debts. However, she should be able
to earn more. On the other hand, times are difficult and there are no guarantees.
What should Jane do?

Pete Smith has been offered promotion, but it involves working overseas. He will
be living a in a different culture and will be taking on much more responsibility and
stress. He is worried about losing contact with his family and friends. What should
he do?

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 Summarising points of view

Teacher’s notes
Aims
 brainstorming ideas
 editing these ideas
 reaching a group consensus
 summing up ideas orally.

Topics: everyday problems

Timings:
1. 5 minutes
2. 5–10 minutes
3. 5 minutes
4. 10–30 minutes, depending on the size of the class
5. 20–30 minutes

Total: 40 minutes – 1 hour 15 minutes, depending on the size of the class

3. (suggested answers)

Ultimately, it boils down to this: … (2)

When all’s said and done, … (3)
When push comes to shove, ... (4)
In the final analysis, … (1)
This is a tough one, but … (2)
At the end of the day, ... (4)

You may want to point out that the more informal expressions are appropriate
here as it is a discussion about an everyday topic, but that in a structured
presentation on an academic subject the more formal expressions would be more
appropriate.

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