[Summary] Loyang View Sec 4 Prelim 1184/02 2023

Summary! Quite possibly one of the biggest bugbears of Paper 2, together with “explain the language used with supporting details”. I recently went through this summary from Loyang View on the origins of tofu with my students, and felt this would benefit you. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions or feedback.

Using your own words as far as possible, summarise the reasons why the invention of tofu could be related to Mongolian tribes and the impact of tofu around the world.

Use only information from Paragraphs 4 to 5 and Paragraph 8.

Your summary must be in continuous writing (not note form). It must not be longer than 80 words (not counting the words given to help you begin).

Tofu’s invention could have been influenced by Mongolian tribes because the Chinese applied Mongolian tribal cheese-making techniques on soy-milk. The Chinese knew nothing about producing curds. Meanwhile, Mongols depended on milk-bearing animals to survive, and could make numerous different dairy products. Furthermore, the Chinese words for ‘Mongolian fermented milk’ and ‘tofu’ are similar. Today, tofu has become popular worldwide. Its spread was facilitated by vegetarian Buddhists, then globalism and Western interest in vegetarianism. Now, numerous meat-alternatives feature soy as a major ingredient.

No.	Passage	Rephrased
A1	The Chinese appropriated the cheese-making techniques of visiting Mongolian tribes and applied these methods to soy-milk	(…) the Chinese borrowed/applied Mongolian tribal cheese-making methods and used them on soy-milk.  I personally would try to include “tribes”. However, the answer key from this school omitted this so I believe you can get away with it. However, “Mongolian” has no compromise – it is directly related to the summary requirement and must be included.
A2	The Chinese were generally not in the business of raising animals for milk, and so they would have had no independent knowledge of how to procure curds.	They did not rear animals for milk so they would not know how to make curds.  This point will be invalid if you do not establish that “they” refers to the Chinese who did not rear animals.
A3	Meanwhile, just to the north of them, there were Mongolian tribes who relied on milk-bearing animals for survival	(However) Mongolians’ livelihoods depended on milk-producing livestock.  Any appropriate conjunction can be used.
A4	These Mongols could produce an elaborate variety of dairy products	(They) could make many/numerous different dairy products.  There is no reasonable substitute for “dairy products”. You can leave this untouched.
A5	If Chinese people discovered tofu without Mongolian intervention, the process of curd production was discovered twice in the same region.	If the Chinese made tofu without Mongolian interference, curd production would have been found twice in the same region
A6	Therefore, one could argue it is more parsimonious to assume that visiting Mongols simply showed their tricks to their Chinese neighbours.  This point is very tricky mainly due to the likely-unfamiliar word, parsimonious”. It roughly means “restrained” or “stingy”. However, when used here, it can also be used to describe “restrained thinking”, i.e. “being conservative” with thinking.	(…) which is unlikely  OR  It is hence likelier that the Chinese simply learnt from visiting Mongols.  Note: If you opt for the first route, you must have A5 to get this content mark.  Taken in the context of “inference (of history)” you need to establish that it is safer & more conservative to infer that the Mongols simply taught the Chinese tofu-making. This is instead of jumping to a grander conclusion that the Chinese actually invented tofu themselves. The “restrain” comes from “avoiding the grander conclusion.”
A7	It would explain the similarities between the Chinese word for Mongolian fermented milk and their word for tofu.	The Chinese words for ‘Mongolian fermented milk’ and ‘tofu’ are similar.  Restructure this sentence to condense its length.
B1	Regardless of how tofu originated, it has since grown into a global hit	Tofu is now popular globally.
B2	It spread throughout East Asia with the help of vegetarian Buddhists and now it is consumed throughout the world thanks to globalism and growing Western interest in abstaining from meat.	Its spread was facilitated by vegetarian Buddhists, then globalism and Western interest in vegetarianism.  The specific religion & interest circles (i.e. Western interest in abstaining from meat) need to be stated to get the content points.
B3	As it has passed between cultures and across eras, uncountable varieties and recipes have been produced to enjoy this unique food.	Countless/innumerable types/variants of tofu and its recipes have been created/made.
B4	Many of the meat-alternatives we eat today have soy as their first ingredient	Now, several meat-alternatives have soy as a/an (major) ingredient.  Note: The answer key I had skips “major”. However, I prefer this to be added. In food labelling norms and conventions, the ingredients with higher composition by percentage usually come towards the front of the list. The first ingredient on the ingredient list therefore has the highest percentage.  The implication here is therefore that “first ingredient” specifically refers to a significantly important item in a food product, such as soy for meat-alternatives.