Summary writing is all about giving a short statement of the main points in a passage or piece of writing. Summary questions in SSCE (WAEC and NECO exams) require answers to be presented in a specified number of sentences. Example: “In six sentences, one for each, state the factors that improve man’s health and life span (WASSCE June 2003). Here, the candidate is required to give the answers in six sentences: nothing less, nothing more. “One for each” as mentioned in the above question means that you must state each point (in this case each factor that improves man’s health and lifespan) in one sentence. In all, you are required to use six sentences to state six factors that improve man’s health and lifespan as discussed in the passage.
Penalties for Wrong Answers:
There are wrong ways of presenting summary answers which you must avoid, or else you will lose marks. The following are some of the wrong answers or wrong ways of answering summary questions and the penalties for them:
1. Inclusion of Unnecessary Material: You must pick only the main points from the passage and leave the details such as examples, repetitions, illustrations, and modifiers. It is wrong to include such unnecessary details in your summary answers, because such details are like the shells that surround the kernel or coconut. Pick the nut and leave the shells. The penalty for violating this principle is a deduction of one mark for each scoring answer.
2. Incomplete Sentences: In presenting your summary answers you must use complete sentences. Presenting your answers in single words, phrases or subordinate clauses amounts to wrong answers. This will attract a penalty which may be up to half of the total marks available. So, make sure you write all your summary answers in complete sentences.
3. Mindless Lifting: This refers to copying word-for-word from the passage. If in your answers you engage in ‘mindless lifting’ you may be awarded zero as a penalty. Ensure that you present your answers in your own words as much as possible. You can pick some keywords from the passage but only where such words are part of the core meaning of the entire passage.
4. Lumping Two Points in One Sentence: This is a violation of the clear instruction: “one point for each…” which means that you must express one point in one sentence. Lumping two points in one sentence, therefore, amounts to a wrong answer and the penalty is that you will lose the marks for one of the points. At best, the examiner may award marks for one point and regard the second point is irrelevant.
5. A Preamble Not Amounting to a Complete Sentence when Taken with the Rest of the Answer: This error results from the wrong use of a preamble. A preamble is an opening statement used to introduce a number of points. First, it is wrong to use a preamble when presenting a single point. Again, when using a preamble to present a number of points, you must use it well. Example:
(a) The factors responsible for the increasing rate of road accidents in the country are:
i. Most of the roads are bad.
ii. Most vehicle owners fail to maintain their vehicles.
iii. Majority of the drivers drive under the influence of alcohol.
iv. The vehicle inspection officers take bribes and overlook traffic offenses.
Note that the penalty for wrong use of a preamble is losing half of the marks available as the case may be.
6. Writing more than the Specified Number of Sentences: The instruction in summary questions is always clear, e.g. “In five sentences, one for each, summarize…” If you write six, seven, or more sentences, you have violated this clear instruction, and you will lose some marks as the examiner may deem fit to penalize.
7. Grammatical Error: If your answers contain errors of grammar, spelling, or punctuation, you will lose half a mark for each error detected. So, make sure that you write all your summary answers incorrect sentences.
For a more detailed audiovisual explanation of how to answer summary questions, watch the following video lectures:
The following eBooks will give you further insight into other areas of language proficiency, such as grammatical structures, essay writing – letter writing, article writing, speech writing, report writing, story writing – comprehension, summary writing, vowel and consonant sounds, and so forth:
Exercise: Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions on it.
For some, the grass is just the green stuff outside the house that they have to mow. For farmers and football players, it is indispensable. For children, it is the ideal playground. And those who live in most urban areas assume they have very little to do with grass of any sort. However, almost all of us have daily contact with some type of grass and the product made from it.
Grass makes up a major part of the vegetation that covers the earth. And no wonder, since it is one of the most adaptable plant groups on earth, growing in Polar Regions and deserts, in tropical rain forests, and on wind-swept mountain slopes. Entire vegetation areas are dominated by grass.
Unlike many other plants, grass grows, not at the tip, but in growth areas above the nodes. New shoots might start from stems growing horizontally on or under the ground. So, when the lawnmower or the cow cuts away the tip, or fire rages through a field, grass keeps growing, whereas many other plants stop. Furthermore, with most grasses, if the stem is bent over by the wind or trodden underfoot, it can raise itself erect by growing faster on the side facing the ground. For these reasons, grass usually recovers quickly after being damaged, which gives it an edge over other plants in the fight for sunlight.
The grass is not only the most abundant but also the most important flowering plant family on earth. A botanist once described grass as the foundation of our food. It is “like a dam protecting mankind from famine.” Try to remember what you ate today. Did you start with a bowl of cereal made with millet, rice, oats, or sorghum? Well, then, you ate grass seeds. Or perhaps you had a roll or other kind of bread. The flour used was made from grass kernels – wheat, rye, barley, and other grains are all grasses. Cornflakes and other corn products are no exception, as corn or maize is grass too. You had sugar in your tea or coffee? More than half of all sugar is made from sugarcane, grass.
The grass is not only good for food, however. If your house has walls made of clay and straw, it is a grass that gives them the necessary strength. In different parts of the world, roofs are thatched with grass. One of the advantages of such roofs is that they keep the interior of the building cool regardless of the external temperature.
Grass covers and adorns much of the earth. Apart from the beautiful, peaceful, and relaxing sight of a green meadow or a well-kept lawn, the grass is a major oxygen supplier, because of the sheer mass of the green vegetation that it produces.
Finally, the fine roots perform the all-important function of protecting the soil from erosion. Keeping its versatility in mind, we are not surprised to learn that the usage and cultivation of grass have a long history. The next time you see a waving cornfield, a hush green meadow, or just humble blades of grass growing between stones on a sidewalk, you might stop and think of this marvelous and most versatile plant family!
(a) In two sentences, one for each, summarize the two reasons why grass forms a major part of the earth’s vegetation.
(b) In four sentences, one for each, summarize the four ways in which grass is useful to humans
ANSWER:
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