ZIMSEC O Level · English Language · Form 2, Form 3, Form 4
A summary gives the main points of a passage on a set topic, briefly and in your own words.
Steps
- Read the question carefully: what topic are you summarising, and what is the word limit?
- Read the passage and underline only the points about that topic.
- List the points in note form, leaving out examples, repetition, figures of speech and direct speech.
- Join the points into continuous prose using linking words (also, however, in addition, as a result).
- Count your words and stay within the limit.
What to leave out
- Examples and illustrations (“for example…”).
- Repeated ideas and personal comments.
- Introductions such as “The passage is about…”.
Worked example: Passage sentence: “Many learners, especially those in rural areas such as Lupane and Binga, walk more than ten kilometres every day to reach school, and they arrive tired.” Summary point:
Many rural learners walk long distances to school and arrive tired.
Exam tip: Each correct point usually earns a mark. Ten clear points in plain words beat beautiful sentences with only five points.
Check yourself
- Name three things you should leave out of a summary.
- Why should a summary be written in your own words?
- Reduce to one short point: “The farmers, who had worked hard from dawn until dusk all season long, were finally rewarded with a bumper harvest of maize.”
Show answers
- Any three: examples, repetition, figures of speech, direct speech, personal opinions.
- To show you understand the passage, and because copied sentences are usually too long.
- The farmers' hard work produced a large maize harvest.
Questions about this topic (0)
No questions about this topic yet.
Sign in or create a free account to join in.