WASSCE 2023 – 6 Simple Steps to Answering Summary Questions (VIDEO)

In this English paper write-up, WASSCE candidates and Secondary school students, in general, will master 6 Super Simple Steps to Answering Summary Questions.

You will receive 30 percent of your grade in Paper 2 just for answering the summary question. The ability to answer summary questions correctly will offer you a big edge in your Comprehension paper, therefore mastering the skills for this helps you earn good marks.

Summarizing does not need a high level of talent but if you learn the skills of Answering Summary Questions, you will improve your examination scores easily.

It often seems to be a little tedious at first, but with practice, it becomes easier and faster. At some point in time, you will be able to accomplish the tasks with ease.

WASSCE 2023 Summary : 6 Super Simple Steps to Answering Summary Questions

Step 1: Reading the Question.

Before you begin writing your summary, there are two extremely essential things you MUST remember.

Be able to state EXACTLY what the inquiry is looking for. You’ll want to take note of the paragraphs from which you’ll need to draw your conclusions.

First, you’ll need to memorize essential keywords and comprehend question words in order to pass the test.
Only a few seconds are needed to verify the second one and yet it’s the most common thoughtless error pupils make.

As unlikely as that may seem, it has happened too many times for you to just shrug it aside.

Therefore, double-check which paragraphs you may use to get points.

Step 2: Identify the relevant answers from the passage.

The following guidelines are generally followed when recognizing answers in comprehension passages:

1. Only select key ideas.
2. Leave out examples.
3. Leave out adjectives and adverbs.

If you’re asked to provide examples for most queries, this is true. Points from pertinent paragraphs should be underlined (or highlighted, if you are allowed to do so) and a few words (notations) should be written in the margin about each point so that you don’t waste time sorting them out later.

Answers should be sorted according to the order in which they will be presented (or as required by the question).
Reduce the number of words by grouping like-minded responses.

For example:

He returned home to shower and had a sandwich after that. But it wasn’t until he finished his homework that he realized he left his basketball in school.

The three bolded points all have one thing in common: they are all things he did before he realized he left his basketball in school. You can group them into one sentence when summarising them: He bathed, ate, and completed his assignments before realizing he left his basketball in school.

Tip: Identify 10 points instead of the necessary 8. In this way, there is more space for mistakes and a better chance of receiving the proper answers. Eight out of ten goals is easier than eight out of eight.

WASSCE 2023 Summary : 6 Super Simple Steps to Answering Summary Questions

Step 3: Identify the keywords in the answer.

The language score in the summary is determined by your vocabulary and grammatical choices, while the content grade is decided by the number of important terms you were able to find.

You can’t just copy and paste them directly from the paragraph (unless it is a technical jargon like photosynthesis or cold fusion).
Prior to drafting your summary, you must determine the essential terms. With enough repetition, you’ll be able to combine Step 2 and Step 1 into a single step. Doing so right away without practice, however, is not suggested.

Step 4: Change the keywords.

Use as much of your own words as possible while answering the summary question. But nothing can be changed. Words and phrases that are important will need to be altered.

For example:
Q: What did Sally do at night?
Passage: “Sally ate a cake before she went to bed.”

The word ‘cake’ and ‘Sally’ are almost impossible to change. In most cases, proper nouns (Sally) do not have to be changed. Common nouns (cake) may be changed but most of the time this isn’t necessary.

!Important Note: DO NOT force yourself to change common nouns. Unless there happens to be another alternative name, attempts to change common nouns usually end up fairly ridiculous. (Someone once changed ‘bird’ to ‘flying mammal’. You DO NOT want to do that.)

The question asks for what Sally did at night, therefore the keywords we are looking for are most likely verbs (action words). In this case, they are ‘ate’ and ‘went to bed’. You should try your best to change these words.
Sally retired to bed/went to sleep/slept after consuming a cake.

!Tip: Try to rephrase each point you’ve identified under 6 words. This will make it easier for you when combining the points together.

Step 5: Writing your answer.

You’ve found the answers, gathered and categorized them, and modified the key phrases to reflect your findings. All that’s left to do now is to jot down everything.

Method of the grid

It’s a lesson that’s taught to the majority of children in schools nowadays. However, teachers are used to seeing it and don’t seem to mind it.

On your paper, you just construct grids to make counting the number of words used.

This is how the grid would look if you were to write on it:

Calculate your word count by drawing an 8 x 10 table on your notepad and multiplying the rows by columns. It also allows you to monitor your word count as you write.

READ: 10 reasons why students must take mock tests before the final exam

Step 6: Check for errors in your writing.

Check for errors in your writing. Many people forget or don’t have time to go through this stage.

READ: Take advantage of the internet to transform your lives – Deputy Education Minister urges public

You should be able to speed up your procedure once you’ve been familiar with the numerous processes for summary writing.

We hope these steps to Answering Summary Questions have been useful.

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WASSCE 2022 Summary : 6 Super Simple Steps to Answering Summary Questions