The Sunday News
Charles Dube
We have been giving tips on composition writing for the past two weeks. More is still to come when we consider the different types of compositions. Before delving into today’s topic, it is worthwhile to sum up compositions in general.
Students should always remember that compositions consist of three parts; the introduction, the body and the conclusion. They should begin their essays with the introduction that captures the reader’s interest and sets the tone.
The introduction usually gives the reader a brief explanation of what the essay is about. Each paragraph in the body or main part in the essay should have a topic sentence that states what the paragraph is about. The rest of the paragraph should include details that support the topic sentence. Similarly, each topic sentence should support the main idea of the paragraph. End essays with a good conclusion that gives a feeling of completeness.
Students could end their essays with any of the following ways: summarise what they have said in the body of the essay. They can restate the main idea using different words or they can give a final example or idea. They could also give a comment or give a personal reaction to the topic under discussion. They could end with a quotation that sums up or comments on the topic. They could call for some action especially on persuasive essays.
Writing guided or situational compositions has been dwelt on extensively on these pages before. The key advice to students has been for them to expand on the given notes and to explain the trends shown on graphs or pie charts. The answer is deemed weak if students just repeat the given ideas without explaining them. Correct grammar is the main point when writing guided compositions as it is in all other compositions. So students should think before writing and revise after they have written.
It should be remembered that the narrative type of composition has two types; personal writing and short story. This type of writing, especially the latter is not as easy as you may think. It should not be childish. Avoid childish thoughts and expressions. Personal writing and even a short story should relate a situation which is familiar. This will enable the students to expand on the topic without difficulty and will enable them to avoid unrealistic situations.
As stated earlier, we have been seized with giving tips on composition writing and answering comprehension questions following the English Language syllabus. In this vein we might as well give valuable tips on summary writing. The summary must be in continuous writing (not note form). It should not be longer than 160 words, including the 10 opening words usually given at the beginning of the summary.
The key rule on summary writing is: You must pay attention to the instructions given and follow them if you are to write a good summary. What are the instructions? Keep to the word limit. Use only the area of text allowed. Write in continuous prose. Read the question/rubric carefully to pick out the instruction words. These tell the students what they have to summarise. Elaboration points should not be included in the summary. How many times you read the text depends on the skill of the student. While some might take longer to understand the text some might understand it in two readings.
During examinations it is advisable to sub-vocalise and hear oneself reading. Write points down in phrases and pick words only. Eliminate irrelevant information and be careful of the points repeated in the text but expressed in a different style. It is advisable to eliminate all quotations and examples from the original text. They are not required in a summary. Write summary in formal register with use of correct grammar and precise vocabulary. Avoid all colloquial words or abbreviations. Do not exceed stipulated word limit. Already a sentence of 10 words is provided to begin with. Beware to write a summary of 150 words.
In other words a summary should not be too short or too long. Read the summary question carefully to find out which paragraphs the question is asking to be summarised. What are you supposed to include? Have you followed the question requirements? Link all points with transitional words or discourse markers like (because, however, but etc) giving continuity to the summary. Marks on summary writing are awarded based on the students’ ability to sieve out key ideas.
With a tight word limit students need to identify the points that get them marks. They should not waste words describing the other non-essential parts of the passage. The question is, how do we identify these points and what can we leave out? Some steps to take could be to leave out examples. Some summaries might require a summary of details or examples. Note that certain points are repeated for effect so there is need to identify the central idea that underpins the repeated points and use it when necessary.
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