What a summary is

Kai, my dear students! Welcome to our English class today. Today, we're going to talk about something very important for your exams: Summary Writing.

Many of you, when you see a long passage in your WASSCE or UTME exam, feel like 'Ah, this one is plenty o!' But don't worry, summary writing will help you conquer it.

What is a Summary?

Imagine your mummy sends you to the market in Lagos to buy ingredients for jollof rice. You tell your daddy what happened in the market when you get home. Will you tell him every single person you saw, every single danfo that passed, and every single thing the market women shouted?

No, you won't! You'll tell him the main things: what you bought, how much you spent, and maybe a small gist if something funny happened. That, my dear students, is a summary!

A summary is a short account of the main points of a longer text. It presents the most important ideas or information from a passage in a much shorter form, using your own words.

Think of it like this: If Chidi wrote a long story about his trip from Kano to Port Harcourt, a summary would be like telling Aisha the most important parts of that trip in just a few sentences, without missing the main message.

Why do we summarise?

To understand the main ideas of a text better.

To save time, especially when you need to quickly get information from a long book or article.

To show your teachers that you truly understand what you've read, not just copied it.

It helps you answer questions accurately in exams because you can quickly identify the key points.

Let's say Tunde read a whole chapter on the history of Nigeria. If he can summarise it, it means he understands the key events and dates.

In your exams, you'll see a long passage and be asked to write a summary of it, sometimes in a certain number of sentences. Your job is to pick out the important details and present them clearly and briefly.

Remember, a good summary is like a perfectly brewed cup of tea: all the essential flavour, but none of the excess water. You get the gist, pure and simple.

So, always ask yourself: 'What is the most important message the writer wants me to take away from this passage?'