TIPS ON READING

COMPREHENSION &
SUMMARY WRITING

DOS

Read the summary question first (Question 31)

Read the comprehension questions
read the passage paragraph by paragraph
identify the keywords n tense in each question
wh words (what, when, where, why, who, whose,
how) and action verbs (identify, find, list).
pronouns such as I, me, mine, my, our, us and
ours must be changed
Differentiate these terms: word, words, phrase
and sentence.

CHANGE OF PRONOUNS

I walked through the jungle yesterday

.. the boy will be waiting for me
tomorrow,
. This bottle is mine ,
my heart thumped with fear,
. our journey will stop here..,
I remember our parents took us there
last year and it was awesome
. This house is ours

WORD, WORDS OR PHRASE?

Word- humble
Words- humble and kind
Phrase- humble and kind
Sentence- She is a humble and kind person

a) In which continent are tigers found?

Asia

) Why is it surprising that the tiger is on the

verge of extinction?

It is also one of the most powerful

mammals

Because it is one of the most powerful

mammals

a) From paragraph 2: How do tigers protect

themselves against their enemies?

The only defence tigers have against their

enemies are their razor-sharp claws , their
strong teeth and their sheer weight.

They use their razor-sharp claws, their

strong teeth and their sheer weight.

b) From paragraph 3: Why are the markings

on a tiger important?

Experts can tell individual tigers apart by

observing the markings and stripes closely

They enable experts to tell individual tigers

apart

28.a) From paragraph 4: Provide

evidence to show that tigers are only
dangerous when their well-being is at risk.

They instinctively avoid human beings and

only attack people if they are provoked,
injured or unable to hunt for their usual
food.

They only attack people if they are

provoked, injured or unable to hunt for their
usual food.

b) From paragraph 5: Find a word which

means valuable.

precious.

29. From paragraph 8: List two measures that have

failed to protect the tiger from being hunted.

Although the tiger has been labelled an

endangered species and the sale of tigerrelated products has been banned in many
countries,

.a) The tiger has been labelled an

endangered species.
b) The sale of tiger-related products has
been banned in many countries.

Do you think punishing poachers severely is

a good measure to prevent the hunting of
tigers? Give a reason.

Any logical answer is acceptable. Example:

Yes, I believe severe punishment will deter

them as they will not want to take such a
risk.

No, I dont think severe punishment will

deter them. They would not mind taking
risks as they stand to gain a lot from the sale
of tiger body parts.

SUMMARY WRITING

DOS

mark the lines where the summary starts and

ends.
Know the first 3 lines normally contain the first
point or at least a content point.
underline the relevant lines or ideas as you read
the text- ask yourself: Is this ... (For the
summary below, you would ask: Is this a reason
tigers have become extinct? or Is this a
measure that should be implemented?
Summarise the ideas- combine ideas by joining
phrases or sentences, or paraphrase
ideas/sentences.

If you cannot paraphrase, see if there are

words in the text that you can replace
without affecting the meaning.
If you are a weak student, copy the entire
sentence.
Organise the ideas/points as found in the
text. Do not rearrange ideas.
Adhere to the word limit. Anything short of
the word limit means you lack content.
Pay attention to the tense (and sometimes,
pronoun) used in the given 10 words.

The man dashed off quickly and fell on the

slippery floor.

He ran fast and fell on the wet floor

DONTS

Do not include information not found in the

text.
Do not include your own ideas or opinions.
Do not spend too much time paraphrasing
Do not repeat ideas.
Do not include material from other lines in
the text.

>These magnificent creatures have been hunted for hundreds of years for sport
as proof of ones strength and manliness (point 1)and for their skin (point 2).
> They have also been trapped and poisoned by farmers to protect their
livestock (point 3).
> In many Asian countries, tigers are killed for their precious claws. It is
believed that wearing a talisman made of a tigers claw can protect its wearer
(point 4).
> Other than that, tigers have been hunted for their body organs which are
believed to be a cure for many ailments (point 5).
> The hunting of these animals (tiger prey) by human beings has caused tigers
to starve to death (point 6).
> To ensure the survival of the tiger, conservation efforts need to be improved
to reduce threats to tigers (point 7).
> Efforts must also be made to improve tiger habitats (point 8) and to increase
tiger prey populations so that they will not starve to death in the
wild (point 9).
> There must be more stringent controls on the demand for tiger parts (point
10).
> To drive the message home, poachers should be punished severely (point 11).

The tiger population has suffered a serious decline

because tigers have been hunted for sport as proof of
ones strength and manliness and for their skin. Besides,
tigers have been killed by farmers to protect their
livestock. These beasts have also been killed for their
claws which are believed to protect the wearer. Worse
still, tigers are killed for their body organs, which are
believed to cure many ailments. Moreover, hunting of
tiger prey has caused tigers to starve to death. Stern
measures must be taken to protect them. For
instance, conservation efforts and tiger habitats must
be improved. To prevent tigers from starving, tiger prey
populations must be increased. Most importantly, there
must be more stringent controls on the demand.