Summary and Information Handling
Summary and Information Handling tests selection and compression: you must find the main points of a passage and express them in your own words within a word limit.
Rules
- Read the passage twice: once for gist, once with a pencil.
- Underline one topic sentence per paragraph; number related points.
- Drop examples, repetition, statistics that only illustrate, and rhetorical questions.
- Group similar points; do not split one idea into two.
- Write continuous prose or numbered points, whichever the rubric requires.
- Keep within the limit; a 10% overrun is usually penalised.
- Use your own wording; technical terms may stay.
Worked example
A 150-word passage reports drought relief: boreholes were drilled in three villages; fodder was distributed; delivery came two months late; transport was short. Question: summarise the relief measures and their problem in 50 words. Main points: (1) boreholes drilled; (2) fodder distributed; (3) delivery late; (4) transport shortage. A strong summary links them: 'Boreholes were drilled and fodder distributed, but late delivery and a lack of transport weakened the response.' This keeps all four points in one sentence of own words. A weak summary lists examples of villages or copies 'in three villages'.
Traps
- Lifting whole phrases.
- Adding your opinion or a solution.
- Including examples and figures.
- Writing too many words and losing marks for compression.
- Missing a point because it sits in the last sentence.