UNDERSTANDING AND WRITING COMPREHENSION EXERCISE

1. COMPREHENSION

Comprehension simply means reading with understanding. As discussed in summary writing, to understand any given, passage, one must pay rapt concentration to grasp the message contains in the passage. So, it requires acquisition of reading skills and following the rules involved in writing comprehension exercise(s). Attention should also be paid on paragraphs as we have noted that key points or topic sentences are found in paragraphs.

RULES INVOLVED IN WRITING COMPREHENSION

1.       It requires speed-reading with understanding of what one reads.

2.       Your answers need not be in full sentences unless otherwise stated. So, one may give one-word answer, phrase and clause answer as long as it answers the question asked.

3.       You can explain the points or your answers unlike in summary.

4.       There is no room for copying the whole paragraph as an answer to a question – it attracts zero mark.

5.       Students should pay attention to highlighted or underlined words and expressions because questions would be asked on them.

6.       Questions that require providing figure or speech and grammatical names should not be misplaced. Question that requires figure of speech should be given figure of speech and vice versa.

7.       Words require to replace the highlighted or underlined words must fit in perfectly where they would be put. The word replacing the other must be in the same structure as the one being replaced i. e. part of speech, number and tense.

8.       Student should not give more than one answer or word while replacing other words because if two words were given, if one is wrong, the student has failed that question.

2. NOTE TAKING/NOTE MAKING

The above two terms have been used in various ways as if they are the same but they are not. They re-enforce each other and enhance learning. Learning materials are usually collected from a number of sources, which are not always at one’s disposal. Lectures cannot be repeated at one’s back and call and a learner cannot tell a lecturer to wait for him to understand what was said before the lecturer could continue. These suggest the need for note-making as well as note taking.

 

Obanya (1987:274) defines the two terms thus: Note-taking refers to notes made, in writing, during lectures as we listen to and determine the highlight of the lecture. Note-making refers to the process of making notes from books or other materials we have read (P 279).

 

It is in a bid to differentiate the two terms that some lecturers have styled note-making as “note-taken from books” and better still, note-making is more conveniently talked about as jotting from our reading.

 

Uche Azikiwe (1998:161) explains the two concepts thus: in making of notes, the students jot down and summarize what has been learned in their own words. Whereas in taking notes, the students take down what the lecturer has prepared which is either dictated or written out on the board for them to copy.

 

PURPOSE/FUNCTIONS OF NOTE-TAKING NOTE-MAKING

1.       Note made in writing while listening to a lecture provides permanent records, which are invaluable for revision and subsequent learning.

2.       No individual’s memory can cope with the volume of factual details he listens to in one week, month or year. Again, education is concerned not only with short-term retention of facts and ideas but also with long-term retention; so, note taking serves as bank from where knowledge could be retrieved when memory fails.

3.       Note-taking deepens comprehension of facts and ideas and strengthens retention as one writes whatever one understands in one’s own words.

4.       Note-taking is vital to enable us to keep track of all relevant contributions made during the lesson.

5.       A good note taken from books help one to think along with the writers to concentrate in picking the key points and thus help in retaining whatever one read.

6.       Note-taking encourages concentration since one needs to listen first before writing the key points of what one heard. It, at the same time, encourages speedwriting because the lecturer would not wait all the day for one to jot everything he says.

3. RULES/STEPS AND FEATURES OF NOTE-TAKING FROM BOOK (TOWARD RESEARCH) AND DURING LECTURE

1.       Reading for a term paper or for a research paper means exploring many books and as we have seen earlier, note-taking helps to keep track of all relevant contribution during lessons. In the same vein, while listening to a lecture, absolute concentration is vital before a meaningful jotting could be done.

2.       The purpose of reading and listening must be established. You only note or jot something when you have established the purpose and then you know what is the key point to take note of.

3.       Interpret the located key points in your own words. That you are able to paraphrase a writer’s or a lecturer’s key points, shows that you understood what he is talking about.

4.       Make a complete note of all your jotting. You may use short hand to grasp all the points from what you are reading as well as the lecturer’s points, if you did not develop your short hand to complete words or sentences, you may forget what they stand for in few days. The particulars of the book read should also be jotted immediately to avoid forgetting them: name, author, title and publisher.

5.       In lecture situation, lecturers don’t start immediately giving key points at onset of the lecture. So, note-taking should begin several minutes after the lecture has started. So, it requires that one should listen attentively.

6.       A learner should also be watchful for speaker’s cue words like first, second, in addition, however; and sentences like now, I shall deal with, let me be more precise here, etc. such expressions are linked to key points of the topic.

7.       Change in speaker’s pitch and pause - raising or lowering of his voice, slowing his pace, being silent, etc., help to mark off important points from the flow of words and listeners should respond to these signals.

8.       The notes should be relevant – that is, it should be concise by focusing only on key points.

9.       To keep track of every jotting, each lesson should be properly headed with the name of the course, the lecturer’s name and the date of lesson.

10.     Writing during lectures should be by listeners code i. e. words could be abbreviated, short hand could be used and sentences could be shortened – but care should be taken to write the complete note immediately after the lesson/reading to avoid forgetting the meaning of the coded words.

4. BAD NOTE TAKING (TO AVOID)

-         Verbatim copying of every word of the lecturers.

-         Avoid being distracted from the lesson by being conscious of getting everything said. Listen, understand the point before jotting.

-         Avoid using short hand code you cannot interpret in few minutes after the lecture.

-         Do not be busy writing rubbish because others are writing. Your jotting should tally with the purpose of the lecture and your understanding of it.

-         Avoid repletion – lecturers may repeat a particular point for emphasis, you need not put it down whenever it is repeated.

ESSAYS

Essay or continuous writing is all about creative and imaginative writing. It is designed to test the candidates/students ability to use English as an effective means of communication in a given situation. For instance, the student’s ability to express himself clearly and coherently in a manner appropriate to the audience, purpose, topic and situation. Students are free to write real-life stories or imagined ones. No penalty is attached to transcending ones ethnic bounds, i. e. someone from Hausa may write about Igbo or Yoruba culture as one’s own tribe, without being penalized.

The merit of a piece of writing should be judged in terms of the writer’s success in achieving the purpose, be it to entertain, instruct, inform, admonish or to persuade. Such judgment will be based on:

1.       Adequacy of treatment of subject matter

2.       Originality of approach

3.       Appropriateness of language

4.       Clarity of exposition, narration or argument, etc.

5.       Balance of paragraphs (coherent)

6.       Mechanical accuracy

TYPES OF ESSAYS AND THEIR FEATURES

There are various essays students would be taught and as well be assessed in exam. They range from: Letter writing – formal, informal and semi-formal, argument, narrative (story telling), article – exposition, description or imagination, report writing, speech writing, etc.

Each of these types of essays has its peculiar feature and format, which could be summed into Formal and Informal.  All type of essays except the informal letter is formal. That is, it is only the informal writing that has different language format. In it, one can shorten words, use colloquial and also use familiar expressions with the recipient of the letter.

5. FEATURES

1.       Formal Letters: These are letters written to people in authority – Governors, Ministers, Presidents, Principals, HODs, etc. they are official letters with unique features. The skeleton of the letter is like this:

3

4

1

2

5

BODY

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7   8 9

(1) 

          1.       Address of the writer

          2.       Date

          3.       Recipient address

          4.       Salutation (Opening subscription)

          5.       Title

          6.       Body of the Letter

          7.       Closing Subscription

          8.       Signature of the Writer

          9.       The Full Name of the Writer

2.       The language is strictly formal i. e. there should be no shortening of words like (can’t, don’t, I’m, etc.). There is no room for use of slang.

3.       There is no room for familiarization between the writer and the recipient.

4.       It requires two addresses

5.       It requires title

6.       It requires signature of the writer

7.       It requires the full name of the writer

8.       The required closure subscription is ‘Yours faithfully’.

6. INFORMAL LETTER

2.       Informal Letter

This is the opposite of the formal letter. They are letters written to colleagues, family members, classmates, friends, neighbours, etc. the skeleton is like this:

BODY

4

5 6

1

2

3

 

          1.       Address of the writer

          2.       Date

          3.       Opening subscription – Dear John, Uncle, etc.

          4.       The body of the Letter

          5.       Closing Subscription

          6.       Only the writer’s Name

Other Features

1.       It requires only one address – the writer’s own.

2.       The name of the recipient or the familiar names are best to be used. e. g.       Dear Friend , Dear John, Dear Uncle, Dear Aunty.

3.       It does not have title or two addresses nor signature.

4.       The closing subscription is ‘Yours sincerely’ or ‘Yours affectionately’.

5.       It requires only the writer’s name without the surname.

6.       The language is loose i. e. not serious. One can chat, familiarize with the          recipient.

7.       Shortening of words and slang are allowed. 

3.       Semi-Formal Letter

This type shares the features of formal and the informal letters. They are letters written to:

1.       Your adult friends and elderly people.

2.       Letters to authors you may not have met personally but whose works you      have read.

3.       Request letters from Principal, HOD, housemaster, Boss.

4.       Sympathy letters

5.       Invitation letter

The skeleton is like this:

BODY

4

5 6 7

1

2

3

 

          1.       Address of the writer

          2.       Date

          3.       Salutation

          4.       The body of the Letter

          5.       Closing Subscription (Yours sincerely)

          6.       Signature

          7.       Full name of the writer

7. Other Features

1.       It requires only one address – the writer’s own.

2.       Salutation requires name of the recipient or the person’s title e. g.

          Dear Mr. John, Dear Alhaji Bello.

3.       The closing subscription is ‘Yours sincerely’.

4.       It carries signature

5.       It requires full name of the writer.

6.       It is brief in nature

7.       The language is formal but words could be shortened.

4.       ARTICLE WRITING

These are write-ups meant for publication in the national dailies. It transcends the boundary of the writer as it is meant for the whole world to read it.

Features

1.       It requires an interesting and attractive title.

2.       The language is strictly formal in nature.

3.       Abusive expression should be avoided.

4.       The tone is polite

5.       One can combine being subjective and objective while writing.

6.       The identity of the writer could be written immediately after the title or     immediately after the whole write-up by the right hand side down. E.g.

          PROBLEMS OF CULT IN UNIVERSITIES

          by Mohammed Mohammed

5.       REPORT WRITING

Report writing is an aspect of narrative essay that deals with an account of fast events. Report writing covers wide areas like experiment, minutes of meetings, police investigation, account of office, eyewitness account, etc. It is not written to show ones feeling rather on how the event happened. 

Features

1.       Since it deals on past event, the tense to be used should be past tense.

2.       The language is formal devoid of emotion.

3.       The writer must know his subject well through being involved in the event,      observation, interview with people, etc.

4.       It carries title, which is written in sentence form to include the receiver’s address, name and date. The purpose of the report should be added in the title as well as writer’s name or his position. Example:

          A REPORT OF STUDENT’S RIOT PRESENTED BY THE HEAD BOY TO THE          PRINCIPAL GSS MINNA ON 20^TH APRIL, 2015.

5.       It requires the signature of the writer at the end.

6.       It requires the full name of the writer immediately after the signature.

7.       Recommendation by the writer may be included.

8.       Phone number may be included i. e. in Police report as well as names of collaborators for further inquiries.

8. STORY TELLING

6.       STORY TELLING

Story is an aspect of narrative essay that requires high sense of imagination. The story could be a true-life one or an imaginary one. It should be in sequence as the event unfolds itself. Since the events are past ones, the tense should be in the past.

There are different methods of telling the story like: in dialogue form, use of 1^st person singular (pronoun) ‘I’, 2^nd person singular (pronoun) he or she.

The nature of the question would give clue to what students would do. For instance, the question may be to illustrate a saying or the one that ends with a particular saying.

Features

1.       The language is formal, no shortening of words, no slang, etc.

2.       Stories with animal characters are not acceptable.

3.       Title could be made from the instruction given or students may devise their          own title, and then work towards the given instruction.

4.       A good story should be in sequence from the beginning on how the even      started to the climax and conclusion.

5.       Good choice of word and figurative languages are important in storytelling.

ARGUMENTATIVE OR DEBATE

Argument is contending with someone with words for a purpose of gaining advantage. In argumentative essay or even in open debates, what matters most is your points which are meant to convince the audience. The purpose of debate or argument is to convince the panel or the audience to drop your opponent’s point of view and to accept yours.

Features

1.       It begins with opening vocative in form of greeting: the Moderator, Judges,   Co-debaters, etc. All the nouns mentioned must begin with capital letters.

2.       Since every argument has two sides, it is compulsory for one to take a definite stand on one side of the topic being argued. Failure to do so, attracts a zero mark.

3.       Rhetorical question is a credit when adequately used.

4.       It is good to summarize one’s key point before explaining them.

5.       When you exhaust your points, think of what your opponent may likely use against you and use them before they do.

6.       Argument requires to be closed with an adequate closing remark, by making reference to affirm the side one had chosen.

9. SPEECH WRITING

7.       SPEECH WRITING

Speech writing is an act of leaders and any one making an impact in the social arena or in any field of life. Speech writing is usually attached to a particular occasion, which may be welcoming an august visitor, sent forth, political talk, club or town union speech, valedictory speech, etc.

 

The three things to bear in mind when preparing for any speech includes:

1.       The purpose of the speech

2.       Audience and the occasion for the Speech

3.       Selection of an appropriate topic for the occasion.

 

The purpose may include:

1.       Entertainment – joke, information, to amuse.

2.       Information – advert and new things in town

3.       To convince – debate, politics

4.       Stimulate – raise feelings of people

5.       To actuate – incite riot, motivate.

 

The audience and the occasion has to do with: age, their level of their education (intelligent) their religion, economic, social and political situation.

 

For selection of appropriate topic, what may help the person doing so include:

1.       If a topic was given to him.

2.       Knowledge of a chosen or a given topic

3.       The interest of the audience

4.       Time given to him.

 

Features

1.       The heading, which should be boldly written in sentence form.

2.       The identification mark – this will be combined with the heading and it           includes:

          i.         The speaker’s name and official position

          ii.        The audience being addressed

          iii.       The title of the speech owner if someone else is to deliver the speech              for him.

          iv.       The occasion and place where the speech is delivered. E. g.

                     THE SPEECH PRESENTED ON 2^ND DECEMBER, 2014 BY THE PROVOST              – NEWGATE COLLEGE OF HEALTH TECHNOLOGY, MINNA, ON THE                          OCCASION OF INAUGURATION OF THE 1^ST BATCH OF STUDENTS OF            THE COLLEGE.

 

3.       Salutation – this is where the presence of the dignitaries to the occasion would be mentioned. Normally, the salutation starts from the highest-ranking person to the leas person present. People are addressed by their titles and the positions they occupy in the society. President as Mr. President, the Governor as His Excellency, Traditional rulers – as His Royal Highness, Prof., Doc., etc.

4.       The content of the speech should focus on the given topic.

5.       It requires signature of the person who delivers the speech.

10. NARRATIVE ESSAY

8.       NARRATIVE ESSAY

Narrative essay re-count or tell past events or stories. It can be an event you witnessed and as such while telling it, you use first person narrative, point of view. For instance, use ‘I’. The same story may be told by using third person, for instance ‘he’ or ‘she’.

Features

1.       Your tense should be in the past or in the present if the story is a true-life one that is still taking place.

2.       To achieve coherency and balance, the story should be in sequence as the event unfolds itself.

3.       The main character and other characters should be introduced at the first paragraph.

4.       The story setting should start by showing where and when the events occur.

5.       The conclusion of the story should be in line with the instruction given on the question.

9.       DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY

In this type of essay, the writer is expected to create a picture of a person, place, and scene or object so clearly that his readers can easily visualize what is being described with his inner eyes. Descriptive essay could be a narrative as well as expository essays. The wrier need not be bias in order to allow his readers to judge what they have read.

Features

1.       It has to be captivating in order to arrest the interest of the reader.

2.       The language is formal and should be filled with adequate adjectival, adverbial expression as well as figures of speech. Comparative and contrastive expressions are also needed.

3.       The tense should be in the past for past events and in present for what is physically present.

4.       To achieve a coherent write up, the event or the experiment being described should be written in sequence – from the beginning and gradually to conclusion.

5.       Personal sentiment or feelings should not be attached on the things being described to avoid subjecting the minds of the readers.

OUTLINE OF AN ESSAY

A good essay has at least four parts namely: apriori, introduction, body and conclusion.

Apriori

Apriori is an introduction before the real introduction of the topic to be discussed. It is a statement of fact about what the topic is all about. For instance, in a debate, which usually has two sides, apriori would be that statement that touches both sides of that argument. For instance, argument that “Men cook better than women”, the apriori would centre on food, why we eat food and that somebody must do the cooking, irrespective of the sex.

Introduction

Introduction as the name implies is the beginning of what is to be discussed. It is an explanation of what to be seen in the whole discussion. Usually, it should not be long but interesting in order to encourage further reading or listening. Like the debate mentioned above, it is at the introduction part that a speaker introduces himself, takes a definite side of the argument and probably, defines the topic.

Body

The body of the essay is where the main issues are discussed. It shows the detail of what the writer has in mind and his knowledge about the topic in question. It is here that different styles of paragraph may be adopted in order to explain whatever point a speaker or a writer has.

Somebody may wish to state causes of a thing in the topic being described in one large paragraph; the consequences in another and the solutions in another paragraph. It may be splitted into different smaller paragraphs as well.

Usually in exam, students are expected to be detailed in explanation and in building their paragraphs in order to meet up with the required number of words. For a reasonable mark, students must give at least three good points and explain them well.

11. Conclusion

Sometimes people confuse summary with the conclusion or take the two as one. All the same, the two have to do with bringing the whole write up to a logical end. Summary highlights the key points already mentioned while conclusion finally ends the essay.

In debate, students re-state the side of eth argument they wrote on by emphasizing on it. In letter (informal), exchange of pleasantries or greeting is required. In other type of essays, the conclusion has to be based on the instruction of the question(s) given.

PARAGRAPH AND ITS DEVELOPMENT

Every essay requires to be written in paragraphs that are well linked. Paragraph is a group of words written into sentences that explain an idea or ideas. One line sentence may not be enough to explain a thing, so additional sentences may be require to clarify that idea better. This tells us that every paragraph carries one or more key point or theme.

Key points may be written anywhere within the paragraph but two prominent places, they may be found are at the first line-sentence and or at the last line sentence. When it is the first line sentence, it is called deductive method of paragraphing. When it is at the last line, it is called inductive method.

We have seen earlier that essay is made up of four parts; all those parts call for different paragraphs – apriori, introduction, body and conclusion. Within these, we can still have different issues like: illustrative, descriptive, explanatory comparative/contrastive, etc. paragraphs. It should be pointed out now that paragraph is one of the yardsticks to awarding mark in essay under organization.

12. HOW TO DEVELOP PARAGRAPH TO INCREASE VOLUME/LENGTH OF ESSAYS

We have noted that essay or continuous writing is creative in nature, which requires high sense of imagination. So, one of the ways to developing the length of essays is to tell lies and to control it well. This is not an issue of religion but fiction creation. Students should know that they are not judged by WHAT they write rather they are judged on HOW they write it.

For instance, that one answers Mohammed, does not mean he cannot write about Igbo or Yoruba culture (if he knows about it) to a question that says write about your culture. No one would assume you are a criminal or a prostitute should you write a story and put yourself in it.

The second way of developing the length of essay is to structure or to look at the question from three angles, causes, consequences and solutions. If one could give at least three points on each of these angles, coupled with the number of words one writes per line, the length of such essay would-be well developed.

For instance, on an article that states: cultism in universities, in order to develop well the essay, students need to ask themselves:

1.       What are the causes of cultism? Give at least three answers/points.

2.       What are the consequences of cultism? Give another at least three points.

3.       What are the solutions to that? Give at least three points to that.

That gives you at least nine points. When these points are built in paragraphs, you have a long essay.