UNIT 1 : Intructions for Comprehension Precis and Composition

Precis is a test of your ability to find the important points in a piace of writing and to put them together. To write a precis, you must be able to do two things. You must be able to understand what you read, and to put ideas together. Comprehension is a test of your ability to understand what you read. Composition is a test of your ability to put ideas together. So Precis, Comprehension and Compisition are closly related to each other.

Unit 1 contains twenty-four short pieces. There are some questions under each piece. Your answer to these questions will be in short, simple sentences. Put your answers together. In this way, you will make a short paragraph. Your paragraph will be a precis of the piece. At the same time, it will be a composition.

Before you begin each exercise, read these instructions carefully. Read them each time you begin a new piece. They are very important.

How to work?

1.      Read the piece carefully two or three times. Make sure you understand it.

2.      Write an answer to each question. Each answer must be a complete sentence.

3.      Your answers to the questions must follow each other. Together, they will make a complete paragraph.

4.      Read through your work and correct your mistakes.

5.      Count the number of words in your paragraph. Words like ‘the’, ‘a’ etc. Count as single words. Words which are joined by a hypen (e.g. ‘living-room’) also count as single words. Do not go over the word limit. At the end of your paragraph write the number of words that you have used.

Example

Work through this example carefully and then try to do the exercise in Unit 1 in the same way.

Granny Forbes

Mrs Forbes was very old and very poor. Everybody in the neighbourhood called her Granny Forbes and tried to hhelp her. Some neighbours came in each day and cooked meals for her. Others came and cleaned her room. There was little furniture in her room. It was small, dark, and almost empty. There was a bed and a table, and there were two chairs. In winter, neighbours sometimes brought coal and lit a fire, but Granny’s room was often very cold. Granny lived in poverty all her life. She died at the age of eighty-four. Then her neighbours got a big surprise. She left £50,000!

Comprehension Precis and Composition

Answer these questions in not more than 50 words.

1.      Did Granny Forbes live in poverty all her life or not?

2.      Did her neighbours help her, or did her relations help her?

3.      Did they cook meals for her every day or not?

4.      Did they clean her small, poorly-funished room or not?

5.      Did they sometimes light a fire for her in winter or not?

6.      Did Granny Forbes die at the age of eighty-one, or did she die at the age of eighty-four?

7.      Did everyone get a surprise of not?

8.      How much did she leave?

Answer

Granny Forbes lived in poverty all her life. Her neighbours helped her. They cooked meals for her every day. They cleaned her small, poorly-funished room. They sometimes lit a fire for her in winter. Granny Forbes died at the age of eighty-four. Every one got a surprise. She left £50,000. (49 words)

Key Structures abd Special Difficulties

When you finish the excercise in Comprehension Precis and Composition, go on to the language excercises that follow. The information under the litle Key Structures gives you advice about important problems in grammar. The information under the title Special Difficulties gives you advice about particular problems. The twenty-four passages in Unit 1 will help you to understand these problems and to do the language excercises.