Summary Writing is one of 9 topics in the Grade 12 English Home Language CAPS syllabus, covered across 3 lessons on Study Vault. Below are real practice questions from this topic with full worked answers.
Sample practice questions
Easy
1. In summary writing, a "main idea" is best described as:
A key point the passage is making
An example that illustrates a point
A statistic mentioned in passing
The title of the passage only
Answer: A key point the passage is making — A main idea is a key point the passage is making, distinct from supporting details such as examples, statistics or elaborations.
Easy
2. Where is the main idea of a well-structured paragraph often (though not always) found?
In a topic sentence near the beginning of the paragraph
Only in the very last word of the paragraph
Never within the paragraph itself
Only in a footnote
Answer: In a topic sentence near the beginning of the paragraph — Most well-structured paragraphs are organised around a single main idea, often stated in a topic sentence near the beginning of the paragraph.
Medium
3. What useful question can a learner ask about each paragraph to help identify its main idea?
Answer: What is this paragraph mainly about — Asking "What is this paragraph mainly about?" for each paragraph is a reliable technique for extracting its core idea before writing a summary.
