Understanding Issues, Evaluating Summaries, Adjective Order, Describing Characters and Comparing Plots

1. Identifying the Issue

Before you discuss an issue, make sure you understand it. Ask what the problem is, who is affected, what the causes are and what solutions have been suggested. An issue like "youth unemployment" is not a single thing. It includes the skills young people have, the jobs available, the economy, and even attitudes to work. Breaking an issue into smaller parts makes it easier to discuss.

2. Stakeholders' Views

Each group has a reason for its view. Understanding these reasons helps you to discuss the matter fairly. It also helps you to suggest a compromise, such as allowing phones only for supervised research.

3. Fact and Opinion

A fact can be checked. An opinion is a belief or judgement. Both may be useful in a discussion, but you should not present an opinion as if it were a fact. Words like "I believe", "should" and "best" often signal an opinion. Strong opinions need supporting facts.

4. Reaching Conclusions

You do not always have to agree. A good discussion can end with "We see the problem differently, but we agree on these points." Ghana's Parliament uses debate to deal with national issues, and committees hear evidence from many groups. Citizens at every level should learn to disagree peacefully, and to look for common ground.

1. Reading Passage: Ghana's Cocoa Story

Cocoa is often called the backbone of Ghana's economy, yet it did not begin here. Tradition says that Tetteh Quarshie, a blacksmith from Osu, brought cocoa beans to the Gold Coast from Fernando Po in 1879 and planted them at Mampong in the Eastern Region. His seedlings did well, and farmers soon took up the crop. By the early twentieth century, the Gold Coast had become the world's leading cocoa producer.

Cocoa money built roads, schools and hospitals, and it paid for much of Ghana's development after independence. Today, hundreds of thousands of families depend on it. Yet the crop faces serious threats. Disease is spreading through old farms. Illegal miners have destroyed cocoa land. Many farmers are elderly, and young people often see little future in farming.

The challenge is to make cocoa profitable for those who grow it. Farmers earn only a small part of the value of a bar of chocolate. Processing more cocoa in Ghana, instead of exporting raw beans, would create jobs and add value. If that can be achieved, the crop that built a nation could continue to feed it.

2. Finding the Structure

3. Note-Making

Some details matter more than others. If asked about the history of cocoa, the name of Tetteh Quarshie matters. For a general summary of the whole passage, it may be left out. Always ask what the question requires.

4. Model Summary

Cocoa, brought to Ghana in the nineteenth century, made the country a leading producer and funded its development. Disease, illegal mining and ageing farmers now threaten the crop, and local processing could provide better earnings.

Notice that the writer of this summary has used phrases such as "funded its development" to shorten a list. This is called generalising: a word or short phrase replaces a list of items. For example, "maize, yam and cassava" becomes "crops". It is a useful skill for writing summaries.

1. The Order of Adjectives

A useful way of remembering this order is the word OSASCOMP: opinion, size, age, shape, colour, origin, material, purpose. A noun comes last. Native speakers follow this order without thinking, and examiners often test it in the B.E.C.E.

2. Examples

3. Using Commas

Use a comma between adjectives of the same type: "a kind, gentle teacher". Here, both words are opinions, and you could join them with "and". Do not use commas between adjectives of different types: "a small black dog", not "a small, black dog", although some writers do use a comma there. If you can say "and" between the words, use a comma. If not, leave it out.

4. Using Adjectives Well

Too many adjectives weigh a sentence down. Two or three are usually enough. A strong noun may need no adjective at all: "a mansion" says more than "a very big, nice house". Choose adjectives that add something. Avoid "very" with weak adjectives. Instead of "very big", write "huge", and instead of "very tired", write "exhausted". In examinations, read each option carefully, and test the order against OSASCOMP.

1. Methods of Description

Do not rely only on physical description. Readers remember what characters do and say. Two or three carefully chosen details will do more than a long list. A single gesture, such as a mother checking the pot three times, can show that she is anxious.

2. From Weak to Strong

3. Model Description

Auntie Esi was a small woman, but no one in Kaneshie market ever argued with her. She sat behind her pyramid of tomatoes with her back straight and her eyes sharp, and she could tell from thirty paces whether you were going to bargain. Her voice was a rusty gate. Yet at the end of each day, she quietly slipped the bruised tomatoes into the hands of the kayayei who had nothing to eat.

The writer reveals both toughness and kindness. The metaphor "Her voice was a rusty gate" gives us a sound. The final sentence shows her secret generosity. Adjectives are few, but well chosen, and it is her actions that show her character.

4. Planning a Description

Keep description lively. Avoid lists such as "She has black hair, brown eyes and a nose." Instead, connect the details to the character's personality. When describing real people, be respectful. Do not mock their appearance. Good description notices people with care and interest.

1. Common Plot Patterns

2. Comparing Two Short Texts

Text A is a short story. Kwesi fails his examination, so he runs away to Accra. There, he works as a truck pusher. A teacher finds him, and he returns to school. Text B is a short play. Scene 1: Adwoa argues with her father about marriage. Scene 2: She leaves for Kumasi. Scene 3: Years later, she returns with her child, and her father forgives her.

3. Analysing Differences

Both texts use a journey pattern, and both end with a return home, which suggests that family and community give people a second chance. However, Text A's change comes from outside: a teacher helps Kwesi. Text B's change comes from within Adwoa herself. The play skips years between scenes, whereas a narrative can explain them in a sentence. Each form handles sequence in its own way.

4. Writing a Comparison

Useful phrases include "Both texts...", "Similarly," "In contrast," and "Whereas". Keep referring to the text. For instance: "Both Kwesi and Adwoa leave home, but while Kwesi is ashamed, Adwoa is angry." Do not merely retell the two stories. Your aim is to show how they are alike or different and why this matters.