Effective Communication
Senior 4 · General and Religious Studies
Effective Communication
Lesson 5 of 5
35 min
An illustrative school environment club wants a rainwater tank. To get one, its members must do three things this lesson teaches: read information about rainwater harvesting efficiently, summarise it for the other members, and write a project proposal that convinces the school and a sponsor to pay. Each is a skill you will use in every subject and in work.
Definition
Skimming: reading quickly to get the general idea (titles, headings, first sentences). Scanning: searching a text quickly for one piece of information, such as a date or a name.
Summary: a short version of a text, in your own words, that keeps its main ideas and leaves out examples and details.
Paraphrase: the same idea in your own words, at about the same length. Quotation: the exact words of the source, in quotation marks, with the source named.
Project: a planned set of activities, with a clear objective, a budget and a time limit. Project proposal: the document that describes a project in order to win approval or funding.
A method published by the educational psychologist Francis P. Robinson in 1946 gives five steps for reading a chapter or report:
| Step | What you do |
|---|---|
| Survey | Skim the title, headings, pictures and summary to see the shape of the text |
| Question | Turn each heading into a question ("What are the parts of a harvesting system?") |
| Read | Read each section actively to answer its question |
| Recite | Close the text and say or write the answer in your own words |
| Review | At the end, go over all the questions again; review again a few days later |
Read critically as well: Who wrote this, and why? Is it fact or opinion? What evidence is given? Is it up to date? A text from a government statistics office and an anonymous social media post do not deserve the same trust.
Worked example: summarising a passage
Original (166 words, written by Ganzaa): "Many schools pay for piped water while rain falls on their roofs and runs away unused. Rainwater harvesting means collecting that rain from roofs in gutters, leading it through pipes and storing it in a tank. The idea is old, but cheap plastic tanks have made it easier. A harvesting system has three parts: the catchment (the roof), the conveyance (gutters and pipes) and the storage (the tank). Its size depends on the roof area and the rainfall: every millimetre of rain on one square metre of roof gives one litre of water, minus losses. Stored rainwater is suitable for cleaning, gardens and toilets; for drinking it must be treated. The benefits go beyond saving money. Harvesting reduces the runoff that erodes school compounds and floods roads, and it gives students a working lesson in water management. Its main costs are the tank and the gutters, and a system needs regular cleaning, because leaves and dirt in the gutters spoil the water and block the pipes."
Step 1, main idea of each part: what it is; its three parts; how much water; uses; benefits; costs and care.
Step 2, cut the history ("the idea is old"), the names of the parts and repetition.
Step 3, write in your own words (60 words, about a third of the original): "Rainwater harvesting collects rain from roofs through gutters and pipes into a tank. Each millimetre of rain on a square metre of roof gives about a litre. The water suits cleaning, gardens and toilets but must be treated for drinking. It saves money, reduces erosion and flooding, and teaches water management, but it needs a tank, gutters and regular cleaning."
Step 4, check against the original: every main idea is there, nothing is added, and no sentence is copied whole.
Apply it: the school roof measures 60 m². In a month with 100 mm of rain it can collect up to 60 × 100 = 6,000 litres, before losses.
A book review or book report has five parts: the details (title, author, publisher, year); a short summary of the content, without giving away every detail; an analysis of the main themes or arguments; an evaluation (strengths, weaknesses, how convincing or well written it is, with examples); and a recommendation (who should read it and why).
| Section | Question it answers | For the rainwater tank |
|---|---|---|
| Title | What is it? | "Rain for our school: a 2,000-litre harvesting tank" |
| Background and problem | Why is it needed? | The school pays for piped water; rain from the roof erodes the compound |
| Objectives | What exactly will it achieve? | Install a 2,000-litre tank by week 7; supply water for cleaning and the garden |
| Activities and method | How? | Quotes, purchase, base, gutters, installation, training |
| Work plan | When? | Gantt chart (Figure 6) |
| Budget | How much, and from where? | Itemised budget below |
| Expected results | What will change? | Lower water bills; less erosion; trained student maintenance team |
| Monitoring and evaluation | How will we know it worked? | Monthly record of litres collected and water bill |
Good objectives are SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound (a checklist first published by George T. Doran in 1981). "Improve water at school" is not SMART; "install a 2,000-litre tank that supplies the garden and cleaning by the end of week 7" is.
Worked example
Worked example: an itemised budget (illustrative prices in Rwandan francs)
| Item | Quantity | Unit cost (Frw) | Total (Frw) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plastic tank, 2,000 litres | 1 | 250,000 | 250,000 |
| Gutters (metres) | 20 | 4,000 | 80,000 |
| Down pipe and fittings (set) | 1 | 35,000 | 35,000 |
| Cement, 50 kg bags | 6 | 13,000 | 78,000 |
| Sand and gravel (lot) | 1 | 40,000 | 40,000 |
| Tap and lock | 1 | 15,000 | 15,000 |
| Mason (days) | 3 | 10,000 | 30,000 |
| Subtotal | 528,000 | ||
| Contingency (10% of subtotal) | 52,800 | ||
| Total | 580,800 | ||
Working: 250,000 + 80,000 + 35,000 + 78,000 + 40,000 + 15,000 + 30,000 = 528,000; 10% of 528,000 = 52,800; 528,000 + 52,800 = 580,800. A contingency covers price rises and small surprises. Every figure should come from a real quote, kept as evidence.
Warning
Summary, paraphrase and plagiarism. A summary is shorter than the original; a paraphrase is about the same length; both use your own words. Copying sentences and changing a word or two is still plagiarism. When you use another writer's exact words, put them in quotation marks and name the source. In a project, never invent figures to make the budget look better: a sponsor will check.
Tip
One third, own words, nothing new. Aim for a summary about a third of the original (or the length the question asks for), written in your own words, with nothing added that the original did not say.
Important
Discuss. Think of a real problem in your school or community. Which parts of the proposal table would be hardest to write for it, and where would you find reliable information for the background and the budget?
Oxford Online English: "How to Summarise a Text in English", about 13 minutes. Follow the steps in the video with a short text of your own, and compare them with the four steps of the worked example.
Practice
Key points
Further reading
Sources and credits
Written by Ganzaa: the passage and its summary, the proposal table, Figure 6, the budget (illustrative prices) and the exercises.
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
Put the steps of SQ3R in order.
Tap the cards in the right order.
