How to Answer WAEC English Summary Questions 2026: The Ultimate Guide to Scoring High

How to Answer WAEC English Summary Questions 2026: The Ultimate Guide to Scoring High

Let’s be honest for a second. The Summary section of the WAEC English paper scares a lot of students. You open the booklet, see a long, boring passage about agriculture or technology, and your brain just freezes. You might think, “I’ll just copy and paste some sentences from the passage.”

Don’t do that. That is the fastest way to fail.

The truth? The summary section is actually the easiest place to gather “free marks” if you know the rules. It’s not about how much grammar you know; it’s about how well you can follow simple instructions. I’ve seen brilliant students score low here simply because they tried to over-impress the examiners.

In this guide, I’m going to show you exactly how to answer WAEC English Summary Questions 2026 so you can smash that A1. No big grammar, just straight facts.

The Golden Rule: It’s About Subtraction, Not Addition

Think of summary writing like squeezing an orange. You don’t want the peel or the seeds; you just want the juice. The examiner doesn’t care about the flowery descriptions or the examples in the passage. They only want the main points.

Many students fail because they try to be creative. Summary writing is not creative writing. It is strict. It requires discipline. Just like we argued in our debate on why hard work is more important than talent, you can’t rely on luck here; you need to put in the work to understand the specific technique.

Here is the strategy I teach my students.

1. Read the Questions BEFORE the Passage

This sounds backward, right? But trust me on this.

Most students read the passage first, get confused by the big words, and then look at the questions. That’s a waste of time. When you check the questions first, you know exactly what you are looking for. You are no longer reading for fun; you are hunting for answers.

If the question asks, “In three sentences, summarize the factors responsible for poor road maintenance,” your eyes should only be scanning for “factors.” Ignore everything else.

2. Mindless Lifting = Zero Marks

This is the biggest trap. WAEC examiners hate “mindless lifting.” This happens when you see the answer in the passage and you copy it word-for-word, including the commas and full stops.

If you do this, you will get a zero.

So, what should you do? You must replace key words with your own synonyms. You have to specificially look for the keyword in the sentence and swap it.

• Passage: “The intoxicated driver obliterated the vehicle.”

• Don’t write: “The intoxicated driver obliterated the vehicle.”

• Write: “The drunk driver destroyed the car.”

See the difference? Same meaning, simpler words. This shows the examiner you actually understood what you read. For more on official marking standards, you can check the WAEC Digital Resources portal to see past questions and examiners’ comments.

The Format Matters (Don’t Lose Cheap Marks)

Structure is everything. You can have the right answer, but if you present it clearly, you might lose marks.

Number Your Points

Always number your answers. If the question asks for three points, write: 1. 2. 3.

Don’t write it as a paragraph. It makes it hard for the marker to see your points.

Use Complete Sentences

I can’t stress this enough. A summary answer must be a sentence. It must have a subject and a verb.

• Wrong: “Lack of funds.”

• Right: “The government lacks the funds to repair roads.”

If you write phrase answers, you lose half your marks immediately. It’s painful, but it’s the rule.

Remove the Preamble

Stop starting your sentences with:

• “The writer says that…”

• “According to the passage…”

• “It can be seen that…”

It’s unnecessary fluff. Just go straight to the point. It saves you time and keeps your answer punchy.

Common Mistakes That Will Cost You (Avoid These!)

I’ve marked enough scripts to see the same errors pop up every year.

1. Including Examples: If the passage says, “Fruits such as mangoes, oranges, and apples are good for health,” your summary should just be “Fruits are healthy.” Remove the examples. They are trash in a summary.

2. Grammatical Errors: WAEC penalizes grammar errors heavily in the summary section. If you make a spelling mistake or a tense error (like writing “go” instead of “went”), they will deduct marks. Keep your sentences simple. The simpler the English, the less likely you are to make a mistake.

3. Writing Too Much: There is a reason it’s called a summary. Brevity is key. If your answer is three lines long, something is wrong.

Speaking of following strict rules and deadlines, this discipline applies everywhere. Just like you need to be precise with your summary answers, you need to be precise with your exam registration dates. Make sure you are aware of the JAMB registration starting date 2026 so you don’t miss out on the next stage of your academic journey.

How to Practice Right Now

You don’t need to wait for the exam hall to get good at this.

Grab a newspaper or a textbook. Read a paragraph, then try to shrink it down to one sentence that keeps the main meaning. It’s a great brain exercise. You can also look at resources like BBC Bitesize – Summary Writing for interactive ways to practice this skill.

Another way to improve your English logic is to read well-structured arguments. Reading debate points helps you identify the “main idea” quickly. For example, check out our points on why corporal punishment should be abolished. Seeing how arguments are structured there can help you spot the main points in a summary passage.

Wrapping Up

Passing the How to Answer WAEC English Summary Questions 2026 section isn’t magic. It’s method.

Read the question first. Scan for the answer. Rewrite it in your own simple words. Number your points.

If you stick to this, that section will become the easiest part of your paper. Don’t let the length of the passage intimidate you. You’ve got this. Now, go pick up a past question paper and try it out.