Summarising
Dahlia Bartley, Contributor

You were given an exercise in our last lesson. Let's check to see how well you managed. First, your response should be in the form of a letter. Did you notice the word limit? You certainly will be penalised if you fail to observe details such as these. Your letter to the parents should mention the following:

• Details about the flight, for example, departure and arrival times.
• Arrangements for the team to stay at school prior to the departure.
• Medication and diet - do the boys need special medication, for example?

We will look at another past, paper question.

Read the following passage and, using the format presented, prepare a summary in which you indicate the significant events in the early development of the oil industry in Trinidad.

Early Exploration in Trinidad

The first oil well drilled in Trinidad was done by the engineer Walter Darwent who, at the time, lived in San Fernando. Darwent, who had been reacting to a survey report by two geologists, was certain that he could find oil.

The two geologists were Wall and Sawkins, and they came here in 1860. The world had just then been in the process of discovering the great use of petroleum as a fuel and Wall and Sawkins, observing the curious asphalt deposit at La Brea, decided to do a thorough geological enquiry of southern Trinidad, for they appreciated the close connection between petroleum and asphalt. Wall and Sawkins carried out their extensive survey in 1860 and published valuable information.

Darwent was the first prospector to come in their wake. In the year 1867, Darwent, using a primitive wooden derrick in the forests of Aripero, South Trinidad, started his drilling operation. He had only gone down to a depth of 200 feet when he struck a bed of oil.

However, Darwent, with his primitive equipment, had taken some time to reach this depth and the operation proved very costly. The crucial part of the operation - getting the oil out of the earth seemed beyond him. So, after seeing his dream half-fulfilled, the brave oil pioneer had to give up.

Also, there in the unhealthy forests of Aripero, he must have contracted illness of some sort, for soon afterwards he died.

(Incidentally, Darwent's effort was not only the first in Trinidad, but the first in the Western world, for it was not until 1868 that Drake drilled the first American oil well).

Walter Darwent's achievement at Aripero stirred the imagination to such an extent that when the famous English writer, Charles Kingsley, came here during the Christmastide of 1869/1870 he was taken to see Darwent's well.

In 1870, a forest ranger found seepages of oil in the Guayaguayare forest and this intensified the search in that area. Lee Lum, a merchant in the area, became extremely eager, and possibly through him the Port-of-Spain merchant, Randolph Rust, came on the scene. But it was not until the year 1893 that a decisive phase was reached in Trinidad oil exploration. Rust, exploring in the Guayaguayare area, came upon oil. But wiser than Darwent, he did not attempt to drill without solid financial backing, for it proved a costly enterprise. Rust, who was Canadian in origin, sought this financial backing for eight years, until he finally persuaded a Canadian whiskey company to join with him in the oil enterprise. Together they formed a company called The Oil Exploration Syndicate of Canada. After drilling moderately successful wells at Guayaguayare, the costliness of the project caused the Oil Exploration Syndicate of Canada to pull out, but by that time it had done enough to convince oil explorers that there was a great deal of oil in the Guayaguayare area, and it had provided an incentive for oil exploration elsewhere. Rust continued and the year 1902 marked his great find.

From First in Trinidad, by Michael Anthony, 1985.

Your summary MUST be presented in the following format:

Fill in the relevant year under the DATE column and the statements describing the events in your own words under the STATEMENTS column.

Your statements MUST be written in complete grammatical Standard English sentences. Jottings and phrases will not be accepted.

Use ONLY the information given in the passage and give ONLY relevant information.

Marks will be deducted if you do not use the suggested format and if you include irrelevant information.

Such a question is designed to test your ability to select important facts from a given text and to organise and present them briefly and in your own words. What then is the best approach, you may ask? My advice is simple. Read the question carefully. You may need to read it more than once, focusing on the details you will need. Use a pencil, or a pen, to underline the required information on the question paper before you begin to write. If you are in the habit of doing a rough draft before producing your final answer, you could be wasting time.

Our lesson will continue next week.

Ms Codnor-Crooks enjoys being a teacher of English.

Dahlia Bartley teaches at Glenmuir High School.