Finding the 'Gist'

Help needed! What’s the ‘Gist’?!

It could be anything and something at the same time. You can call it the concept, the main idea, the topic, they are all correct. The ‘gist’ is the substance, the essence, the ‘message’ the writer wants to confer to us through the passage. It is usually composed of only a single sentence, if not less. For example, let’s say there’s a paragraph around 120 words long. Chances are, the ‘gist’ is just a complex sentence consisting of no more than 20-30 words. There is no perfect answer for the 'gist'; you could bring up 2 different sentences under twenty words each, and if separately they could still hit the mark, it is considered ‘right.’

Why is finding the ‘Gist’ so important?

Because it is the basic foundation of the passage, the very concept and message the writer wants to confer to us. If we find the ‘gist’, we can then grasp the whole meaning of the passage even better, thus enabling us to create the best summary using the least words.

There are a few shortcuts we can take to find the 'gist':  

First, remove any direct speech. Do not consider them at all, except if the whole paragraph itself is a form of speech. If so, remove any baseless or useless opinions.  

Second, remove repetitions, trivial details and figurative languages. They're just a waste of words. 

Three, remove examples. If a paragraph is filled with information about why an insect disguise themselves, don’t even hesitate to cross out the insects' various disguising methods. The fact of why they disguise is ample enough for examples of how to be excluded. Examples are, in a summary, a waste of word limit and time.  

Four, if you don’t understand the meaning of a word, don’t think about it too hard. Read the words before and after the word, and try to guess the meaning. 8 out of 10 guesses, you’ll either have a ‘correct’ or ‘close enough’ guess.  

Or, at least, that’s what Sir Jon’s been telling us.

Now that you've read the basics, try reading the paragraph given below:

There comes not seldom a crisis in the life of men, of nations, and of worlds, when the old forms seem ready to decay, and the old rules of action have lost their binding force. The evils of existing systems obscure the blessings that attend them; and, where reform is needed, the cry is raised for subversion. The cause of such phenomena is not far to seek. “It used to appear to me that the small number of cultivated, rich and idle men, of whom I was one, composed the whole of humanity, and that the millions and millions of other men who had lived and are still living were not in reality men at all,” writes Count Tolstoy, in a significant passage.

Try finding the ‘gist’ of the paragraph, which, as stated before, is no more than 20 words and is just a single, complex sentence. If you can’t find it or want to check your answer(s), feel free to scroll down. Remember though, that my answer isn't ‘precise’. It still has flaws, but more or less it hits the mark, so it’s considered ‘right.’ As long as yours, too, hit the mark, then it, too, is considered right, nevertheless the difference in the composing style or words used.

Here’s my answer, which according to Sir Jon is “Uh-huh. Okay, that’s it,” which in the Terminology of Knowing Your Teacher’s Brief Answers meant “Close Enough”:

Whenever an existing system faced a crisis and started to lose its form, a cry of revolution would be resounded.

Simple as that.

You don’t need the reason why the crisis occurs in the first place, nor Count Toystore’s opinion, or anything; that one sentence, that ‘gist’ is the core that is then could be extended into the whole paragraph, and in which is the most important thing to find.  

            Well, that’s all I can share with you chaps right now, because that’s the only subject I’ve learnt so far. More lessons will follow, eventually, so just stay put.

This is Abe Manyo Nainggolan, Signing off - for now.