Summary Writing: Question 4
Syllabus R1, R2, R5, W1, W2, W3
The Ashcombe Leisure Centre pool, opened in 1978 and rarely renovated since, will close for six months from January while the borough council carries out a long-promised refurbishment. The plans, displayed in the centre's foyer since last week, have attracted considerable comment from regular swimmers and nearby residents.
According to the council's report, the pool currently loses around 15% of its heated water through cracks in the thirty-year-old tiling every week, a leak that costs several thousand pounds annually in wasted heating and has occasionally forced the pool to close at short notice for emergency repairs. The refurbishment would replace the tiling entirely and install a new filtration system that the manufacturer claims uses forty percent less energy than the current one, a saving the council says would be recovered within eight years.
Swimming club coaches are broadly supportive, since the plans also include raising the pool's depth at the shallow end by fifteen centimetres, which would finally allow proper competitive starts and qualify the pool to host regional galas for the first time. However, several older residents who use the pool for gentle aqua-aerobics sessions have objected, pointing out that the deeper shallow end would make it harder for less confident swimmers to stand comfortably, and have asked the council to keep at least one lane at the original depth.
Local taxi firms have noted that the six-month closure will remove the only heated public pool within eight miles, meaning residents needing hydrotherapy for medical conditions will have to travel much further afield during the works. The council has offered a temporary contribution towards travel costs for these residents, though the exact amount has not yet been confirmed.
The pool's original 1978 opening was marked by a visit from a minor celebrity swimmer of the time, an event still commemorated by a faded photograph in the entrance corridor.
Identify the points the passage makes about the advantages and disadvantages of the pool refurbishment. Then, in your own words, write a connected summary of no more than 100 words covering both sides. (Up to 5 marks for relevant content; up to 4 marks for a concise, well-organised summary in your own words.) [9]
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Worked solution
Creditable content points (up to 5 marks, one per point)
Advantages:
- Fixes a costly water leak and prevents heating waste and emergency closures.
- The new filtration system is more energy-efficient and would pay for itself within a stated number of years.
- A deeper shallow end allows competitive starts and qualifies the pool to host regional galas.
Disadvantages: 4. The deeper shallow end would make standing difficult for less confident swimmers/aqua-aerobics users. 5. The six-month closure removes the area’s only heated public pool, forcing hydrotherapy patients to travel much further (with the council’s promised contribution towards those residents’ travel costs not yet confirmed).
Writing marks (up to 4)
Award marks for a summary that:
- stays within the 100-word limit
- reports both advantages and disadvantages in the student’s own words, not lifted phrasing or exact figures
- links related ideas (e.g. the closure and the hydrotherapy travel problem) into connected prose rather than a disconnected list
- is organised clearly, for example grouping advantages before disadvantages
Points that should NOT be credited
- The pool’s 1978 opening and the celebrity visit, purely historical/descriptive, no bearing on the current refurbishment.
- The precise percentages, measurements or distances given in the passage. These should be expressed as general ideas, not copied as figures.
Model summary (82 words)
“The refurbishment would stop a costly water leak and fund a more energy-efficient filtration system that should pay for itself over time, while a deeper shallow end would let the pool host competitive galas for the first time. However, aqua-aerobics users worry the change will make standing difficult for nervous swimmers, and the six-month closure removes the area’s only heated public pool, forcing patients who need hydrotherapy to travel much further, with the council’s promised help towards their travel costs still unconfirmed.”
Final answer
- A strong response reports at least two advantages and two disadvantages, in connected own-words prose within the word limit, without mentioning the pool’s history.