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Summary Writing: Question 8

Syllabus R1, R2, R5, W1, W2, W3

Structured 8 marks

Hartley Community Choir, founded twenty-five years ago, has seen its membership fall from around eighty singers to under forty over the past three years, a trend the committee discussed at length during its recent annual meeting.

Several long-standing members believe the choir's traditional Tuesday evening rehearsal time is partly to blame, since many younger working parents find it clashes with children's bedtime routines and cannot commit to attending every week as a result. Others point to the choir's repertoire, which has changed little in over a decade, suggesting that newer, more varied music might attract singers who find the current programme, largely made up of traditional folk arrangements, less appealing than it once was.

A survey circulated among recent leavers found that cost was also a factor for some: the annual subscription, unchanged for several years, has come to feel expensive relative to other local hobby groups that charge only for individual sessions attended, rather than a fixed yearly fee.

In response, several members have proposed practical changes. One suggestion is to trial an occasional Saturday-morning rehearsal alongside the usual Tuesday slot, giving parents an alternative that does not clash with bedtimes. Another is to introduce two or three contemporary songs into each term's programme, chosen by member vote, while keeping the folk repertoire that longer-serving singers still enjoy. A third proposal is to replace the fixed annual fee with a lower per-session charge for anyone who prefers to pay as they go.

The choir's founder, now in her eighties, still attends every rehearsal and was presented with a small gift marking her twenty-five years leading the group.

In your own words, write a connected summary of no more than 80 words explaining both the reasons for the choir's falling membership and the changes members have proposed to address it. (Up to 6 marks for relevant content; up to 2 marks for a concise, well-organised summary in your own words.) [8]

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Worked solution

Creditable content points (up to 6 marks, one per point)

Reasons for falling membership:

  1. The Tuesday evening rehearsal clashes with young parents’ children’s bedtime routines.
  2. The largely unchanged, traditional/folk-heavy repertoire may not appeal to potential new singers.
  3. The fixed annual subscription feels expensive compared with pay-per-session alternatives at other local hobby groups.

Proposed changes: 4. Trialling occasional Saturday-morning rehearsals as an alternative to the usual Tuesday slot. 5. Introducing a small number of member-voted contemporary songs each term alongside the existing folk repertoire. 6. Replacing the fixed annual fee with a lower pay-as-you-go per-session charge.

Writing marks (up to 2)

Award marks for a summary that:

  • stays within the 80-word limit
  • reports both causes and proposed changes in the student’s own words, not lifted phrasing
  • links each reason to its related proposed fix using connectives (e.g. “so,” “to address this,” “instead”) rather than listing six disconnected sentences

Points that should NOT be credited

  • The choir’s twenty-five-year history, background, not a reason for the decline or a proposed change.
  • The founder’s anniversary gift, a celebratory detail with no bearing on membership or the proposals.
  • The exact membership figures (“eighty singers to under forty”), should be expressed as a general decline, not copied numbers.

Model summary (67 words)

“Membership has fallen partly because the Tuesday evening rehearsal falls when young parents are putting their children to bed, the largely traditional repertoire may not appeal to new singers, and the annual fee feels costly beside pay-per-session rivals. Members have proposed trialling occasional Saturday mornings instead, adding a few contemporary songs each term alongside the folk pieces, and replacing the fixed fee with a cheaper pay-as-you-go charge.”

Final answer

  • A strong response reports all three reasons and all three proposed changes above, in connected own-words prose within the word limit, without mentioning the choir’s history or the founder’s gift.