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Summary Writing: Question 10

Syllabus R1, R2, R5, W2

Multiple choice 1 mark

The Oakridge Stargazing Society, a small group of amateur astronomers who meet monthly in the village hall, is holding a public open evening next month to raise money for a new telescope to replace its ageing equipment.

Tickets will be sold in advance through the village shop, and the society hopes that setting a modest price of five pounds, rather than asking for voluntary donations on the night, will bring in a more reliable total than previous fundraising attempts. The evening will include a short talk by a local astronomer, refreshments provided by parent volunteers from the village school, and, weather permitting, viewing sessions through several members' own telescopes set up on the recreation ground.

The society's treasurer believes the event could raise several hundred pounds towards the roughly two thousand pounds needed for a new telescope, particularly since a nearby astronomy club held a similar evening last year and raised more than expected once local businesses offered to sponsor individual activities in exchange for having their names listed on the programme.

The society was founded eleven years ago by a retired science teacher, who still leads the monthly meetings and keeps detailed records of every meeting held since the group began in a spare room at the village hall.

Which of the following is the best own-words summary of this sentence from the passage: "The society's treasurer believes the event could raise several hundred pounds towards the roughly two thousand pounds needed for a new telescope, particularly since a nearby astronomy club held a similar evening last year and raised more than expected once local businesses offered to sponsor individual activities in exchange for having their names listed on the programme"?

Choose an answer to check it, then compare with the worked solution below.
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Worked solution

Step 1: Identify what the sentence actually says

The original sentence makes two linked points: the treasurer’s own expectation (several hundred pounds towards the roughly two thousand needed) and the reason for that confidence (a comparable event elsewhere raised more than expected once businesses sponsored activities). A good own-words summary must keep both the meaning and the accuracy, while using different wording.

Step 2: Test each option

  • A: Keeps both the treasurer’s expectation and the supporting comparison, stays accurate (it does not overstate the amount), and rephrases the ideas (“a significant part of the cost,” “exceeded expectations”) rather than copying the original. This is a genuine own-words summary.
  • B: Is accurate, but it repeats the passage’s exact wording almost unchanged, so it does not demonstrate own-words summarising.
  • C: Changes the meaning: the passage says the event “could raise several hundred pounds towards” the total, not that it “will raise the full” amount, and it says businesses sponsored the comparison event, not that they have “already agreed to pay for” Oakridge’s telescope.
  • D: Only reports the comparison event and drops the treasurer’s own point about Oakridge, which is the actual subject of the sentence.

Step 3: Select the summary

Only option A is both accurate and expressed in the student’s own words.

Final answer

  • Option A is the best own-words summary of the sentence.