Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: Billy Weaver had travelled down from London and by the time he arrived it was nine o’clock in the night and the moon was coming up. "Excuse me," he asked a porter, "but is there a cheap hotel nearby?" "Try The Bell Hotel," the porter answered, pointing down the road. Billy thanked him, picked up his suitcase and set out to walk the distance to The Bell Hotel. He had never been to Richmond before. But the man at the office had told him it was a splendid city. Billy was seventeen years old. He was wearing a new navy-blue overcoat, a new brown hat, and a new brown suit, and he was feeling fine. He walked briskly down the street. He was trying to do everything briskly these days. The big shots up at the Head Office were fantastically brisk all the time. They were amazing. The road was lonely and dark with a few scattered houses. Suddenly, in a downstairs window Billy saw a printed notice propped up against the window glass. It said Bed and Breakfast. He moved a bit closer and peered through the window into the room, and the first thing he saw was a bright fire burning in the hearth. On the carpet in front of the fire, a little dog was curled up asleep with its nose tucked into its belly. The room in half-darkness was filled with pleasant furniture. There was a piano and a big sofa and several plump armchairs; and in one corner he spotted a large parrot in a cage. Animals were usually a good sign in a place like this, Billy told himself and it looked to him as though it would be a pretty decent house to stay in. Then a queer thing happened to him. He was in the act of stepping back and going away from the window when he felt a strange urge to ring the bell. He pressed the bell. He heard it ringing and then at once the door swung open and a woman was standing there. She gave him a warm welcoming smile. "Please come in", she said pleasantly. Billy found himself automatically moving forward into the house. "I saw the notice in the window," he said, holding himself back. "Yes, I know." "I was wondering about a room." "It’s all ready for you, my dear," she said. She had a round pink face and very gentle blue eyes. "How much do you charge?" "Five dollars a night, including breakfast." It was fantastically cheap. He could easily afford it.
In not more than 50 words, give a brief account of what Billy saw as he looked through the window of the room.
Topic: Summary writing
Answer
MODEL ANSWER (50 words)
Billy noticed first a bright fire burning in the hearth, with a little dog curled asleep on the carpet before it, its nose tucked into its belly. The half-dark room held pleasant furniture — a piano, a big sofa and several plump armchairs — and in one corner stood a large parrot in a cage.
THE POINTS THE CONTENT MARKS ARE COUNTED AGAINST
- a bright fire burning in the hearth
- a little dog on the carpet in front of the fire
- curled up asleep
- its nose tucked into its belly
- the room was in half-darkness
- it was filled with pleasant furniture
- a piano
- a big sofa
- several plump armchairs
- a large parrot in a cage in one corner
READ THE BOUNDARY. The question asks only what he SAW THROUGH THE WINDOW. The notice propped against the glass, the woman at the door, the price of the room and everything else in the passage lies outside it — and will eat the fifty words you cannot spare.
THIS SUMMARY IS UNUSUALLY EASY TO OVERRUN, because the points are objects and each tempts an adjective. Group them: "a piano, a big sofa and several plump armchairs" carries three points in nine words.
COUNT YOUR WORDS. Anything past fifty is not read. MARKS DIVISION AND METHOD: see "Summary writing" in the Writing Formats & Marking (Reference) chapter.