Read the following passage carefully and answer the questions that follow: A little later, when he went to the pump to wash, he saw the school children pouring by with their satchels across their shoulders. They all wore the same clothes – grey shorts or skirts and light blue shirts or blouses – faded and mended, and they all had their hair oiled and combed down very flat. Some went by in laughing, racing groups, others had to be led by their mothers or grandparents to the school building. This reminded him of his sisters in the village. The boys in the kitchen now looked at him with less hostility. Jagu seemed pleased with Hari too, and sometimes handed him a glass of tea in the middle of the day. When he had a few moments to spare, Jagu sat down at one of the long wooden tables, drummed loudly on it and sang a song in a dialect Hari did not know. When he caught Hari listening and smiling, he smiled back. Then Hari knew that he too had a village somewhere that he called home. It was just that he was a silent, hardworking, worried man and had no time and no gift for speech. It was the watch mender, Mr. Panwallah, who was truly a benefactor, the kindest and most helpful of all. One afternoon, during those hot, still hours when there were no customers for a change, Hari was standing in front of the eating house, idly watching the traffic because he was too tired to do anything else, and Mr. Panwallah called to him to come and sit beside him on the bench behind the counter in his shop. "Want to help?" he asked. "Want to learn how to make a clock tick? I’m just going to open this big grandfather clock sent to me for repair – you’ll be able to see the workings plain. Don’t often get a piece like this anymore – wall clocks, yes, and electronic gadgets – but you don’t often come upon a grandfather clock like this. It’s a real piece of luck, being able to show you one of this size. Look," he said, swinging open the door at the back and revealing the machinery to a fascinated Hari who felt as if the door had opened into a new and strange house. Mr. Panwallah showed Hari what was wrong with it, what had made it stop. "Interesting, isn’t it? How would you like to learn? Tell you what – I’ll take you on as an apprentice. You don’t have much to do between two and four, do you? Of course you will have to ask Jagu first. I can pay you a little, not much, and you can help me for two hours a day. Perhaps I can make a watch mender of you." — Village by the Sea, Anita Desai
In not more than 50 words describe how Mr. Panwallah introduced Hari to watch mending.
Topic: Summary writing
Answer
MODEL ANSWER (50 words)
One idle afternoon Mr. Panwallah called Hari to sit beside him. He opened a grandfather clock sent for repair, showed him the machinery within and explained what had made it stop. Delighted by Hari’s fascination, he offered to take him on as a paid apprentice for two hours daily.
HOW THE 8 MARKS ARE AWARDED Content — about 5 marks, given for the POINTS included. Each relevant point from the passage earns credit. Expression — about 3 marks, for continuous prose in your own words, correct grammar, and staying within the word limit.
THE POINTS THAT MUST APPEAR (this is what the content marks are counted against):
- it was a hot, quiet afternoon with no customers
- Mr. Panwallah called Hari to sit beside him behind the counter
- he opened the grandfather clock sent for repair
- he revealed and showed the machinery inside
- he explained what was wrong and what had made it stop
- he offered to take Hari on as an apprentice
- two hours a day, for a small payment
- subject to Jagu’s permission
THE RULES THAT COST MARKS The limit is 50 WORDS and it is enforced. Count them. Anything beyond 50 is not read, so a summary that reaches its best point at word 60 scores nothing for it. Write CONTINUOUS PROSE, not bullet points or numbered lines. Use YOUR OWN WORDS. Lifting whole phrases from the passage loses expression marks. Include only what the question asks — here, how Mr. Panwallah introduced Hari to WATCH MENDING. Jagu, the school children and Hari’s sisters are all in the passage and all irrelevant; including them wastes words you cannot spare.
METHOD: list the points in rough first, strike out the ones outside the question, then write them as flowing prose and count. Aim for 45-50 words so you have room to correct. MARKS DIVISION AND METHOD: see "Summary writing" in the Writing Formats & Marking (Reference) chapter.