Shorten the Community Notice: Summary Writing Practice

B2 · 32 minutes · 14 explained checks. Work through the examples, try the questions, then use the final checklist. All people, venues and notices in this resource are fictional.

Read the source and purpose

Your audience is a resident who has not used the fictional Birch Lane Tool Library before. Write one short overview that helps them borrow and return tools correctly. Include the proposed Friday session because the reader is considering that date. The dates below belong to this fictional notice, not a current real service.

Source A: Birch Lane Tool Library lends household tools to local residents aged eighteen or over. Before borrowing, residents must complete a free induction at the lending desk. The induction introduces the loan record and return procedure. It does not teach every repair task. Borrowers should choose only tools they already know how to use safely. The notice does not state whether borrowing itself carries a fee.

Source B: The desk is open on Wednesdays from four to six in the afternoon. Borrowers may take up to two tools at a time. Each loan lasts no more than seven days. Return tools directly to a volunteer at the desk; never leave them outside the building. Tell the volunteer if an item is damaged or has a part missing.

Source C: On Wednesday 12 June only, the desk will close at five because the room is needed for another event. The usual four-to-six hours apply on other Wednesdays. One Friday session is planned to start on 14 June, subject to enough volunteers. Its hours have not yet been confirmed. Check the noticeboard before making a special journey for that session.

Source D: The library began with donated equipment and a small group of neighbours. Photographs of last year’s repair day are displayed near the entrance. Volunteers hope the service will help residents share resources and meet one another.

Build an essential-facts skeleton

Questions 1–4 ask what your reader needs. Keep adult-resident eligibility, induction, ordinary hours, maximum two tools, seven-day loans, direct returns, the temporary early closure and the conditional Friday plan. These details govern action. The origin story and photographs are interesting, but they can usually be omitted from this practical overview.

A skeleton is a set of accurate notes, not a polished paragraph. Write “12 June only: closes 5” rather than losing only. Write “one Friday session: planned, volunteers needed, hours unknown” rather than “Fridays open.” Mark a fact unknown when the source leaves it unknown.

Choose faithful paraphrases

Questions 5–8 test scope, number and certainty. A good paraphrase does not have to replace every word. The phrase “up to two tools” is already short and precise; changing it to “two tools” might imply an exact number or omit the maximum. A learner can repeat an ordinary phrase while changing the surrounding sentence structure.

Keep the singular Friday session. The source does not promise a recurring Friday service. Similarly, the special closure applies only to Wednesday 12 June; it is not a permanent change to every Wednesday.

Find the distortions

Questions 9–12 focus on small changes that create false claims. Compare each summary against its labelled source paragraph. If a summary adds a fee, guarantees the Friday plan or allows outside returns, locate the missing or altered source words.

Repairing a summary may require restoring a condition rather than replacing a single synonym. “The Friday session begins on 14 June” needs planned and the volunteer condition. Its hours are still unknown even after that repair. Do not fill the gap with the Wednesday hours.

Check two complete models

Model A: Local residents aged eighteen or over must complete a free induction before borrowing up to two tools. Loans last at most seven days, and tools must be returned to a volunteer, never left outside. The desk normally opens on Wednesdays from four to six, but closes at five on 12 June only. One Friday session is planned for 14 June if enough volunteers are available; its hours are unconfirmed. Check the noticeboard before travelling for that session. The notice does not say whether borrowing itself is free.

Model B: All residents can borrow two tools free of charge after a quick introduction. Keep them for about a week and leave them outside when the desk is closed. Wednesday opening ends at five from 12 June, and regular Friday sessions begin on 14 June from four to six. The new timetable is confirmed, so there is no need to check it before travelling. The service began with donations and displays photographs of last year’s event, which show that repairs are taught during the induction.

Model B sounds fluent, but it invents or changes eligibility, charges, return method, duration precision, closure scope, recurrence, Friday hours, certainty and induction content. Attractive wording cannot compensate for those errors.

Write and audit your own summary

Write 80–100 words for the stated reader. Compare with Model A only after drafting. Underline every quantity, date, condition and uncertainty word in your work. For each sentence, write A, B or C beside the claims it draws from. A sentence can draw from more than one source paragraph.

Now reverse the process. Tick each essential fact in your skeleton when you find it in the summary. If you omitted information about safe tool choice to meet the word limit, acknowledge that this overview cannot replace the full lending instructions. A summary’s purpose determines its coverage; it should not pretend to be a complete policy.

Answers and transfer

The fourteen checks include four selection decisions, four paraphrase comparisons, four distortion repairs and two whole-model evaluations. The open summary is reviewed for fidelity rather than automatically graded. For another notice, repeat the two-way audit: support every summary claim, then recover every essential source condition.

Your turn · self-review

Model and source mapping

Model A above is an acceptable 80–100-word response. Compare your version by meaning, not identical wording.

Practice only. Your writing stays on this page; it is not submitted or saved.

1. 1Write an 80–100-word overview for the first-time borrower.
   Model answer and explanation

   Local residents aged eighteen or over must complete a free induction before borrowing up to two tools. Loans last at most seven days, and tools must be returned to a volunteer, never left outside. The desk normally opens on Wednesdays from four to six, but closes at five on 12 June only. One Friday session is planned for 14 June if enough volunteers are available; its hours are unconfirmed. Check the noticeboard before travelling for that session. The notice does not say whether borrowing itself is free.

Map Model A back to the notice. Eligibility and induction come from A. Maximum tools, loan length and return method come from B. Ordinary hours and the date-specific exception come from B/C. The singular planned Friday session, volunteer condition, unknown hours and noticeboard check come from C. The final fee caveat comes from A.

What remains outside this short overview? It does not reproduce every operational instruction, such as reporting a damaged or incomplete tool or choosing tools you can safely use. A borrower should still read the full notice. It deliberately omits the background photographs and origin story.

Your final check

Read the complete sentence or source again. Check the actor, action, time, quantities, conditions and intended meaning. Explain why your version works rather than memorising its surface form. Revisit any question whose explanation differs from your reasoning.