Short Answer and Summary Response (英語で答える・要約)
These items ask you to produce English from the passage: a one- or two-sentence answer to a question about the text, or a short summary within a stated word limit (often around 25 to 35 words). Marks depend on matching the question type and staying inside the limit.
Build the answer from the question word
- Why → because + clause (a reason, not a fact).
- How → by + -ing, or with + noun (the method).
- What → a noun phrase.
- How long / How many → for + period / a number.
- Keep the tense of the question and the person of the subject.
Replace, then cut
- Replace every pronoun with the real noun: "it" → "the new system", "they" → "the students".
- Cut examples, numbers and repetition from a summary; keep the logic words (but, so, because, however).
Summary skeleton
One topic sentence (what the passage is about) plus the main point, then one reason or result. Two sentences cover most word limits without padding.
Worked example
Passage: "The city library now opens until 9 p.m. on weekdays. Many high school students said they had no quiet place to study after club activities, so the staff extended the hours. Use of the reading room has doubled." Question: Why did the library change its hours? (about 10 words) Answer: Because students needed a quiet place to study after club activities. (12 words) Reasoning: Why requires a because clause; "many students said" is reporting, and the real fact is having no quiet place; "so" marks the result, which belongs in a summary but not in this answer.
Traps
- Answering with Yes/No when a reason is demanded.
- Adding "I think that ...", which wastes the word limit.
- Leaving "they" or "it" unexplained.
- Miscounting words; check hyphenated words and numbers against the paper's instruction.