Source A: After the first lunch

An original contemporary non-fiction-style practice text, written for this question.

On the first day of our community café, every table was occupied before midday. Volunteers hurried between the kitchen and the crowded hall, and people waited outside for seats. When the final customer left, we congratulated one another. After months of cleaning, organising and persuading people to help, the long queue seemed to prove that the project was a success.

By the third week, the hall was much quieter. At first, this was disappointing. We had imagined that success meant filling every chair. However, the comments left by customers told a more useful story. Some older visitors found the lunchtime opening inconvenient because the local bus arrived too late. Parents wanted simpler meals for young children, while several volunteers said that the kitchen routine was confusing.

None of these problems could be solved by remembering how busy the first day had been. We changed the opening time, reduced the menu and gave each volunteer a clear responsibility. The work felt less exciting than the launch because it involved lists, repeated conversations and small adjustments. Yet each change made the café easier to use and easier to run.

Six months later, we rarely have a queue. Instead, we have a steady group of customers, enough volunteers for each session and fewer meals left uneaten. I no longer judge the café by the number of people we can fit into the hall at once. Its real achievement is that people return, the volunteers can manage the work and the service continues to meet a need.

Source B: A room that must earn its place

An original contemporary non-fiction-style practice text, written for this question.

The council has proposed turning an unused hall into an evening study centre for young people. Supporters have described it as an ambitious investment in the town’s future. A quiet, warm place to study could certainly help students who do not have suitable space at home. However, approving an impressive proposal is not the same as creating a useful service.

The council expects the centre to be popular, but it has not asked local students which evenings they would attend or what support they would need. It has announced the cost of preparing the hall, but not the continuing cost of staffing, heating and maintaining it. These are not minor details. They will determine whether the doors remain open after the early enthusiasm has passed.

Some critics argue that the money should be used to extend the opening hours of the existing library. That suggestion deserves consideration, although it does not prove that the new centre would fail. The fairest approach would be to compare the two possibilities and state clearly what the new centre is expected to achieve.

If students use the centre regularly and say that it helps them work, the project may justify its cost. If attendance quickly falls or staffing cannot be maintained, calling the proposal ambitious will not rescue it. The council should welcome the idea, but test its promises. Public projects earn praise through sustained usefulness, not through confident announcements.