PTE Summarise Written Text
Overview
First, spend 1-2 minutes reading the text starting from the beginning. With each sentence you will get a better idea of what the text is about. When you are reading, you can shortlist the sentences that you think represent the key points in the text. (normally in the beginning and end of a paragraph)
Once you have the key points, your next task is to combine them into a single sentence summary. There are two approaches you can take here.
If you are confident of your language skills you can just write down the gist in your own words.
But most of us do not have English skills at this level. We can then consider the second approach. In this approach, you write the key sentences one after the other. Then you rephrase them – change the language as much as you can by using synonyms etc., make them look like your own sentences. Finally, you can combine them into one single sentence. To do this you will use conjunctions and punctuation as appropriate.
Make sure to leave a couple of minutes in the end to review what you have written. First of all, you should review the content. Does the summary contain the main ideas contained in the text? Have you connected the different parts of the sentence in a logical manner? If the answer is yes, then great! you have captured all the key points.
If not, you need to add more information to what you have written and possibly also take out some information which is not needed.
Check your response to see whether it is within the word limit. It should be maximum of 75 words and not less than 5 words. An optimal length would be around 40~45 words, provided you can capture all key details in it.
Also review for grammar, spelling and punctuation. Since you have to write only one sentence, it is vital that you connect different parts of the sentence properly. Sometimes test takers just put commas between independent sentences and think they have converted it into one single sentence. That is wrong! It is proven that points will be deducted if more than commas are used in your response. Therefore, you have to use the appropriate punctuation and conjunctions.
1. Make sure your response is in the correct form
The idea here is to simplify the text into one grammatically correct sentence. Go through the passage given and understand what is being presented. When you have written your response, check to make sure that it is only one sentence, with a capital letter at the beginning and only one full stop at the end.
The summary sentence word count needs to be 5-75 words. If you write fewer than five words or more than 75 words, then you get zero score. Make sure your grammar and spellings are correct. A general rule is to avoid using any word of which spelling you are unsure.
2. Pick the key points only
The goal of your initial reading of the text should be to identify sentences which contain the key points. In other words, your summary should only capture the key points, rather than examples or minor details.
3. Don’t refer to the passage
Avoid beginning your summary with sentences such as “In the passage…” or “The author…”. Your summary is an independent sentence which should on its own convey the main points to the reader. Plus, you only have 75 words to convey your messages, there is no point to waste word limit by referring back to original transcript.
4. Practice using compound and complex sentences
Your response must be expressed within one sentence, so you will need to use a complex or compound sentence to be able to summarize the main point of the passage and also briefly mention the supporting detail. However, there may be several facts and figures presented, and you do not need to include them all in your summary. You should have one crisp sentence that conveys the general idea that the passage is trying to convey.
5. Don’t copy whole sentence from the paragraph
Please keep in mind that “paraphrasing” is very important. Don’t copy exact whole sentence from the paragraph; always rewrite the information in your own words. Below is a list of the most commonly used connectors.
after | even though | so that | as soon as | whether |
although | in order that | that | when | while |
as | once | though | where | why |
because | rather than | unless | whereas | yet |
even if | since | until | wherever | if |
A key skill for the Summarise written text item type is writing complex sentences, connectors are a great way to avoid overusing commas and develop complex sentence.
6. Leave time for review
Use your time wisely and leave time in the end for a thorough review of what you have written. You review should cover:
• Content: Have I covered all main points?
• Grammar: Have I used correct sentence structures? Have I connected the different parts of the sentence properly?
• Vocabulary: Can I improve the vocabulary? Can I replace some words with synonyms?
• Punctuation: Have I used the correct punctuation while forming the single sentence.
Latest PTE Summarize Written Text repeated questions
Below are some samples of real exam questions for PTE Summarize Written Text. For full transcript and model answer, please subscribe to our PTE Exam Question bank.
Release Date: July 2017 |
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1. Comparative advantage |
2. American and Indian computer programming |
3. Diasporas |
4. Nobel Peace Prize |
5. It will never fly |
6. Beauty contest |
7. Technology prediction |
8. Parent control children watching TV |
9. Namibia |
10. School Liaison Police |
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12. Songbird – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
13. Parent’s born order affect their parenting – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
14. Country living – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
15. Napping – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
16. House mice – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
17. Wine industry – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
18. Indigenous peoples in South Africa – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
19. Animals and tools – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
20. Australian education – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
21. Tourism industry – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
22. Aging world – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
23. Human remains in the UK – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
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25. Tree Ring – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
26. Electrical cars – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
27. Compulsory voting – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
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28. Working environment – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
29. Butterfly effect – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
30. Geothermal energy – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: September 2017 |
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31. Georges-Eugène Haussmann – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
32. The life of Upper Palaeolithic people – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: October 2017 |
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33. Australian Indigenous Food – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
34. Orville and Wilbur Wright – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
35. The demand for talent – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
36. Museology – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
37. Democratic and authoritative governments – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: November 2017 |
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38. The art of building – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
39. American employees – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
40. Written language – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
41. Plant Research – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: December 2017 |
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44. Female Politicians – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
45. Australia’s aging population – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: January 2018 |
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46. Sochi Olympics – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
47. Silent movies – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
48. The booksellers of Hookham and Carpenter – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
49. Royal Agricultural Society – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: February 2018 |
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52. TV-viewing habit – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
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60. The benefit of raw honey (Version Two) – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: April 2018 |
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Release Date: May 2018 |
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87. Small wars – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
88. The Sphinx – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
89. Turning points in Australian history – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
90. Phoenician alphabet – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: September 2018 |
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92. Reduce the risk of take-all disease – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
93. Free labour system – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
94. Sunshine revolution – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
95. Farming technology in West Africa – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
96. How an allowance helps children learn about money – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
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98. Nutritional science is unreliable – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
99. International Trade – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
100. The origin of writing – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: October 2018 |
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102. Autonomy and modernity – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
103. Brain research – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
104. Logged rainforests – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
105. The Wright Brothers Version 2 – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
106. Continental Drift – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
107. Fish – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: November 2018 |
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109. Biomimicry – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
110. Resting the Land – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
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117. Object recognition – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
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118. China’s panda population – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
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Release Date: January 2019 |
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120. Conspicuous consumption – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
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123. The importance of soil – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
124. Brand loyalty – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: March 2019 |
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125. Disabled people – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
126. Natural language – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
127. Greenland shark – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
128. Brain – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: April 2019 |
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129. Skipping Breakfast has drawbacks – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
130. Bertrand Russell – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: May 2019 |
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131. Language teachers – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
132. Cognitive abilities – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
133. The National Oceanography Centre – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
134. Meat Consumption and climate change – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
135. Work independently – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
136. Mutual complaint – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
137. Education technology – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
138. Solar energy – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
139. Working ethics – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
140. Positive mind-set – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: June – July 2019 |
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141. Ecology – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
142. Public Speaking – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: August 2019 |
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143. Becoming carbon-neutral – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: December 2020 |
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144. Assessment – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
145. The Brundtland Report – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
146. Social networks and library – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
147. United Nations Volunteers Program – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
148. Legume – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
Release Date: June 2021 |
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149. Work From Home – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
150. Humans get little sleep – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
151. Bank Overdraft – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |
152. Dogs can read human emotions – Subscribers only, unlock access now! |