Summarize Written Text2021-06-27T11:51:02+10:00

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
1. Comparative advantage
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2. American and Indian computer programming
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3. Diasporas
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4. Nobel Peace Prize
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5. It will never fly
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6. Beauty contest
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7. Technology prediction
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8. Parent control children watching TV
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9. Namibia
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10. School Liaison Police
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11. Grass and cow
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12. Songbird
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13. Parent’s born order affect their parenting
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14. Country living
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15. Napping
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16. House mice
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17. Wine industry
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18. Indigenous peoples in South Africa
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19. Animals and tools
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20. Australian education
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21. Tourism industry
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22. Aging world
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23. Human remains in the UK
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24. South Euclid (Ohio) School bullying Project
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25. Tree Ring
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26. Electrical cars
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27. Compulsory voting
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Release Date: August 2017
28. Working environment
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29. Butterfly effect
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30. Geothermal energy
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Release Date: September 2017
31. Georges-Eugène Haussmann
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32. The life of Upper Palaeolithic people
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Release Date: October 2017
33. Australian Indigenous Food
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34. Orville and Wilbur Wright
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35. The demand for talent
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36. Museology
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37. Democratic and authoritative governments
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Release Date: November 2017
38. The art of building
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39. American employees
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40. Written language
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41. Plant Research
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Release Date: December 2017
42. Primary Carers
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43. Double Blind
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44. Female Politicians
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45. Australia’s aging population
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Release Date: January 2018
46. Sochi Olympics
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47. Silent movies
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48. The booksellers of Hookham and Carpenter
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49. Royal Agricultural Society
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Release Date: February 2018
50. Improve writing ability
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51. Crime Rate
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52. TV-viewing habit
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Release Date: March 2018
53. Factors that make a metropolis great
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54. Autism
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55. Rosetta Stone
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56. Malaysia
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57. American English (Version One)
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58. American English (Version Two)
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59. The benefit of raw honey (Version One)
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60. The benefit of raw honey (Version Two)
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Release Date: April 2018
61. Columbus (Version One)
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61. Columbus (Version One)
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63. World Water Development
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64. Cataract Surgery
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65. UCLA neurology professor
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66. Rising life expectancy
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67. Great Managers
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68. Frog amber
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69. Nurse sharks
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70. The influence of climate change on birds
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71. Indonesian Volcano
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Release Date: May 2018
72. Books and Televisions
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73. Electric Vehicle
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74. Experimental Treatment
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75. Online learning
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76. Over-qualification workers
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Release Date: June 2018
77. Presidential election
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78. Electric Eels
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79. The role of food and eating in Australian public consciousness
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80. The world wide web
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Release Date: July 2018
81. Orbiting Junk
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82. Dinosaur extinct
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83. 3D Print
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84. Coffee consumption
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85. Proteins
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Release Date: August 2018
86. Language decay
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87. Small wars
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88. The Sphinx
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89. Turning points in Australian history
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90. Phoenician alphabet
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Release Date: September 2018
91. Promoting active lifestyles
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92. Reduce the risk of take-all disease
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93. Free labour system
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94. Sunshine revolution
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95. Farming technology in West Africa
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96. How an allowance helps children learn about money
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97. The shipping container
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98. Nutritional science is unreliable
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99. International Trade
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100. The origin of writing
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Release Date: October 2018
101. Water recourses for sustainable development
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102. Autonomy and modernity
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103. Brain research
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104. Logged rainforests
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105. The Wright Brothers Version 2
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106. Continental Drift
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107. Fish
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Release Date: November 2018
108. Visualization skills
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109. Biomimicry
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110. Resting the Land
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111. Oil Price Decline
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112. Greenhouse gases
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113. Develop Successful Networking Skills
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114. Newborns don’t imitate adults
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115.  The future of manufacturing
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116. Invisibility cloak illusion
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117. Object recognition
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Release Date: December 2018
118. China’s panda population
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119. Asda
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Release Date: January 2019
120. Conspicuous consumption
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121. Guinness World Record
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Release Date: Febuary 2019
122. Online Safety for Children
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123. The importance of soil
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124. Brand loyalty
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Release Date: March 2019
125. Disabled people
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126. Natural language
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127. Greenland shark
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128. Brain
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Release Date: April 2019
129. Skipping Breakfast has drawbacks
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130. Bertrand Russell
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Release Date: May 2019
131. Language teachers
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132. Cognitive abilities
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133. The National Oceanography Centre
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134. Meat Consumption and climate change
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135. Work independently
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136. Mutual complaint
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137. Education technology
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138. Solar energy
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139. Working ethics
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140. Positive mind-set
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Release Date: June – July 2019
141. Ecology
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142. Public Speaking
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Release Date: August 2019
143. Becoming carbon-neutral
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Release Date: December 2020
144. Assessment
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145. The Brundtland Report
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146. Social networks and library
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147. United Nations Volunteers Program
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148. Legume
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Release Date: June 2021
149. Work From Home
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150. Humans get little sleep
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151. Bank Overdraft
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152. Dogs can read human emotions
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