PTE Academic · Writing
PTE Summarize Written Text
Read a passage and sum it up in one single sentence.
A passage of up to 300 words appears on screen. You have ten minutes to write a one-sentence summary of it — one sentence only, between 5 and 75 words. It is marked on what the sentence says and on how it is built, and it counts towards both your Reading and your Writing score.
How the task works
Read, find the main point, build one sentence
The passage stays on screen while you write, and the ten minutes cover reading and writing together. Most of the work is deciding what to leave out.
Find the main idea
Read the passage once for the overall point, then look for the two or three ideas everything else hangs from. Examples, numbers and names are usually detail. Skip them.
Fit the ideas into one sentence
Put the main idea in the main clause and attach the supporting ideas with connectors such as "because", "although", "which" or "while". Use your own words for the ideas rather than lifting whole clauses from the passage.
Check the shape
One full stop, at the end. Between 5 and 75 words, in ordinary capitals and lower case. Then read it once more for spelling, verb agreement and articles.
How Pearson scores it
Four things are marked, and Form is a gate
Your sentence is not simply right or wrong. Four traits are marked separately, and you can earn some of the marks without getting everything right.
Content 0–4
How well the sentence summarises the passage. The top of the scale goes to a sentence that identifies all the main ideas, paraphrases them and removes extraneous detail. Relying heavily on excerpts copied from the passage, without reformulating them in your own words, sits near the bottom of the scale.
Form 0–1
Whether the response is one single, complete sentence within the word range. It scores 1 for a single complete sentence. It scores 0 if it is not one sentence, has fewer than 5 or more than 75 words, or is written in capital letters.
Grammar 0–2
Two for correct grammatical structure. One for errors that do not hinder communication. Zero for defective structure that could.
Vocabulary 0–2
Two for an appropriate choice of words. One for lexical errors that do not hinder communication. Zero for defective word choice that could.
Summarize Written Text counts towards both your Reading and your Writing score. Pearson's rule for Content and Form: when a response is scored 0 for either, no score points are given for the response. A brilliant sentence in the wrong shape earns nothing.
What usually goes wrong
Where students lose marks
Two sentences
A full stop in the middle turns one summary into two, and the task asks for one. Join the ideas with a connector or a comma instead.
Copying whole clauses
Lifting phrases from the passage looks safe, but the score guide places a response that relies heavily on repeating excerpts at the lower Content bands. Reformulate the ideas in your own words.
Adding your opinion
The summary reports what the passage says, not whether you agree with it. Words like "I think" or "in my view" have no place in it.
Missing the main point
A sentence built from an interesting example, or from the first paragraph only, can be accurate and still miss what the passage is about. Decide the main point before you write.
Ignoring the word range
Fewer than 5 or more than 75 words means Form is 0, and Pearson's rule then gives no score points for the response at all. Keep an eye on the count while you write.
A worked example
One passage, and what a strong sentence keeps
Here is a short passage in the style of the task: “Many cities are planting trees along their streets. Trees give shade, which lowers the temperature of pavements in summer, and they take up rainwater that would otherwise flood drains. Residents also report that tree-lined streets feel calmer. However, roots can damage pipes and pavements, so councils must choose species and planting sites with care.” Decide what one sentence should keep, then compare with the list below.
What a strong sentence keeps
- Main idea Cities are planting street trees The sentence says that many cities are planting trees along their streets.
- Support The benefits, grouped Shade and cooling, less flooding and a calmer feel are gathered into one short phrase instead of listed one by one.
- Support The caveat Roots can cause damage, so the choice of species and sites matters.
- Shape One sentence, own words The ideas are joined with a connector such as "although", and the phrasing is your own rather than copied.
What a full sentence looks like
Cities are increasingly planting street trees because they cool and calm streets and reduce flooding, although careful species and site choices are needed since roots can damage pipes and pavements.
Strategy tip: Write the main idea first, then attach the rest with one connector at a time. If the sentence gets tangled, cut the least important idea rather than adding a full stop.
Notice what that sentence does. It puts the whole passage into a single sentence, keeps the main idea and the caveat, replaces the passage's details with a general phrase, and does not copy a single clause.
Practising here
Feedback on the sentence you wrote, not just a number
We mark what Pearson's rubric rewards and show you each part, so you can see what is holding your summary back.
The passage and a live word count
The passage stays on screen while you type, and a word counter tells you at once whether your sentence is too short, too long or a good length.
Four results, not one number
You get a separate result for Form, Content, Grammar and Vocabulary, so you can see which one is costing you.
Form marked as the exam marks it
If your response is not one single sentence, falls outside 5 to 75 words or is written in capital letters, the whole response scores 0, as in the exam. You see which rule it broke.
Spelling slips highlighted
Spelling mistakes are marked in your own answer, so you can see exactly which words to fix.
A model sentence for every passage
A reference summary of that passage, so you can compare how it joins the ideas with your own sentence.
One tip you can use next time
A short piece of advice about how to approach the next passage, not your result again in different words.
Common questions
Summarize Written Text, answered
How long is the passage, and how long do I have?
The passage has up to 300 words, and you have 10 minutes to read it and write your summary.
How long should my summary be?
One single sentence of between 5 and 75 words. Outside that range, or with more than one sentence, Form scores 0.
What happens if I write two sentences?
Pearson's score guide gives Form 0 to a response that is not one single, complete sentence. When Form scores 0, no score points are given for the response.
Can I copy phrases from the passage?
You can use its key words, but a sentence that relies heavily on excerpts from the passage, without reformulating them, is placed in the lower Content bands. Paraphrase the ideas.
How is Summarize Written Text scored?
By four traits: Content, Form, Grammar and Vocabulary. In the live test a person also reviews the Content mark. You can earn some of the marks, and it counts towards your Reading and Writing scores.
Should I give my opinion?
No. The task asks you to summarise what the passage says. Your opinion is not part of what is marked.
How do I practise Summarize Written Text here?
Sign in, open Summarize Written Text and write a real summary of a passage. You see your result for Form, Content, Grammar and Vocabulary, spelling mistakes highlighted in your sentence, a model sentence and one tip to use next time.
Try it with a real passage
Read one passage, write one sentence, and see how each part of it was marked.