Leap Exam
Sign inPractise for free

PTE Summarize Written Text practice

You get 10 minutes to sum up a passage in one sentence of 5 to 75 words. Break either rule and the summary scores zero.

Practise for free

By Thanh Tran, PTE and IELTS coach
Updated

Candidate00412706:40Full screenSettingsHelp

Part 1 of 3: Speaking and writing

Write your answer in the box.

Read the passage below and summarize it using one sentence. Type your response in the box at the bottom of the screen. Write your answer in 5 to 75 words. You have 10 minutes to finish this task.

Many cities are planting more street trees to cope with hotter summers. Shade from a mature tree cools the pavement below it, so nearby buildings need less air conditioning. The benefit depends on choosing species that survive local soil and drought.

Cities are planting more trees to cool their streets, which lowers summer temperatures and energy use, although the benefit depends on choosing trees that survive local conditions.

27 words5 to 75 words

Question 31 of 32Submit
A Summarize Written Text question in a PTE Academic mock test on Leap Exam, shown on a laptop

Key facts

Time

10 minutes

Passage

Up to 300 words

Your answer

One sentence of 5 to 75 words

In a test

2 passages

Skills scored

Reading and writing

Scores zero if

Not one sentence, outside 5 to 75 words, or in capital letters

Questions to practise

Over 200, from real tests and Pearson's practice tests

What it is worth

7%of your overall score

Writing
28% of the skill score
Reading
23% of the skill score

How it's scored

In Pearson's rules, a summary that isn't one sentence of 5 to 75 words gets 0 for form, and that makes all four traits zero.

Leap Exam checks form by the same rule, then scores content, grammar and vocabulary.

Your first writing score is free.

Writing, Summarize Written Text

Question 4 of 10

Graded

7 / 9

Content
3 / 4

How well you capture the main ideas, in your own words.

Form
1 / 1

One sentence of 5 to 75 words, not in capital letters.

Grammar
2 / 2

A correct sentence structure.

Vocabulary
1 / 2

Suitable word choice, with few errors.

An example grade: form is 1 or 0, and a 0 would make all four traits zero.

Practise Summarize Written Text

Build one sentence

Pearson's advice is a compound or complex sentence: the main point, with the key supporting detail joined to it.

Use your own words, because a summary made of copied pieces scores low on content.

  1. Read the passage and find its topic and main point.

  2. Note two or three key supporting points in a few words each.

  3. Write the main point as a short clause in your own words.

  4. Add each supporting point with a linking word such as which, while, because or although.

  5. Check for one capital letter at the start, one full stop at the end, and 5 to 75 words.

One sentence, three ideas, 27 words

Cities are planting more trees to cool their streets, which lowers summer temperatures and energy use, although the benefit depends on choosing trees that survive local conditions.

Common mistakes

  • Writing two sentences

  • Going over 75 words

  • Missing the main point

    If you get the topic or purpose of the passage wrong, the summary scores zero.

  • Copying long pieces of the passage

  • Writing in capital letters

Practise next

Common questions

What happens if my summary is two sentences?

It gets zero for form, and a zero for form makes the whole summary zero. Pearson's rule is one single, complete sentence, so check there's only one full stop, at the end.

How many words is Summarize Written Text?

Your summary must be 5 to 75 words, in one sentence. Outside that range, Pearson doesn't score it at all.

Is there a template for Summarize Written Text?

No fixed wording works for every passage, and Pearson scores memorised material as irrelevant. What works is a pattern: the main point as a clause, then the supporting points joined with which, while, because or although.

How long do you get for Summarize Written Text?

You get 10 minutes for each passage, and a test has two of them. Each passage is up to 300 words long.

How is Summarize Written Text scored?

On four traits: content out of 4, form out of 1, grammar out of 2 and vocabulary out of 2, so 9 points in total. The score counts towards both reading and writing.

Get the score you need

Practise for free
A student walking across a university campus in the morning sun