PTE Summarise Written Text
You read a passage and summarise it in one sentence of between 5 and 75 words. It feeds Reading and Writing. The constraint is absolute: two sentences score zero on form, however good the summary is.
One sentence means one full stop
- One capital letter at the start, one full stop at the end, nothing in between.
- Between 5 and 75 words. Outside that range scores zero on form.
- No bullet points, no semicolon splitting it into two independent clauses that read as two sentences.
The reliable way to hold a long summary in one sentence is coordination and subordination: *Although X, the passage argues that Y, because Z.* That shape carries three ideas and one full stop.
What to include
- Find the main claim — usually the first or last sentence of the passage.
- Find the two or three supporting points.
- Join them with "although", "because", "which", "while".
- Count the words before submitting.
Use the passage's key terms. This item is scored partly on content, and the content is the passage's, not a paraphrase that loses its terms.
Summarise Written Text — FAQs
2 questions
The form score is zero, regardless of content.
Between 25 and 50 — comfortably inside the range and long enough to carry the main points.
More speaking & writing question types
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.