How to Ace in the PTE Summarize Spoken Text?

PTE

7 mins read
Priya
Priya Garg
Study Abroad Expert
Updated on Jun 10, 2024 18:16 IST

Part 3 of the PTE exam is the PTE Listening test. The PTE Listening section consists of 8 audio and video questions out of which, the first question is the “PTE Summarize Spoken Text”. The question involves listening to a recorded text on the speaker and then recording the summarised text over the microphone. 

PTE Summarize Spoken Text

Part 3 of the PTE exam, i.e. PTE Listening consists of 8 questions and the total duration for completing this part is 30-43 minutes. Each audio and video clip gets played automatically and gets played only once. PTE test takers can take notes while listening to these audio and video clips and then record their answers in the desired format. 

The first question of the PTE Listening section is “PTE Summarize Spoken Text” which involves listening to a recording and then speaking the summarised content of the recording within 50-70 words. This article consists of all the details on the PTE Summarize text question of the PTE Listening exam. But first, let us understand the PTE summarize spoken text question in detail. 

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Also Read: PTE Academic Listening Section Tips and Tricks

What is PTE Summarise Spoken Text?

The PTE Summarise Spoken Text is a question in which the test takers are presented with a recording on their screens which starts to play itself and can be played only once. Candidates taking the PTE exam are then required to summarise the recorded text that they just heard in around 50-70 words. 








This is the first out of eight questions in Part 3: Listening section of the PTE test. This is an integrated skills task and the length of the prompt in this question is around 60-90 seconds. The skills assessed by the PTE Summarise spoken Text question are Listening and Writing. However, there is no definite time applicable to answer this question. 







All About PTE Summarise Spoken Text

Prompt Length 

60-90 seconds

Skills Assessed

Listening and Writing

Part of the PTE Exam

Part 3: Listening 

Question

Question 1 of 8

Question Re-play Allowed

No

Taking Notes

Allowed 

Total Time Offered to Listen and Write Your Answer

10 minutes

Partial Credit Scoring

Yes

Taking Notes in the PTE Summarise Spoken Text

Candidates get an erasable noteboard booklet that allows them to take notes from the recording online. Candidates can use these notes to derive the main and supporting points for creating a summary of the presented recording. 

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Is this recommendation relevant?

Make sure to use the available resources properly and don’t miss out on listening any important detail as the recording will be played only once. 

How to Answer the PTE Summarize Spoken Text Question?

Candidates get only 10 minutes to listen, understand, take notes and record their answers for the PTE summarise spoken text question. So, this time must be used judiciously. Check out the tips below to learn how to answer PTE summarise spoken text questions properly to score good marks. 

  1. The “summarise spoken text” question of the PTE exam begins with a recording that plays automatically. As you start writing the answer, the word count appears at the bottom of the page. Make sure to write your summary in between 50-70 words. 
  2. While writing down the summary, you will have options to “cut”, “copy” and “paste” your answer, available on the left click of the button. Use these options to structure your summary properly. 
  3. Make sure you summarise the main points and include the supporting points from the recording. On incorporating both essential points and supporting points, you may get full marks for the content. 

PTE Summarize Spoken Text Scoring

The scores in the PTE Summarize Spoken Text question are awarded on the basis of the following 5 parameters. 

  1. Content, 
  2. Form, 
  3. Grammar, 
  4. Vocabulary and  
  5. Spelling.

Partial credit scoring is applicable to PTE Summarised Spoken Text. Candidates must also note that no score is awarded (0 marks) for not answering the question or providing irrelevant answers to any question. 

Note: This scoring in this section affects the scores in the listening an writing sections of the PTE test. 

Each of the above parameters is briefly described below to help students understand each parameter nicely and hence work on improving each before their PTE exam date.  

Content

The Content determines whether or not your summary includes all the essential points of the recording without deviating from the main idea of the recording. However, if you misinterpret the main purpose or the topic of the recording provided to you then, you will not receive any scores for any of the five parameters or for your whole summary

Therefore, take the given 10 minutes to closely identify the main points and the supporting points from your notes to add to your summary. Make sure, your points are clear and stick to the purpose of the recording. 

PTE Summarize Spoken Text Scoring based on Content

Summary describes the topic and purpose of the recording correctly without missing any essential aspect

2 Points

A good summary is written and one or two aspects of the text are missing

1 Marks

Main aspects are missing or misinterpretated

0 Marks

Form

The form is scored by the length of the summary you have provided. Full scores are awarded if the length of your summary is between 50 to 70 words.   

Writing anywhere less than 50 words or more than 70 words may result in a decrease in your score for the PTE Summarise Spoken Text task. Another important point to be noted is that - if you write less than 40 or more than 100 words in your summary then, you will get zero marks for your summary. Hence, answering within the desired work length must be strictly followed. 

PTE Summarize Spoken Text Scoring based on Form

50-70 Words

2 Marks

40-49 words or 71-100 words in Your Summary

1 Marks

Less than 40 or more than 100 Words in Your Summary

0 Marks

Grammar

Scores based on grammar are provided only if the basic structure of the English sentences is correct. Concise sentences that deliver the intent and purpose of the recording effectively are considered to be the best form of grammar writing in a summary. Additionally, checking your sentences for tenses, subject/verb agreement, vocabulary and word order will be equally beneficial. 

PTE Summarize Spoken Text Scoring based on Grammar

All grammatically correct structures 

2 Marks

Contains 1 grammatical error with no hindrance to communication of the summary

1 Marks

Significant grammatical errors that could affect the communication

0 Marks

Vocabulary

The best vocabulary for the PTE Summarize Spoken Text is relevant to the recording and academic environment. Since PTE tests the overall English fluency of the test taker, even the appropriate usage of synonyms is scored. As a best practice, make use of words from the recording to summarise the whole content nicely.

PTE Summarize Spoken Text Scoring based on Vocabulary

For an appropriate choice of words

2 Marks

Contains some lexical errors with no hindrance to the communication of the summary

1 Marks

Significant lexical errors that could affect the communication

0 Marks

Spelling

The convention of English spellings in the PTE Academic exam is adapted from the US, the UK, Australia and Canada English. However, the test taker must use only a single spelling convention throughout their PTE test. For example, if a test taker is comfortable in writing spellings based on US conventions then, throughout the entire PTE exam, they must use only the US convention spellings. 

PTE Summarize Spoken Text Scoring based on Spelling

All Spellings Correct

2 Marks

1 incorrect Spelling

1 Marks

More than 1 Incorrect Spelling

0 Marks

This was all about the PTE Summarise Spoken Text question of the PTE Listening part. In this article, we have learnt all about the pattern, tips to solve, and scoring of the PTE Summarise Spoken Text question. If you have any doubts, feel free to post your queries in the comments below.

PTE Summarize Spoken Text FAQs

Q. How do you summarise the spoken text in the PTE Listening exam?

A. To summarise a spoken text in the PTE Listening test, note down the important points on the noteboard provided in the exam.

Since the recording will be played only once, listen to each and every point very carefully and make short notes to recall each point while constructing a summary after the recording has stopped. 

You will be given 10 minutes of time to listen, analyse and construct a good summary for the PTE Summarise Spoken Text question. 

Below are a few PTE summarise spoken practice points:

  • Practice improving your grammar, sentence structure, vocabulary and spelling. 
  • Give good time to identify the main idea or purpose of the recording and make sure your summary expresses the same. Any deviation from the topic or the purpose of the recording will lead you to get zero marks. 
  • It is advisable that you solve a few PTE summarise spoken text samples beforehand taking your exam.
  • The most important point to note for summarising the spoken text in the PTE exam is that - remember the format of the question. Construct your summary strictly between 50-70 words.

Q. What is the word limit of PTE Summarize Spoken Text?

A. PTE test takers should pay close attention in listening to the recording in the “PTE Summarize Spoken Text” question as there is no option of replaying the same. While listening to the recording, the test takers can also take note of the main and supporting points from the recording. After the recording is over, test takers will be recording to summarise the content of the recording in 50-70 words only.

Q:   How many questions are there in the PTE test?

A:

There is no set minimum or maximum number of questions in the PTE exam. The total number of questions is within a range and subject to change. However, there are a total of 20 different question types which contribute to a total of 52-64 questions in the exam. 

Q:   How many questions are there in each section of the PTE exam?

A:

There are a total of 52-64 questions in the PTE-A exam which are distributed among Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of the PTE exam as given below.

Part-wise Total Number of Questions in the PTE-A Exam
PartsNumber of Questions
Part 1: Speaking and Writing28-36
Part 2: Reading13-18
Part 3: Listening12-20

Q:   What types of writing tasks are included in the PTE Academic exam?

A:

The writing section involves summarizing written texts, composing essays based on prompts, and responding to emails or letters. These tasks assess your writing skills in terms of organization, grammar, vocabulary, and ability to convey ideas effectively in writing, demonstrating clear structure and logical flow.

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Priya Garg
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Priya Garg is a seasoned content writer and editor. With her rich experience in content writing, teaching and research & analysis, Priya believes in providing only the correct information which is also up-to-date. H... Read Full Bio

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