PTE Core · Writing · SW6
PTE Core Writing: Summarize Written Text
Summarize Written Text asks you to read a passage and write a summary of 25 to 50 words in 10 minutes. In PTE Core you may use one sentence or several. The summary should capture the main idea and the key supporting points in your own clear, grammatical English.
- Items per test
- 1–2
- Time
- 10 minutes per item
- Length
- 25–50 words
- Sentences
- One or more complete sentences
- Where it sits
- Part 1: Speaking & Writing
How it works
- 1A passage appears with a text box and a live word counter.
- 2Read for the main message and the two or three points that support it.
- 3Write your summary in 25–50 words.
- 4Check grammar and spelling, then move on before the 10 minutes end.
Sample task
Original sample · not from an official test
Passage summary: A city council article explains that a new food-waste bin collection will start in March. Residents receive a free kitchen caddy, collections happen weekly, and the waste is turned into compost for local parks. The council expects general rubbish to fall by a third.
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Outline: From March, the council will collect food waste weekly in free kitchen caddies and turn it into compost for local parks, which it expects to cut general rubbish by about a third.
At 34 words, this names the change, the practical details and the expected result. It paraphrases rather than copying whole sentences, and it stays inside the 25–50 word range.
Tips that work
- Write the main idea first, then add supporting points only if they fit within 50 words.
- Leave examples, statistics you do not need and background history out of the summary.
- Reuse key nouns from the passage but connect them with your own linking words.
- Keep two minutes to count words and read your sentences once for grammar.
Common mistakes
- Going under 25 or over 50 words.
- Copying the first sentence of the passage instead of summarising the whole text.
- Writing notes or bullet points rather than full sentences.
Questions candidates ask
Must PTE Core Summarize Written Text be one sentence?
No. PTE Core accepts 25–50 words in one or more complete sentences. A single sentence is allowed but not required.
Can I copy words from the passage?
Key terms are fine, but the summary should be your own construction. Lifting whole sentences rarely captures the full passage.
Is this the same as the PTE Academic version?
No. The word range and sentence rules differ, so practise with PTE Core's 25–50 word target.
Does EnglishHub mark my summary?
Yes. You get AI feedback on content, length and language for each summary you submit.
Other PTE Core Writing tasks
PTE Core overviewPTE Core Writing: all partsPTE Core full mock testsPTE Core articles on the blog