PTE Summarize spoken text Tips and Tricks | Top 10

We have a summary question in the PTE Writing section! This is its counterpart from the listening section. To learn more about it refer to our dedicated article on this topic. In this article we will share our top proven PTE Summarize spoken text tips and tricks. These will help you to write a good summary and get a higher score in your PTE summarize spoken text questions.

Let’s look at these tips and tricks one by one:

Be attentive and be ready to listen

The first of PTE Summarize spoken text tips and tricks is: Pay attention!

You should be fully focused before the audio begins. You should put your cursor in the answer window if you are going to type your notes, or you should be ready to write with your hand if you will take the notes on your scratch pad.

Take good notes while listening to the audio

Note taking is an important skill for all questions in which you have to listen to an audio but it is very important here. It will be tough to construct a summary simply on the basis of what you remember. Your notes will provide you more assurance. It is worthwhile spending some time before your exam to work on your note taking technique.

Don’t jump into writing immediately after the audio ends

We hope you have prepared well before the exam. That will give you the confidence to approach all questions in a systematic manner. Those who aren’t confident or don’t have a well-defined strategy jump into answering immediately. You shouldn’t do that, there are other things to be done before that – such as reviewing your notes.

Stick to the word limit of 50 to 70 words

It’s easy to make this mistake therefore a very simple but important tip is to stick to the word limit. If you see you are below the word limit then add some extra detail or repeat a point if needed. If you see you are above the word limit then try to combine some parts or remove a point that is not as important as others.

Don’t make unnecessarily complex sentences

Your sentences should be academic in nature – should be linked properly and be free of spelling and grammar mistakes. That does not mean that you have to fill them with obscure words or make them unnecessarily long and complex. That will only increase the chances of making a mistake.

Review what you have written in the end

You have 10 minutes for one question of this type. Keep at least 2 minutes in the end for a review. Check the word limit, look for spelling and grammatical mistakes, and of course make sure that the key points are covered.

Use your time effectively

Next point in our PTE summarize spoken text tips and tricks list is: Time management!

As we stated in an earlier tip, you have 10 minutes for each question of this type. Divide it effectively. Spend 1 minute going through the notes, 5-6 minutes writing your summary, 2 minutes on the review and the remaining on fixing any mistakes that you identify.

Answer based on your notes

Don’t depend entirely on your memory. Review your notes and construct your answer based on that. This is what a structured approach is all about! Write good notes and then use them effectively.

Don’t put unnecessary details in your summary

This is a summary question so it should only contain the key points. That means you shouldn’t focus on extra details or examples. Usually every key point will be surrounded with a few sentences that will give you more information on that key point. That extra information can be ignored in the summary.

Practice listening to a wide variety of academic audios

Your PTE Academic questions will contain audios from different academic sources. They will also have different accents and speaking speeds. So make sure your practice materials are similar in nature. Best source for this is one of the Rise PTE online course packages.

There is no reason why shouldn’t be able to get full marks in PTE summarize spoken text as well as other PTE questions, if you follow a systematic approach and practice with plenty of good authentic materials!