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Writing

Summarize Written Text

Read a passage and write a single-sentence summary of 5-75 words.

Score
10 min5-75 words
Scored on
ContentFormGrammarVocabulary
Contributes to
WritingReading

Sample item

Summarize the passage in one sentence of 5 to 75 words.

Antibiotic resistance develops when bacteria survive exposure to a drug and pass their resistance on. Overprescription accelerates this, as does incomplete courses of treatment. Agricultural use contributes substantially, since sub-therapeutic doses in livestock create ideal selection conditions. Researchers argue that new drug development alone cannot outpace resistance without simultaneous reductions in unnecessary use.

Antibiotic resistance spreads when surviving bacteria pass on resistance, a process accelerated by overprescription, incomplete treatment courses and sub-therapeutic agricultural dosing, which researchers argue means new drug development cannot outpace resistance unless unnecessary use is also reduced.

One sentence, 44 words. The three causes are joined with commas and the researchers' conclusion attaches with a relative clause rather than a new sentence.

How to approach Summarize Written Text

  1. Read once for the main claim

    Read the passage straight through and identify the single claim the author is arguing, which is usually stated early and restated near the end. Everything else in the text either supports that claim or qualifies it, and your summary must lead with it.

  2. Select two supporting points

    Go back and mark the two ideas that do most to advance the argument, ignoring examples, statistics and asides. Two is the practical limit: more than that and you cannot join them into a single readable sentence within the word range.

  3. Build one complete sentence

    Join your claim and support with a subordinator such as although, because or while, or with a relative clause, and keep the whole answer between 5 and 75 words. Write it in one go rather than stitching two sentences together afterwards.

  4. Check form before submitting

    You have 10 minutes, so reserve the last two. Confirm there is exactly one full stop, at the end, and no semicolons or bullet points. Then check subject-verb agreement and spelling, since grammar and vocabulary are separately scored traits here.

The method

Find the main idea and the two most important supporting points, then join them with a conjunction or a relative clause into one grammatically complete sentence. Proofread specifically for a stray full stop.

The mistake that costs most

Writing two sentences, or exceeding 75 words. Either scores zero on Form regardless of how good the content is.

A reusable structure

Every high-scoring answer is one grammatically complete sentence built the same way: the passage's main claim, joined to its one or two most important supporting points with a subordinator such as 'although', 'because' or 'while', or with a relative clause. That single-sentence frame is the reusable part; fill it with this passage's actual argument, keep it inside the word range, and confirm there is exactly one full stop before you submit.

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Frequently asked questions

Yes. Two sentences score zero on Form regardless of content quality. Join clauses with a conjunction or a relative pronoun, and check for an accidental full stop before submitting.

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