Summarize Spoken Text requires a 20–30-word summary. You have eight minutes for the task, including listening, writing and reviewing, and the recording plays once.
A short response has little room for a generic introduction. Use the recording's meaning to choose a template, then keep only the words that help explain that meaning.
From notes to a summary
During listening, identify the topic, the main message and one or two essential supporting points. Use brief notes so that writing does not distract you from the recording.
After listening, turn those notes into complete sentences. Do not submit a list of keywords joined by a template that invents connections between them. Preserve the speaker's meaning, including conditions and distinctions such as may versus will.
The short practice scripts below are adapted or newly written teaching examples, not transcripts of official test recordings. They illustrate summary structure rather than the length of a full recording. Change the bracketed patterns as needed and check the word count after filling them.
1. State the main topic and key details
Use this when the recording introduces a subject and gives important facts about it.
The speaker explains [topic or main point], emphasizing [essential detail] and [essential detail] as [their stated role or significance].
For a more direct opening, start with the topic itself: “[Subject] [main point]…”
Today's park cleanup has three teams with different tasks. One team will pick up litter, another will remove plants that do not belong in the park, and the third will paint or repaint the tables and chairs.
The park cleanup uses three teams: one collects litter, another removes unwanted plants, and the third paints or repaints the park's tables and chairs.
The summary preserves all three tasks and makes clear that each belongs to a different team.
2. Summarize an announcement or change
Use this when the speaker explains a new arrangement, a schedule change or an action listeners need to take.
[Organization or service] will [change or action] from [time, if essential] to [purpose], while [important condition or unchanged arrangement].
Keep a date or time if it is central to the message. Otherwise, use the space for a more important supporting point.
The library is extending its weekday closing time to eight o'clock next month. The change is intended to help residents who work during the day. Weekend opening hours will remain the same.
From next month, the library will close at eight on weekdays to help working residents visit after work; weekend hours will remain unchanged.
3. Describe a problem and a proposed response
Use this when the recording identifies a difficulty and explains how it could be addressed.
[Problem] affects [people or activity] because [stated cause], so [person or organization] proposes [response] to [intended result].
Only include a cause if the recording provides one. If it does not, use “[Problem] affects [group], and [response] is proposed to [purpose].”
Some commuters cannot find parking at the station before work. The transport office proposes adding more morning bus services to make it easier to reach the station without a car and reduce pressure on the car park. The change has not yet been approved.
The transport office proposes additional morning buses to help commuters reach the station without cars and reduce parking pressure, although approval is still pending.
The proposal remains unapproved in the summary. Do not describe it as a service already operating.
4. Compare two categories or options
Use this only when the recording actually divides the subject into two categories or compares two alternatives.
The speaker compares [option A], which [key feature], with [option B], which [key feature], highlighting [main distinction or relevant condition].
Red ocean strategies compete for a share of existing demand in established markets. Blue ocean strategies aim to create new market space and new demand. This can involve a new industry, but it can also happen when a company changes the boundaries of an existing industry.
Red ocean strategies compete for existing demand, while blue ocean strategies aim to create new market space and demand, sometimes by reshaping existing industry boundaries.
The summary preserves the comparison without claiming that a blue ocean must be an entirely new industry or will remain free of competitors forever. Use a “two types” pattern only when the content supports that distinction.
5. Summarize practical advice
Use this when the main purpose is to recommend actions that achieve a particular result.
To [goal], the speaker recommends [action one] and [action two], while emphasizing [important condition or final action].
You can also write the advice directly when the audience and purpose are clear.
In a phone interview, be confident and use a pleasant, energetic voice. Listen carefully to the questions and take a brief pause before answering.
In phone interviews, candidates should use a confident, pleasant and energetic voice, listen carefully to questions, and take a brief pause before responding.
Make the grammar fit the information
After about, use a noun phrase, as in “The speaker talks about staff training.” To introduce a complete statement, use a structure such as “The speaker explains that shorter sessions improve attention.”
Avoid inserting a full sentence into a slot designed for a noun. Also avoid changing every note into a noun merely to preserve a memorized template. Rewriting the surrounding sentence is often clearer.
Keep useful information within the word limit
If the draft exceeds 30 words, remove repetition, an unnecessary introduction or a minor example. Do not cut essential verbs or conditions simply to make the count smaller.
If the draft contains fewer than 20 words, add an important supporting detail from the recording. Repeated topic words and empty comments about how useful the lecture is do not add meaningful information.
Before submitting, check the main idea, the 20–30-word length, grammar, spelling and any claim about a cause or result. During practice, compare your summary with the transcript to see whether each statement is supported.
