PTE WRITING Summarize Written Text (SWT) exam questions

Tip: Summarize Written Text questions tend to have higher repeated rate than other question types in PTE Academic test. Make sure you understand the whole passage. Memorise words as much as you can. We selected some of PTE predicted Summarize Written Text (Writing) for February 2023. You can get full version of this material by accessing PTE Predicted Questions for February 2023.

1.Human Traits | Summarize Written Text (SWT)

The age-old question of whether human traits are determined by nature or nurture has been answered, a team of researchers say. Their conclusion? It’s a draw. By collating almost every twin study across the world from the past 50 years, researchers determined that the average variation for human traits and disease is 49 percent due to genetic factors and 51 percent due to environmental factors. University of Queensland researcher Beben Benyamin from the Queensland Brain Institute collaborated with researchers at VU University of Amsterdam to collate 2,748 studies involving more than 14.5 million pairs of twins. “Twin studies have been conducted for more than 50 years but there is still some debate in terms of how much the variation is due to genetic or environmental factors,” Benyamin said. He said the study showed the conversation should move away from nature versus nature, instead looking at how the two work together. “Both are important sources of variation between individuals,” he said. While the studies averaged an almost even split between nature and nurture, there was wide variation within the 17,800 separate traits and diseases examined by the studies. For example, the risk for bipolar disorder was found to be 68 percent due to genetics and only 32 percent due to environmental factors. Weight maintenance was 63 percent due to genetics and 37 percent due to environmental factors. In contrast, risk for eating disorders was found to be 40 percent genetic and 60 percent environmental, whereas the risk for mental and behavioral disorders due to use of alcohol was 41 percent genetic and 59 percent environmental. Benyamin said in psychiatric, ophthalmological and skeletal traits, genetic factors were a larger influence than environmental factors. But for social values and attitudes it was the other way around.

Sample Answer:

A team of researchers say that the age-old question of whether human traits are determined by nature or nurture has been answered, and Benyamin said genetic factors were a larger influence than environmental factors in psychiatric, ophthalmological and skeletal traits, but for social values and attitudes it was the other way around. (52 words)

2. Brain Wave | Summarize Written Text (SWT)

We can’t see it, but brains hum with electrical activity. Brain waves created by the coordinated firing of huge collections of nerve cells pinball around the brain. The waves can ricochet from the front of the brain to the back, or from deep structures all the way to the scalp and then back again. Called neuronal oscillations, these signals are known to accompany certain mental states. Quiet alpha waves ripple soothingly across the brains of meditating monks. Beta waves rise and fall during intense conversational turns. Fast gamma waves accompany sharp insights. Sluggish delta rhythms lull deep sleepers, while dreamers shift into slightly quicker theta rhythms. Researchers have long argued over whether these waves have purposes, and what those purposes might be. Some scientists see waves as inevitable but useless by-products of the signals that really matter — messages sent by individual nerve cells. Waves are simply a consequence of collective neural behavior, and nothing more, that view holds. But a growing body of evidence suggests just the opposite: instead of by-products of important signals, brain waves are key to how the brain operates, routing information among far-flung brain regions that need to work together. MIT’s Earl Miller is among the neuroscientists amassing evidence that waves are an essential part of how the brain operates. Brain oscillations deftly route information in a way that allows the brain to choose which signals in the world to pay attention to and which to ignore, his recent studies suggest. Other research supports this view, too. Studies on people with electrodes implanted in their brains suggest brain waves, and their interactions, help enable emotion, language, vision and more.

Sample Answer:

Brain waves created by the coordinated firing of huge collections of nerve cells pinball around the brain, and that beta waves rise and fall during intense conversational turns, so researchers have long argued over whether these waves have purposes, while evidence suggests brain waves are key to how the brain operates, routing information amoung far-flung brain regions that need to work together. (63 words)

3.Product Life Cycle | Summarize Written Text (SWT)

The product life cycle has 4 very clearly defined stages, each with its characteristics that mean different things for businesses that are trying to manage the life cycle of their particular products.

Introduction Stage – This stage of the cycle could be the most expensive for a company launching a new product. The size of the market for the product is small, which means sales are low, although they will be increasing. On the other hand, the cost of things like research and development, consumer testing, and the marketing needed to launch the product can be very high, especially if it’s a competitive sector.

Growth Stage – The growth stage is typically characterized by strong growth in sales and profits, and because the company can start to benefit from economies of scale in production, the profit margins, as well as the overall amount of profit, will increase. This makes it possible for businesses to invest more money in promotional activity to maximize the potential of this growth stage.

Maturity Stage – During the maturity stage, the product is established and the aim for the manufacturer is now to maintain the market share they have built up. This is probably the most competitive time for most products and businesses need to invest wisely in any marketing they undertake. They also need to consider any product modifications or improvements to the production process which might give them a competitive advantage.

Decline Stage – Eventually, the market for a product will start to shrink, and this is what’s known as the decline stage. This shrinkage could be due to the market becoming saturated (i.e. all the customers who will buy the product have already purchased it), or because the consumers are switching to a different type of product. While this decline may be inevitable, it may still be possible for companies to make some profit by switching to less-expensive production methods and cheaper markets.

Sample Answer:

The product life cycle has 4 very clearly defined stages which are introduction stage, growth stage, maturity stage, and decline stage, and each with its characteristics that mean different things for businesses that are trying to manage the life cycle of their particular products. (44 words)

4. South Africa | Summarize Written Text (SWT)

The area that is now South Africa has been inhabited by humans for millennia. The San, the original inhabitant this land, were migratory people who lived in small groups of about 15 to 20 people. They survived by fishing and hunting and by gathering roots and other wild foods. They did not build permanent dwellings but used rock shelters as temporary dwellings. Around 2,000 years ago Khoikhoi pastoralists migrated to the coast. In the eastern part of present-day South Africa, iron-working societies date from about 300 AD. The Sotho-Tswana and Nguni peoples arrived in this region around 1,200 AD. They lived by agriculture and stock farming, mined gold, copper and tin and hunted for ivory and built stone-walled towns. Over the centuries, these societies had diverse contacts with the Khoisan. Strife between the San and the Khoikhoi developed over competition for game; eventually the Khoikhoi became dominant. These peoples lived in the western part of present-day South Africa and are known collectively as the Khoisan.

Sample Answer:

The area that is now South Africa has been inhabited by humans for millennia as the San were migratory people and around 2,000 years ago Khoikhoi pastoralists migrated to the coast, and that the Sotho-Tswana and Nguni peoples arrived in this region around 1,200 AD, but eventually the Khoikhoi became dominant so that these peoples lived in the western part of present-day South Africa and are known collectively as the Khoisan. (73 words)

5. Negotiation| Summarize Written Text (SWT)

Negotiation is a common process in business to mainly solve business conflicts between both parties. Compromise is a basic negotiation state in which both parties give up something that they want in order to get something else they want more. Compromise usually occur in unfair parties when there is a fixed pie to be divided up, and whatever on one side gets, the other side loses.

In compromise situations, neither side gets all of what they really want, but they each make concessions in order to reach an agreement that is acceptable to both. Both parties usually can reach win-win concept through compromise. However, negotiation cannot resolve all the conflict if one party is unwilling to resolve the problem.

Sample Answer:

Negotiation is a common process in business and compromise is a basic negotiation state in which both parties give up something and get something else in order to reach an agreement that is acceptable to both, but negotiation cannot resolve all the conflict if one party is unwilling to resolve the problem. (52 words)

6. Wine Industry in US | Summarize Written Text (SWT)

In 1920, the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution was enacted, creating yet another serious setback to the American wine industry. The National Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act, prohibited the manufacture, sale, transportation, importation, exportation, delivery, or possession of intoxicating liquors for beverage purposes, and nearly destroyed what had become a thriving national industry. In 1920 there were more than seven hundred wineries in California. By the end of Prohibition, there were 160.

If Prohibition had lasted only four or five years, its impact on the wine industry might have been negligible. But it continued for thirteen years, during which time grapes went underground literally and figuratively, becoming an important commodity in the criminal economy. The fruit juice, which was sometimes made into concentrate, was ideal for making wine. Some of this yield found its way to bootleggers throughout America who did just that. But not for long, because the government stepped in and banned the sale of grape juice, preventing illegal wine production. Vineyards stopped being planted, and the American wine industry ground to a halt.

Sample Answer:

The National Prohibition Act prohibited the American wine industry for beverage purposes which almost destroyed a thriving national industry in 1920, and that it continued for thirteen years when grapes went underground and became a commodity in the criminal economy since the bootleggers traded fruit concentrate until the government banned the sale and prevented illegal production, which caused the industry ground to a halt. (64 words)

7.Voting Rights in UK | Summarize Written Text (SWT)

Compulsory voting is often suggested as a solution to the problem of declining turnout. But how are individuals and countries affected by compulsory voting beyond boosting electoral participation? Shane Singh investigates the social, economic, and political consequences of compelling citizens to vote.

There has been a lot of discussion about compulsory voting these days. In the United Kingdom, in particular, as voter turnout rates have declined, many commentators and politicians have begun advocating for mandatory electoral participation. Those in favor of compulsory voting often adduce the importance of participation among all segments of society. Citizens of democracies are forced to do many things in the interest of the public good, they maintain, including serving on juries and educating their children, and full participation serves the country as a whole. Those opposed to compulsory voting often argue that, from a democratic theory perspective, the right to vote implicitly includes a right not to vote. Such a right of abstention, they argue, is more important than any societal good that might accompany high turnout. In fact, opponents of compulsory voting often contend that the country may be better off if those who are disinclined to vole are not pushed to participate in public affairs.

Regardless of whether one of these sets of arguments is more persuasive than the other, compulsory voting is commonly used around the world. Several European democracies mandate voting, as do Australia and most of the countries in Latin America. By evaluating results from these countries, it is possible to assess the mechanics and effects of compulsory voting.

Sample Answer:

Voting is essential to make your voice heard on issues that concern you, however, voting drop in last UK general election voting because young people do not trust politicians and inconvenience, and accordingly, to encourage people to vote, government, media, and politicians should make the considerate effort.(47 words)

8. Technology Prediction IBM | Summarize Written Text (SWT)

As far as prediction is concerned, remember that the chairman of IBM predicted in the fifties that the world would need a maximum of around half a dozen computers, that the British Department for Education seemed to think in the eighties that we would all need to be able to code in BASIC and that in the nineties Microsoft failed to foresee the rapid growth of the Internet.

Who could have predicted that one major effect of the automobile would be to bankrupt small shops across the nation? Could the early developers of the telephone have foreseen its development as a medium for person-to- person communication, rather than as a form of the broadcasting medium? We all, including the ‘experts’, seem to be peculiarly inept at predicting the likely development of our technologies, even as far as the next year. We can, of course, try to extrapolate from the experience of previous technologies, as I do below by comparing the technology of the Internet with the development of other information and communication technologies and by examining the earlier development of radio and print.

Sample Answer:

The effect of information and communication technologies are unpredictable since foreseeing the rapid growth of the Internet and automobile is problematic, but we can try to extrapolate and compare the previous experience to examine the earlier development of radio and print. (41 words)

9. Office Environment | Summarize Written Text (SWT)

The notion that office space has a role in promoting or inhibiting performance is backed up by solid research. A recent study conducted by Harvard University and Massachusetts General Hospital showed that improvements to the physical surroundings of workers impacted on productivity not just because the working environment was more attractive, but because the changes made employees feel cared for. A Swedish research paper revealed a strong link between the type of office an employee worked in and their overall job satisfaction and health. Various findings have emerged as a result of studies such as this. Pot plants and greenery can apparently have a real impact on psychological well-being. Those who work in a private room tend to be in better health than workers based in open-plan offices.

Sufficient light can reduce sickness among workers and increase productivity, and an attractive office can make workers feel more cared for and therefore more loyal to their company. Most of these points make good rational sense. But some companies aren’t content simply to increase the health , productivity and contentment of their employees. Pioneers such as Google, Walt Disney and Dyson have tried to create offices that will do everything from promoting collaboration between workers to stimulating their creative juices. “Environment, both physical and cultural, can make or break creativity.” says Kursty Groves, author of I Wish I Worked There! A look inside the most creative spaces in business. Stimulating spaces expose the mind to a variety of stimuli – planned or random – In order to encourage people to think differently. Reflective spaces promote the filtering of information into the brain slowing it to make connections. An environment which encourages a team to build trust and to play freely is an essential ingredient for innovation.

Sample Answer:

Although the notion that office space has a role in promoting or inhibiting performance is backed up by solid research, some companies aren’t content simply to increase the health , productivity and contentment of their employees since pioneer companies have tried to create offices that will do everything from promoting collaboration between workers to stimulating their creative juices. (57 words)

10. Museology | Summarize Written Text (SWT)

What is museology? A simple definition might be that it is the study of museums, their history and underlying philosophy, the various ways in which they have, in the course of time, been established and developed, their avowed or unspoken aims and policies, their educative or political or social role. More broadly conceived, such a study might also embrace the bewildering variety of audiences — visitors, scholars, art lovers, children -at whom the efforts of museum staff are supposedly directed, as well as related topics such as the legal duties and responsibilities placed upon (or incurred by) museums, perhaps even some thought as to their future. Seen in this light, museology might appear at first sight a subject so specialized as to concern only museum professionals, who by virtue of their occupation are more or less obliged to take an interest in it. In reality, since museums are almost, if not quite as old as civilization itself, and since the plethora of present-day museums embraces virtually every field of human endeavor – not just art, or craft, or science, but entertainment, agriculture, rural life, childhood, fisheries, antiquities, automobiles: the list is endless – it is a field of enquiry so broad as to be a matter of concern to almost everybody.

Sample Answer:

Museology, a study of museums, their history and underlying philosophy, not lonely embraces the bewildering variety of audiences and different topics but also specialises as to concern museum professionals, and it is a field of enquiry so broad as to be a matter of concern to almost everybody since it embraces every field of human endeavor. (56 words)