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PTE Summarize Written Text 2026: The 50-60% Paraphrase Rule You Must Follow

ByAlex

PTE Summarize Written Text 2026: The 50-60% Paraphrase Rule You Must Follow

Quick Answer: The old Summarize Written Text strategy – copying 70-90% of the text almost word-for-word and adding connectors – is now flagged by human checkers. In 2026, you must paraphrase at least 50-60% of the key content you include. The two-phase approach: write your summary as before, then go back and paraphrase the key vocabulary while keeping the grammatical structure intact.

Hey guys, Alex here.

I want to walk you through one of the most important strategy shifts from the August 2025 PTE update – because this is one where the old approach does not just underperform. It actively risks getting you a zero.

Summarize Written Text has always been one of my favourite tasks to teach. It's also one of the most strategic tasks in the writing section, because it contributes to both your Writing and your Reading scores simultaneously.

Get it right and you are moving two scores with one response. Get flagged by the new human assessment layer, and you lose both.

Here is what you need to know.

Last updated: 18 June 2026

In this guide:

What Summarize Written Text Is (And Why It Is So Valuable)

Summarize Written Text (SWT) is a writing section task where:

  1. You read a passage of around 250-300 words
  2. You have 10 minutes to write a single sentence that captures the main idea of the passage
  3. Your sentence must be between 5 and 75 words
  4. One sentence only – PTE will penalise you if you write more than one

The official Pearson weighting makes SWT one of the most strategically important tasks in the exam:

Skill SWT Contribution
Overall 7%
Writing 28%
Reading 23%

You are guaranteed to receive two SWT questions in every exam sitting. That means two opportunities to simultaneously improve both your Writing and Reading scores with a single response.

For students whose reading score is tight, those guaranteed two SWT questions are a crucial source of reading points that doesn't depend on academic vocabulary or unfamiliar topics – just your ability to summarise clearly.

For the full picture of how every question type contributes to your score, see PTE Score Breakdown: Which Questions Matter Most?

The Old Approach (And Why It No Longer Works)

Before August 2025, the standard strategy for SWT was:

  1. Read the passage
  2. Identify the main idea and two or three key supporting points
  3. Copy those points almost word-for-word from the text
  4. Connect them with academic linking language (furthermore, in addition, however)
  5. Wrap it in an opening phrase and a conclusion phrase

The result was a grammatically clean, academically structured sentence that was 70-90% identical to the source text. The AI scored it well because the vocabulary was sophisticated, the grammar was correct (the source passage grammar is correct by default), and the key ideas were covered.

This approach no longer works reliably.

The August 2025 update added a human assessment layer to SWT. Human checkers reviewing your responses can immediately see when a sentence is a near-copy of the source passage. That triggers the same binary flag that applies to speaking templates: your response is marked as inadequate, and you receive a very low or zero score.

The writing and reading points from that SWT question: gone.

The New Rule: 50-60% Paraphrase

After August 2025, the rule for SWT is:

At least 50-60% of the key vocabulary in your summary must be paraphrased – replaced with your own equivalent words or phrases.

This means if the original passage says "urban migration has accelerated due to economic pressures," your summary cannot say "urban migration has accelerated due to economic pressures." You need something closer to "the movement of people to cities has increased as financial conditions push workers out of rural areas."

Same idea. Different words. That is the standard you are now held to.

The Two-Phase Strategy

Here is the exact approach I now teach my students for SWT, from the moment the question appears.

Phase 1 – Build your draft (first 5-6 minutes)

  1. Read the passage once through quickly, identifying the main topic
  2. Read it a second time, marking (mentally or on your notepad) the main idea, the most important supporting point, and the writer's overall conclusion or implication
  3. Write out your draft summary sentence using the content you've identified – at this stage, it is fine to use language close to the source passage
  4. Add your opening phrase, connectors, and closing phrase
  5. Check: is it one sentence? Is it between 25 and 60 words? (staying away from the 75-word limit gives you a safety margin)

Phase 2 – Paraphrase (final 3-4 minutes)

  1. Read your draft sentence back and identify the content words (nouns, main verbs, adjectives)
  2. For each content word, ask yourself: do I have a clear synonym or equivalent phrase?
  3. Replace 50-60% of those content words with your alternatives
  4. Keep the grammatical structure intact – do not move the subject, swap the verb for a different tense, or restructure the sentence
  5. Check your spelling on any words you have changed – this is where spelling errors creep in

The key instruction in step 9 is important. You are not rewriting the sentence from scratch. You are keeping the skeleton and changing the vocabulary. This protects your grammar quality (because the original structure was grammatically sound) while satisfying the paraphrase requirement.

What to Paraphrase and What to Leave

Not every word can be paraphrased, and you should not try to replace everything.

Replace these:

  • Common nouns: "researchers" – "scientists," "study team," "academics"
  • Verbs: "found" – "discovered," "identified," "demonstrated"
  • Adjectives: "significant" – "substantial," "considerable," "notable"
  • Adverbs: "rapidly" – "quickly," "at a fast rate"

Leave these as they are:

  • Proper nouns: names of people, places, organisations – there is no synonym for "the University of Melbourne"
  • Technical or discipline-specific terms: "photosynthesis," "bilateral trade agreement," "cognitive behavioural therapy" – if there is no clear everyday equivalent, keep the original term
  • Numbers and percentages: "37%" stays "37%"
  • Articles and prepositions: "the," "of," "in" – function words do not need to be swapped

The Time Management Reality

Ten minutes sounds like a lot. It is not.

Students who do not manage their SWT time carefully make one of two mistakes:

  • They spend 8-9 minutes on Phase 1, leaving no time to paraphrase
  • They spend so long paraphrasing that they do not check their grammar and spelling

Here is the honest timing breakdown that works:

  • Reading the passage: 2-3 minutes
  • Identifying and drafting: 3-4 minutes
  • Paraphrasing and review: 3-4 minutes

You need to be an efficient reader. Practising active reading – identifying the main idea in the first and last paragraph, supporting points in the body – is a skill that shortens your Phase 1 time considerably.

For students who struggle with reading speed, the skills developed for SWT also directly improve your Reading section performance. The comprehension habits are the same.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Mistake 1: Using the same connector phrases as the source passage.
If the text says "furthermore, the study demonstrates…" and your summary also says "furthermore, the study demonstrates…" – that opening phrase is a flag. Your connectors should also be varied.

Mistake 2: Only paraphrasing the last part of the sentence.
Human checkers read from the beginning. If your opening phrase is word-for-word from the passage, the flag is triggered early.

Mistake 3: Over-paraphrasing technical terms.
Do not try to replace domain-specific vocabulary with imprecise synonyms. If the passage is about "neural networks," writing "brain-style computer systems" may be unclear and inaccurate. Keep technical terms as they are.

Mistake 4: Splitting into two sentences.
PTE requires exactly one sentence. If you use a full stop (period) or if your sentence can clearly be read as two separate clauses with different subjects, it may be penalised for Form.

Mistake 5: Going under 25 words or over 75 words.
Keep your summary between 30 and 65 words for safety. Under 25 words is too thin to cover the main idea and key support adequately. Over 75 is penalised.

How This Relates to Summarize Spoken Text

The same paraphrase principle applies to Summarize Spoken Text (SST) in the Listening section.

Before August 2025, students sometimes used long template openings (50-60 filler words) with only 10 added keywords from the audio. With human checkers now reviewing SST as well, highly templated responses are flagged.

For SST, the content of your summary must come predominantly from your notes of what the speaker said. Use a short structural framework (4-5 sentences), but fill it almost entirely with content from the audio. Paraphrase that content rather than copy-typing the exact phrases from your notes.

For tips on SST specifically, see PTE Summarize Spoken Text Tips & Tricks 2026.

Related Reading from Dream English

Frequently Asked Questions: PTE Summarize Written Text

How much is Summarize Written Text worth in PTE?

Summarize Written Text contributes 7% to your Overall score, 28% to your Writing score, and 23% to your Reading score. It is one of the most strategically valuable tasks because a well-written SWT response simultaneously improves two skill scores. You are guaranteed two SWT questions per exam sitting.

What changed about SWT after August 2025?

The August 2025 update added a human assessment layer to SWT. Responses that are near-verbatim copies of the source passage are now flagged as inadequate. The new requirement is to paraphrase at least 50-60% of the key vocabulary in your summary rather than reproducing the passage language directly.

Can I still use academic connector words like "furthermore" and "in addition"?

Yes – connector language is still expected and valued. The issue is not with connectors; it is with the content vocabulary being copied from the source. Your connectors should link your own paraphrased version of the content, not link copied segments of the original passage.

How long should my SWT sentence be?

Between 5 and 75 words – but in practice, aim for 30-65 words. This range is long enough to cover the main idea and one or two key supporting points, but short enough to review and polish in the time available. Very short responses (under 25 words) rarely capture enough to score well on Content. Responses over 70 words risk running over the limit if you miscounted.

What happens if I write more than one sentence?

PTE's scoring system will flag your response for Form. You may receive zero or a reduced score on the Form trait. Summarize Written Text is specifically designed as a one-sentence task – using a full stop to split into two sentences is penalised.

Does SWT paraphrase quality affect my Reading score or only Writing?

Both. SWT contributes 28% to Writing and 23% to Reading. If your response is flagged as inadequate by a human checker, both your Writing and Reading scores from that question are affected. This is why SWT paraphrase quality is doubly important.

Watch the Full Breakdown

Alex explains the complete August 2025 SWT strategy update, including the paraphrase rule and the two-phase approach:



Alex s. – director, dream english education

Alex S.

Director & Head Coach, Dream English Education

Alex S. is Australia’s leading PTE coach with 8+ years of experience and over 5,000 students helped to achieve their target scores. Dream English Education is trusted by students across Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and online Australia-wide — with 700+ five-star reviews.

Practise SWT With Real Feedback

Our AI-powered platform scores your SWT responses and flags content, grammar, and structure issues before exam day:

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  • Alex, Director, Dream English Education

Scoring weights sourced from Pearson's official "PTE Academic Scoring Information for Teachers and Partners" (pearsonpte.com). Human assessment policy based on August 2025 PTE Academic format update.

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