Impacts of Technological Surveillance – PTE Summarize Written Text Sample Practice

Sample Summarize Written Text Tasks

Task 1: Impacts of Technological Surveillance on Society

Technological surveillance has become increasingly prevalent in modern society, where government and private entities use digital tools such as artificial intelligence and data analytics to monitor individuals. While surveillance is often justified for enhancing security and preventing crime, it raises significant privacy concerns. Critics argue that constant monitoring can lead to a culture of fear, where individuals censor their behavior, thus limiting freedom. Additionally, there are risks of data misuse, where personal information could be used for manipulative purposes by corporations or governments. Despite these concerns, advocates claim that technological surveillance improves public safety, citing examples where it has helped prevent terrorist attacks and reduce crime rates in high-risk areas.
Your task is to summarize the written text in one sentence.

Band 90 Sample Answer:

Technological surveillance enhances security and prevents crime but raises significant privacy concerns and risks of data misuse, potentially curbing individual freedom.

• Content: Excellent. It covers all key points: security benefits, privacy concerns, data misuse, and behavioral censorship.
• Form: One complete sentence within the required word count (5-75 words).
• Grammar: Grammatically correct.
• Vocabulary: Advanced and precise (e.g., surveillance, privacy concerns, curb).
• Spelling: No mistakes.

Band 80 Sample Answer:

While monitoring improves public safety, it also threatens privacy and may be misused for manipulative purposes, thus limiting personal freedoms.

• Content: Very good. Covers most key points, but slightly underplays the argument for data misuse.
• Form: One complete sentence, within the required word count.
• Grammar: Correct, though a bit simpler.
• Vocabulary: Appropriately advanced, but not as varied as the Band 90 response.
• Spelling: No mistakes.

Band 70 Sample Answer:

Technological surveillance keeps people safe, but it also has privacy risks that may impact how individuals act.

• Content: Covers key points but lacks mention of data misuse and manipulative purposes.
• Form: Meets the single-sentence requirement.
• Grammar: Simpler but correct.
• Vocabulary: Adequate, though limited (e.g., “keeps people safe” is informal).
• Spelling: No mistakes.

Task 2: Corporate Use of Technological Surveillance

Corporations are increasingly adopting technological surveillance methods to monitor employee behavior with the goal of boosting efficiency and productivity. Tools such as keyloggers, computer activity trackers, and even cameras are used to gather data on how employees spend their time. In some cases, this leads to improvements in performance and the detection of unethical behavior such as corporate theft or data leaks. However, employees often feel that these measures invade their privacy, leading to dissatisfaction and stress, which can negatively impact their productivity. Workplace surveillance thus raises ethical questions about the boundaries of control that employers should have over their workers.
Your task is to summarize the written text in one sentence.

Band 90 Sample Answer:

While corporations use technological surveillance to boost productivity and detect misconduct, these methods often raise ethical issues and cause employee dissatisfaction due to privacy concerns.

• Content: Covers all essential elements including productivity, misconduct detection, employee privacy concerns, ethical issues.
• Form: One complete sentence, correct word count.
• Grammar: Complex yet accurate sentence structure.
• Vocabulary: Advanced and varied (e.g., “boost productivity”, “ethics”, “misconduct”).
• Spelling: No mistakes.

Band 80 Sample Answer:

Companies use surveillance to improve performance, but it raises privacy concerns that affect employee satisfaction.

• Content: Good coverage, though it omits the mention of ethical problems.
• Form: One well-formed sentence.
• Grammar: Grammatically correct but slightly less complex.
• Vocabulary: Appropriate, though simpler compared to the Band 90 response.
• Spelling: No mistakes.

Band 70 Sample Answer:

Corporate surveillance can improve work efficiency, but it makes employees uncomfortable and raises privacy concerns.

• Content: Basic coverage but does not fully address ethical aspects or specific types of surveillance.
• Form: Meets the single-sentence requirement.
• Grammar: Simpler but grammatically correct.
• Vocabulary: Adequate, lacks variety and complexity.
• Spelling: No mistakes.

Vocabulary for “Impacts of Technological Surveillance”

Here are 10 key vocabulary words from the passages above to help you better understand and summarize similar content on this topic:

1. Surveillance /sərˈveɪləns/ – (n.) Close observation, especially for security purposes.
   Example: The use of surveillance cameras is essential in monitoring high-risk areas.

2. Data misuse /ˈdeɪtə ˌmɪsˈjuːz/ – (n.) The improper use of personal or private data.
   Example: Data misuse by corporations could lead to severe privacy violations.

3. Manipulative /məˈnɪpjʊlətɪv/ – (adj.) Scheming or exerting unjust control over others.
   Example: Public concerns grow over the manipulative use of personal data.

4. Privacy concerns /ˈpraɪvəsi kənˈsɜːnz/ – (n.) Issues related to the protection of personal information.
   Example: Surveillance technologies often raise privacy concerns among individuals.

5. Ethical /ˈɛθɪkəl/ – (adj.) Relating to moral principles.
   Example: The ethical implications of workplace surveillance are debated widely.

6. Dissatisfaction /dɪsˌsætɪsˈfækʃən/ – (n.) A feeling of displeasure or unfulfillment.
   Example: Employees report dissatisfaction due to the feeling of being constantly monitored.

7. Keylogger /ˈkiːˌlɒɡər/ – (n.) A tool that records users’ keystrokes to monitor their activity.
   Example: Keyloggers are often utilized by companies to track their employees’ efficiency.

8. Misconduct /mɪsˈkɒndʌkt/ – (n.) Improper or unethical behavior.
   Example: Surveillance helps detect employee misconduct like theft or violations.

9. Censorship /ˈsɛnsəˌʃɪp/ – (n.) The suppression of behavior or speech to avoid offending others.
   Example: Continuous monitoring can lead to self-censorship among employees.

10. Terrorist attacks /ˈtɛrərɪst əˈtæks/ – (n.) Acts of violence or sabotage for political purposes.
    Example: Surveillance systems are crucial in preventing and responding to terrorist attacks.

Conclusion

In these Summarize Written Text practices, we’ve examined the Impacts of Technological Surveillance on both societal and corporate levels. This topic is highly prevalent in PTE exams and requires a clear understanding of key concepts like privacy concerns, ethical dilemmas, and security benefits. By practicing different examples and reviewing varied responses, you can develop a more refined approach to summarizing complex ideas effectively. Feel free to leave a comment below if you have any questions or want to share your practice responses for feedback!