Urban farming is becoming an increasingly popular topic, particularly in Summarize Written Text tasks in the PTE exam. This type of farming holds great promise, especially in addressing challenges related to the global food supply. In this article, we’ll explore urban farming’s potential, and provide a practice Summarize Written Text task for you to prepare for your PTE Speaking & Writing exam.
What is Summarize Written Text in the PTE?
The Summarize Written Text task in the PTE exam requires you to condense a passage into a single sentence, capturing all the essential ideas. You must write the sentence within a maximum of 75 words. The task judges your ability to understand a passage and convey a clear and concise summary.
Let’s look at how “Urban farming’s potential for food supply” fits beautifully into this test format and practice with a sample exam question.
Practice Question: Summarize Written Text — Urban Farming’s Potential for Food Supply
Urban farming is a growing trend as cities around the world are looking for solutions to increase food production. These farms located in urban areas offer many benefits, including reducing transportation costs, decreasing carbon emissions, and providing fresher produce. Moreover, urban farming promotes environmental sustainability by utilizing rooftops, urban wastelands, and even vertical spaces, inevitably leading to optimized land use. However, despite these potential benefits, urban farming also faces challenges, such as limited space, resource management, and scalability, which restrict its ability to fully replace traditional agriculture. In many cases, the produce from urban farms supplements but does not entirely fulfill city demands. Nevertheless, urban farming significantly contributes to food security, particularly in rapidly-growing urban areas with high population densities.
Summarize the written text in one sentence. Your response must be between 5 and 75 words.
Example Responses
Band 90 (Excellent Response):
Urban farming, while providing many environmental and logistical benefits such as reduced carbon emissions and fresh food production, faces challenges like limited space and scalability, making it more of a supplement than a full replacement for traditional agriculture in addressing food supply needs in growing urban areas.
- Content: Fully covers all aspects of the passage, including urban farming’s benefits and challenges, while also mentioning scalability issues and its role in cities.
- Form: Response is under 75 words and follows the correct structure.
- Grammar: No errors found.
- Vocabulary: Used technical terms like “carbon emissions,” “scalability,” and “supplement.”
- Spelling: Spelling is perfect without any mistakes.
Band 75 (Strong Response):
Urban farming can benefit the environment and reduce transportation costs; however, it faces challenges like limited space and scalability, so although helpful in cities, it does not completely replace traditional farming.
- Content: Captures most aspects of the passage but lacks detail on urban land use and food security.
- Form: Response fits within the word limit.
- Grammar: Correct sentence structure with no noticeable errors.
- Vocabulary: Adequate vocabulary usage without advanced terms.
- Spelling: No spelling errors.
Band 60 (Average Response):
Urban farms help reduce transportation cost and provide fresh food, but face challenges like limited space and scalability.
- Content: Covers some key points but omits information on environmental benefits and food security.
- Form: Under 75 words but overly simplistic.
- Grammar: Correct but basic sentence structure.
- Vocabulary: Very basic word choice, lacks sophistication.
- Spelling: No spelling errors.
Band 50 (Below Average Response):
Urban farming is growing but has challenges.
- Content: Incomplete, fails to mention major themes such as environmental benefits, scalability, and food logistics.
- Form: Minimal sentence structure but too short and inadequate.
- Grammar: Simplistic with no errors, but very basic.
- Vocabulary: Not all key terms from the passage were covered.
- Spelling: No spelling errors.
Vocabulary and Grammar
In this task, there are a few key vocabulary words that are important to understand for a better grasp of the passage and to score higher on the PTE.
1. Urban farming /ˈɜːrbən ˈfɑːrmɪŋ/
Definition: The practice of cultivating, processing, and distributing food in or around urban areas.
Example: Urban farming is an innovative way to produce food in densely populated cities.
2. Scalability /ˌskeɪləˈbɪləti/
Definition: The ability of a process or system to grow and handle increased demand.
Example: The scalability of urban farms is often questioned due to space limitations.
3. Sustainability /səˌsteɪnəˈbɪləti/
Definition: The ability to maintain a process or system over time without depleting resources.
Example: Urban farms contribute to sustainability by using previously unused spaces.
4. Carbon emissions /ˈkɑːrbən ɪˈmɪʃn̩z/
Definition: The release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Example: Urban farming can reduce carbon emissions by shortening the supply chain.
5. Logistics /ləˈdʒɪstɪks/
Definition: The management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and points of consumption.
Example: Urban farming helps improve food logistics by reducing transportation times.
6. Environmental sustainability /ɪnˌvaɪrənˈmɛntəl səˌsteɪnəˈbɪləti/
Definition: The responsibility to conserve natural resources and protect ecosystems for future generations.
Example: Urban farming contributes to environmental sustainability through innovative land use.
7. Population density /ˌpɑːpjəˈleɪʃn ˈdɛnsɪti/
Definition: The number of people living per unit of area, often measured per square kilometer.
Example: In areas with high population density, urban farming can supplement food supply needs.
8. Supplement /ˈsʌplɪmənt/
Definition: Something added to complete or enhance something missing.
Example: Urban farms often supplement but do not completely replace agricultural outputs.
9. Rooftop farming /ˈruːftɑːp ˈfɑːrmɪŋ/
Definition: Cultivation of plants and vegetables on the roofs of buildings.
Example: Rooftop farming is gaining popularity in cities for growing fresh vegetables.
10. Fresh produce /frɛʃ ˈproʊdjuːs/
Definition: Fruits and vegetables that have been recently harvested.
Example: Urban farms provide fresh produce to city dwellers more efficiently.
Conclusion
Urban farming is a significant topic in today’s global discussions on sustainable food supplies. The sample task provided not only closely mimics real PTE questions but also addresses urban farming’s relevance in modern cities. This exercise is an excellent way for test takers to understand how to summarize written texts effectively. Practice this continuously to enhance your chances of scoring higher in the PTE.
Please leave a comment below if you have any questions or need further clarification on the task.
