In the PTE exam’s Speaking and Writing section, “Summarize Written Text” is a critical task where you are required to summarize a passage into just one sentence. Let’s explore a set of useful practice tasks centered around the important topic of Smart farming for food security. This subject is becoming increasingly popular in recent PTE exams due to the global focus on sustainable agriculture.
Practicing with relevant examples will not only help in mastering the skills for the exam but also improve your ability to create focused and informative summaries. In this post, we’ll present a practice question and provide a keyword-optimized breakdown of answers for various band levels, explaining how to score better on content, grammar, form, and spelling.
Summarize Written Text: Smart Farming Practice Task
Task Description
Read the following passage and summarize it in one sentence. Your response needs to be between 5 and 75 words. You should cover all key points of the text in one concise sentence.
Smart farming techniques, such as precision agriculture, vertical farming, and data-driven crop management, are transforming traditional agriculture. These practices allow farmers to optimize resources, minimize environmental damage, and improve crop yield. By leveraging IoT devices and advanced sensors, farmers can gather real-time data on soil condition, moisture levels, and plant growth, adjusting strategies for optimal production. Moreover, smart farming plays a pivotal role in ensuring long-term food security as the global population continues to rise, requiring innovative approaches to meet the increasing demand for food. Despite the benefits, challenges like high initial costs and the need for technological education remain obstacles to widespread adoption.
Answer Samples and Breakdown
Here are responses at different score levels along with analysis based on PTE’s scoring criteria.
Answer 1 – Band Score: 90
Smart farming techniques involving precision agriculture and IoT devices significantly optimize resources, mitigate environmental harm, enhance crop yields, and ensure global food security despite obstacles like initial costs and technological education.
Content: This answer correctly summarizes all major points mentioned in the passage, touching on both the benefits and challenges.
Form: The response follows the requirement of one sentence and stays below 75 words.
Grammar: Excellent grammar, parallel structure, and appropriate clause usage.
Vocabulary: The use of words like “optimize,” “mitigate,” and “enhance” demonstrates strong vocabulary control.
Spelling: No spelling errors.
Answer 2 – Band Score: 75
Smart farming methods, including IoT integration and better resource use, improve crop yield and food security, although the high costs and need for education can slow adoption.
Content: This response adequately covers most major points but simplifies some details, such as omitting the mention of environmental sustainability.
Form: The sentence is within the required word limit.
Grammar: The grammar is mostly correct, though there is slight awkwardness with “slow adoption.”
Vocabulary: Good use of key terms like “IoT” and “yield,” though “better resource use” could be expressed more precisely.
Spelling: No spelling mistakes.
Answer 3 – Band Score: 60
Smart farming using technology helps in getting better crops and ensuring food despite being costly and hard to use.
Content: This answer highlights the farming technologies but oversimplifies the benefits and challenges. It omits key points related to environmental impact and the importance of the global population rise.
Form: One sentence following the required format but closer to the lower word limit.
Grammar: Basic grammar is used and some phrases lack clarity.
Vocabulary: The vocabulary is functional but lacks academic depth, with phrases like “getting better crops” sounding informal.
Spelling: Correct.
Key Vocabulary for Smart Farming and Food Security
Here are ten challenging words from the passage along with their definitions, phonetic transcriptions, and example sentences:
-
Precision agriculture /prɪˈsɪʒ.ən æɡrɪˈkʌltʃər/ – The science of optimizing agricultural practices using technology.
Example: Precision agriculture allows farmers to reduce waste. -
Vertical farming /ˈvɜːtɪkl ˈfɑːrmɪŋ/ – A method where crops are grown in stacked layers.
Example: Vertical farming conserves space in urban areas. -
IoT (Internet of Things) /aɪ.oʊ ˈti/ – The interconnection of devices over the internet.
Example: IoT devices are used to monitor soil quality in smart farms. -
Crop yield /krɒp jiːld/ – The total output of crop production.
Example: Smart technology helps farmers increase crop yield. -
Mitigate /ˈmɪt.ɪ.ɡeɪt/ – To reduce the severity of something.
Example: Advanced techniques mitigate the impact on the environment. -
Real-time /rɪəl-taɪm/ – Immediate or current data.
Example: Farmers rely on real-time data to make critical decisions. -
Resource optimization /rɪˈzɔːrs ɒptɪmaɪˈzeɪʃən/ – Efficient use of resources to enhance outcomes.
Example: Resource optimization helps in sustainable farming. -
Sustainability /səˌsteɪnəˈbɪlɪti/ – The practice of maintaining ecological balance by avoiding depletion of natural resources.
Example: Sustainability is a core goal in smart farming systems. -
Challenges /ˈtʃælɪndʒɪz/ – Obstacles or difficulties that need to be overcome.
Example: There are several challenges to adopting new technologies on farms. -
Obstacles /ˈɒbstəkəlz/ – Things that block one’s way or hinder progress.
Example: High costs pose obstacles to the adoption of smart agriculture.
Conclusion
The topic of “Smart Farming For Food Security” is increasingly becoming a vital element of the PTE’s Summarize Written Text section. Practicing tasks on this important global issue can enhance your skills in summarizing complex information accurately and succinctly. To ensure better preparation and familiarity, you can explore more resources and strategies that link to this topic, such as our detailed article on Smart agriculture and food security.
Feel free to try out these practice tasks, analyze your responses, and use the key tips provided to reach your desired score. Happy testing!
