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Summarize Spoken Text

What is the task?

You will hear a recording of a lecture. After the recording is finished, you will have to write a short summary of the lecture in 50-70 words, explaining what the lecture was about to another student. You will have to complete the task in 10 minutes. There will be 2-3 such tasks. The purpose of the task is to test your ability to comprehend through listening and to summarize the most important information.

Tips and Techniques

a. Take notes: While you are listening to the recorded lecture, take down important points as you hear them.

• Put down the points in single words or phrases as far as possible, in order to keep up with the lecture. Number each point.
• Highlight the most important terms in the points.
• If it is not mentioned at the beginning what the lecture is about, based on what you understand, write down the general topic of the lecture.

b. Word limit:

• After the recording ends and your task begins, take the first 30 seconds to 1 minute to skim through your notes. Star or tick 5-6 points which you think are the most important from the whole lecture.
• Select the points carefully, so that only the relevant information is included within the limited number of words.

c. The structure of your summary should be as follows:

• Begin with an introduction to what exactly the lecture is about i.e. the topic.
• This should be followed by a brief summary of each important point you have chosen.
• Describe each point in the same order in which you have taken down your notes, so as to maintain the same flow as the lecture for better comprehension of your reader.
• Use the important terms you have highlighted in the summary – other than this, try to write in your own words as far as possible. Do not try to repeat exactly what was said in the lecture.
• Keep your sentences short and simple, so that the idea becomes clear.

d. Remember that your reader is a student as well – you must not confuse them with unnecessarily complex sentences or irrelevant information.

For more tips like this, and help to put them into practice, Hurray Academy is here to help – get in touch with us via email: info@hurrayedutech.com or call us on: 8971357938.