Read the 10 solved samples of Summarize Written Text. This question type of IELTS is in the writing section, but marks are added in both Reading and Writing,
1. Food and eating in Australia
In the past two centuries, there has been a dramatic change in the role of food and eating in Australian public consciousness. Public discussion of food was largely confined to matters of supply, distribution and price. Towards the end of the nineteenth century, some newspapers were offering regular columns of advice on housekeeping topics, including menu planning and recipes. However, eating remained a private activity essentially, even when undertaken by the company.
By the late twentieth century, food and eating had become prominent public preoccupations. Evidence of this dramatic cultural revaluation abounds. In bookstores, for example, cookery and all things related to it are often among the larger displays. Speciality stores are selling all manner of cookware, tableware and other paraphernalia associated with food, eating and drinking. Perhaps most telling is the extension of the phenomenon of mass media celebrity to include culinary personalities.
Answer
Although food and eating became a prominent public preoccupation in Australia during the late 20th century, it was earlier a private activity confined to the matters of supply, distribution and price.
2. The Khoikhoi
San, people of southern Africa, consisting of several groups and numbering over 85,000 in all. They are generally short in stature; their skin is yellowish brown in colour, and they feature prominent cheekbones. The San have been called Bushmen by whites in South Africa, but the term is now considered derogatory. Although many now work for white settlers, about half are still nomadic hunters and gatherers of wild food in desolate areas like the Kalahari semi-desert, which stretches between today’s Nation States of Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa. Their social unit is the small hunting band; larger organizations are loose and temporary. Grass huts, caves, and rock shelters are used as dwellings. They possess only what they can carry, using poisoned arrowheads to fall game and transporting water in ostrich-egg shells. The San have a rich folklore, are skilled in drawing, and have a remarkably complex language characterized by the use of click sounds, related to that of the Khoikhoi. For thousands of years the San lived in southern and central Africa, but by the time of the Portuguese arrival in the 15th cent., they had already been forced into the interior of southern Africa. In the 18th and 19th cent., they resisted the encroachment on their lands of Dutch settlers, but by 1862 that resistance had been crushed.
Answer
San, short Southern African people with yellowish brown skin colour and prominent cheekbones, are living in primitive ways and small hunting bands previously lived in southern and central Africa.
3. Ecology
Ecology is the study of interactions of organisms among themselves and with their environment. It seeks to understand patterns in nature (e.g., the spatial and temporal distribution of organisms) and the processes governing those patterns. Climatology is the study of the physical state of the atmosphere – its instantaneous state or weather, its seasonal-to-interannual variability, its long-term average condition or climate, and how climate changes over time. These two fields of scientific study are distinctly different. Ecology is a discipline within the biological sciences and has as its core the principle of natural selection. Climatology is a discipline within the geophysical sciences based on applied physics and fluid dynamics. Both, however, share a common history. The origin of these sciences is attributed to Aristotle and Theophrastus and their books Meteorological and Enquiry into Plants, respectively, but their modern beginnings trace back to natural history and plant geography. Seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth century naturalists and geographers saw changes in vegetation as they explored new regions and laid the foundation for the development of ecology and climatology as they sought explanations for these geographic patterns. Alexander von Humboldt, in the early 1800s, observed that widely separated regions have structurally and functionally similar vegetation if their climates are similar. Alphonse de Candolle hypothesized that latitudinal zones of tropical, temperate, and arctic vegetation are caused by temperature and in 1874 proposed formal vegetation zones with associated temperature limits.
Answer
The origin of ecology, the study of interactions of organisms among themselves and with their environment, and climatology, the study of the physical state of the atmosphere, is attributed to Aristotle and Theophrastus, but their modern beginnings trace back to natural history and plant geography, with naturalists and geographers saw changes in vegetation while exploring new regions and laying the foundation for ecology and climatology as they sought explanations for these geographic patterns.
4. Presidential Election
According to the United States Constitution, a presidential election is to be held once every fourth year. The process of electing a President and Vice-President begins long before Election Day. Candidates from both major and minor political parties and independent candidates begin to raise money and campaign at least one year in advance of the general presidential election. To officially represent a political party, a candidate must be nominated by that party.
This primary nomination process is a contest that often produces factions within political parties. These divisions impact the policy stances and agendas of the candidates running for nomination as they attempt to garner the support of party leaders and activists. The nominating process officially begins with the first state primaries and caucuses, which usually occur in the month of February of the election year. It is at these local events that voters are given their first chance to participate in electing the nations next President.
Answer
During the Presidential elections in the USA, candidates who are nominated by their political parties start campaigning a year in advance to influence the public as public’s perception leads to caucuses and primaries in few months.
5. Mammals
Mammals can be one of the hardest-hit groups by habitat loss, and a lot of research has been carried out to find the best ways to conserve mammal diversity. Much of this research has focussed on very large-scale changes in land use and the impacts this will have on overall mammal diversity. However, many important decisions about land use are made at much more local scales, for example at the level of individual landowners. Now, in a detailed study led by Imperial College London that looked at mammal diversity across different small-scale landscapes in Borneo, researchers have identified previously logged forests as an overlooked source of refuge for mammals. These ‘selectively logged’ forests, where only certain tree species are removed, are often considered to be degraded and are frequently cleared to make way for plantations. The new results, published in the journal Ecological Applications, suggest they should be better protected. The team recorded mammals using trap-and-release techniques and motion-sensing cameras over three years, creating an unprecedented 20,000 records of species in three land-use types: old-growth forest, logged forest and oil palm plantation. This is one of the most intensive studies of rainforest mammal diversity ever undertaken. To their surprise, they found that mammal diversity for large mammals, like the clouded leopard and civets, was similar for both old-growth forests and logged forests. For small mammals, such as squirrels and rodents, the diversity was actually higher in logged forests.
Answer
Mammals can be one of the hardest-hit groups by habitat loss, with a lot of research carried out to find the best ways to conserve mammal diversity, much of which has focussed on large-scale changes in land use and the impacts on mammal diversity, and researchers have identified previously logged forests as an overlooked source of refuge for mammals, which should be better protected.
6. Comparative Advantages
With an abundance of low-priced labour relative to the United States, it is no surprise that China, India and other developing countries specialize in the production of labour-intensive products. For similar reasons, the United States will specialize in the production of goods that are human- and physical capital intensive because of the relative abundance of a highly-educated labour force and technically sophisticated equipment in the United States.
This division of global production should yield a higher global output of both types of goods that would be the case if each country attempted to produce both of these goods itself. For example, the United States would produce more expensive labour-intensive goods because of its more expensive labour and the developing countries would produce more expensive human and physical capital-intensive goods because of their relative scarcity of these inputs. This logic implies that the United States is unlikely to be a significant global competitor in the production green technologies that are not relatively intensive in the human and physical capital.
Nevertheless, during the early stages of the development of a new technology, the United States has a comparative advantage in the production of the products enabled by this innovation. However, once these technologies become well-understood and production processes are designed that can make use of less-skilled labour, production will migrate to countries with less expensive labour.
Answer
Although some developing countries, such as China, become competent in the production green industries because they have a comparative advantage over the United States, in producing labour intensive goods due to the relatively lower-priced labour, the United States still has a comparative advantage enabled by innovation in the production at the early stage of the development of a new technology.
7. Farming Technique
A farming technique practised for centuries by villagers in West Africa, which converts nutrient-poor rainforest soil into fertile farmland, could be the answer to mitigating climate change and revolutionising farming across Africa. A global study by researchers has for the first-time identified and analysed rich fertile soils found in Liberia and Ghana. They discovered that the ancient West African method of adding charcoal and kitchen waste to highly weathered, nutrient poor tropical soils can transform the land into enduringly fertile, carbon-rich black soils which the researchers dub ‘African Dark Earths’. Similar soils created by Amazonian people in pre-Columbian eras have recently been discovered in South America — but the techniques people used to create these soils are unknown. Moreover, the activities which led to the creation of these anthropogenic soils were largely disrupted after the European conquest. Encouragingly researchers in the West Africa study were able to live within communities as they created their fertile soils. This enabled them to learn the techniques used by the women from the indigenous communities who disposed of ash, bones and other organic waste to create the African Dark Earths.
Answer
As a farming technique in West Africa can convert nutrient-poor rainforest soil into fertile farmland, researchers discovered enduringly fertile, carbon-rich black soils named ‘African Dark Earths’, and similar soils in pre-Columbian eras have also been discovered although the techniques are unknown, so researchers in the West Africa study were able to live within communities as they created their fertile soils, which could be the answer to mitigating climate change and revolutionizing farming across Africa.
8. Astronomy
The smallest star yet measured has been discovered by a team of astronomers led by the University of Cambridge. With a size just a sliver larger than that of Saturn, the gravitational pull at its stellar surface is about 300 times stronger than what humans feel on Earth.
The star is likely as small as stars can possibly become, as it has just enough mass to enable the fusion of hydrogen nuclei into helium. If it were any smaller, the pressure at the center of the star would no longer be sufficient to enable this process to take place. Hydrogen fusion is also what powers the Sun, and scientists are attempting to replicate it as a powerful energy source here on Earth.
These very small and dim stars are also the best possible candidates for detecting Earth-sized planets which can have liquid water on their surfaces, such as TRAPPIST-1, an ultracool dwarf surrounded by seven temperate Earth-sized worlds.
The newly-measured star, called EBLM J0555-57Ab, is located about six hundred light years away. It is part of a binary system and was identified as it passed in front of its much larger companion, a method which is usually used to detect planets, not stars. Details will be published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics.
Answer
Astronomers have discovered the smallest star called EBLM J0555-57Ab, 600 light years away from Earth, having 300 times more gravitational force than of Earth and is also likely to help detect new Earth-sized worlds; however, the method used in this discovery is usually meant to locate planet.
9. Crop Rotation
With a good system of crop rotation, and especially with the addition of any sort of fertilizer you may be able to come up with, it’s possible to grow crops on a plot of land for upwards of 2-3 years at a time with good results. Ultimately, though, you must let the land rest if you hope to continue farming there in the long-run. Allowing a plot of land to rest for a period of time is known as letting the field go fallow, and there are several reasons for this. Allowing a field or plot to lie fallow means that you don’t grow anything new on it, don’t harvest anything and don’t graze any animals on the land for at least a year. Sometimes a field will lay fallow for two, three or even four years, but the traditional standard on many farms was to let a field lie fallow once every 2 – 3 years. This fallow period allows the land to replenish many of its nutrients. The root networks of various grasses or groundcovers (like clover) have a chance to expand and grow, which further strengthens the soil and protects it from erosion. During the fallow period, there are many beneficial flora and micro-fauna, including cyanobacteria, which live in the soil. These microorganisms continue to be active at the root level, steadily improving the quality of the soil so that when you come back in a year or two, you can begin planting food or cash crops anew.
Answer
The reasons why you must let the land rest if you hope to continue farming there in the long-run, which is letting the field go fallow are that this allows the land to replenish many of its nutrients, the root networks of various grasses or ground covers have a chance to expand and grow, and there are many beneficial flora and micro-fauna.
10. Compulsory Voting
Compulsory voting is often suggested as a solution to the problem of declining turnout. But how are individuals and countries affected by compulsory voting beyond boosting electoral participation? Shane Singh investigates the social, economic, and political consequences of compelling citizens to vote.
There has been a lot of discussion about compulsory voting these days. In the United Kingdom, in particular, as voter turnout rates have declined, many commentators and politicians have begun advocating for mandatory electoral participation. Those in favour of compulsory voting often adduce the importance of participation among all segments of society. Citizens of democracies are forced to do many things in the interest of the public good, they maintain, including serving on juries and educating their children, and full participation serves the country as a whole. Those opposed to compulsory voting often argue that, from a democratic theory perspective, the right to vote implicitly includes a right not to vote.
Such a right of abstention, they argue, is more important than any societal good that might accompany high turnout. Opponents of compulsory voting often contend that the country may be better off if those who are disinclined to vote are not pushed to.
Answer
Many countries favour compulsory voting due to one or the other reason, by evaluating results from these countries, it is possible to assess the mechanics and positive effects of compulsory voting to make a nation better.
