Integrated Language Skills
Integrated Language Skills items combine two or more abilities: reading a passage and writing a summary, listening to a talk and completing notes, or interpreting data and explaining it in English. The challenge is not any single skill but switching between input and output without losing accuracy.
Read or listen for the argument, not the words
Identify the claim, the evidence, and the conclusion. In a summary task, the conclusion is usually the sentence the author wants you to keep. Details such as dates and names matter only if the question asks for them.
Control the output format
If the task asks for one sentence, write one sentence with one main clause and, if needed, one subordinate clause. If it asks for notes, use noun phrases rather than full sentences. If it asks for a graph description, state the overall trend first, then the exception.
Worked example
Passage: 'The city introduced free bus passes for students. Bus use rose by 30 per cent in the first year, but car accidents near schools did not fall. The city concluded that the passes changed travel habits but did not make roads safer.' Task: Summarise the passage in one sentence. Model: 'Free student bus passes increased bus use without reducing accidents near schools.' Reasoning: The model keeps the measure, the main result, and the failed second outcome. It drops the percentage and the phrase 'changed travel habits', which the first result already implies. A summary saying the passes 'made roads safer' contradicts the passage; one that lists every number is too detailed.
Information transfer
When matching a text to a table or chart, check units, dates, and categories. A figure may be a percentage of respondents, not of the population.
Traps
- Copying whole sentences instead of summarising.
- Mixing the source's opinion with your own.
- Omitting the negative result.
- Writing more than the word limit and losing marks for content.