Auf einen Blick / At a glance

Free Abitur English practice pack: summarise a text on media's growing role in daily life, practising exam-style summary writing.

Niveau / Level
B2–C1 (GER/CEFR)
Für / For
Abitur
Fertigkeiten / Skills
Leseverstehen / Reading, Schreiben / Writing
Schwerpunkt / Focus
Writing summaries
Aufgaben / Tasks
5
Kosten / Cost
kostenlos, ohne Anmeldung / free, no sign-up
📘 Referenzleitfaden: Zusammenfassungen schreiben (zum Nachschlagen)
Present tense — summaries of written texts are written in the simple present, even if the article uses the past.
Example: "The article explains that..." (not "explained")
Reporting verbs — use verbs like states, argues, suggests, claims, points out instead of "says".
Example: "The writer argues that ambition has changed shape."
Objectivity — summaries report the writer's ideas, not your own opinion.
Example: Avoid "I think..." or "In my opinion..."
Umbrella sentences — group several specific details under one general statement.
Example: Instead of listing three examples, write: "The article gives several examples of this trend."
Conciseness — cut examples, repetition, and rhetorical flourishes; keep only the core content.

Übung 1 · Kernaussagen erkennen

Read the article. Classify each sentence below as a Main Idea, a Supporting Detail, or Irrelevant for a summary.

💡 Prüfungstipp / Exam tip: Check every sentence you write for a reporting verb like "explains", "argues" or "shows" — a summary sentence with none is usually the original text lightly reworded, which loses marks.

The Feed That Never Sleeps: How Social Media Rewired the American Mind

Adapted from a US media-affairs feature

Twenty years ago, the average American got their news from a handful of evening broadcasts and a folded newspaper. Where do you get your news now — and can you honestly say you remember the last time you checked only once a day? The answer, for most people, is no.

Take Jordan Mills, a 19-year-old college student in Atlanta. He checks his phone within ninety seconds of waking up, scrolls through six different news apps before breakfast, and estimates he sees over 200 headlines before his first class even begins. He is, by his own admission, exhausted by information he never asked for.

He is not unusual. A 2023 Pew Research study found that 86% of American adults now get at least some of their news from a smartphone, and nearly half report feeling "worn out" by the sheer volume of news they encounter. The feed, it seems, has become both a lifeline and a burden.

Media companies insist they are simply meeting demand. Critics counter that they have manufactured it. The algorithm does not care whether a headline informs you or merely inflames you — it only cares whether you keep scrolling. Attention, once freely given, is now the most valuable currency in America.

Whatever side of that argument one takes, one thing is undeniable. The feed never sleeps, and increasingly, neither do we.

Übung 2 · Oberbegriffe bilden (Umbrella Sentences)

For each set of specific details, choose the best "umbrella sentence" that summarises them as one general statement.

📄 Read the article again

Jordan Mills checks his phone within ninety seconds of waking up, scrolls through six different news apps before breakfast, and sees over 200 headlines before his first class begins.

A 2023 Pew Research study found that 86% of American adults now get at least some of their news from a smartphone, and nearly half report feeling "worn out".

Media companies insist they are meeting demand; critics counter that they have manufactured it.

The feed never sleeps, and increasingly, neither do we.

Übung 3 · Zeitformen korrigieren

Choose the grammatically correct version for a summary. Remember: summaries use the simple present tense.

Übung 4 · Formell vs. informell

Choose the more formal, objective option suitable for an academic summary.

Übung 5 · Vollständige Zusammenfassung schreiben

Write a full summary of the article (100–120 words) in your own words, using the present tense and a formal, objective style.

📄 Read the article again

Twenty years ago, the average American got their news from a handful of evening broadcasts and a folded newspaper. Today, most people check the news constantly throughout the day.

Jordan Mills, a 19-year-old college student in Atlanta, checks his phone within ninety seconds of waking up and sees over 200 headlines before his first class begins.

A 2023 Pew Research study found that 86% of American adults now get at least some of their news from a smartphone, and nearly half report feeling "worn out".

Media companies insist they are simply meeting demand; critics counter that they have manufactured it, since algorithms are designed to maximise engagement rather than inform.

The feed never sleeps, and increasingly, neither do we.

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