Travel
Writing task: Summarize an article
Read the text and write a summary paragraph of the main points.
Use the Useful language to help you prepare. When you are ready, write around
300 words.
Travel exposed
Travel’s best kept
secret: The Train
When you need to get somewhere
– and get there now – a flight may
be the only answer. However, if
you want to take a trip and really
enjoy the ride, there may be a
much better way. One that is more
relaxing and that may even be more
efficient than a flight. It’s a chance
to get past all the hustle and bustle
of today’s high-speed journeys and
go back to one of travel’s best kept
secrets: the train.
When was the last time you got off a
flight and thought ‘I really enjoyed that.
How relaxing!’ Never? Flying in today’s
busy world can be more stressful than
it’s worth. Early check-ins, long security
lines, and never-ending waits for your
baggage can make even the shortest
flights unpleasant, not to mention the
cramped seats and questionable food
on some of the longer ones. One often
arrives at a destination tired, hungry, and
frustrated.
Conversely, train travel can offer a
much more pleasurable experience.
No need for an early check-in. You
can arrive as little as five minutes
before departure. Security lines? Not
a problem. Even though safety is key
on most trains, there are no lines in
which everyone is checked. No baggage
check either. Take your baggage with
you when you get on and grab it on your
way out. And as for the food? Luxury
train lines such as the Thalys in France
now offer gourmet meals, complete with
champagne. Taking the train offers you a
chance to relax, have a snack or a drink,
and let the world pass you by.
Useful language
Useful phrases
Neutral expressions
• According to the author
…. / (author’s last
name)…
• The author notes…
/ points out… /
reports… / explains…
/ mentions… /
observes…
Offering opinions
• The author believes…
/ suggests… /
emphasizes… /
claims…
Argumentative or
comparative expressions
• The author argues…
/ compares… /
confirms… / insists… /
responds to this with /
by…
Giving examples
• The author illustrates
this with / by…
• The author supports this
with / by…
Ending
One of the biggest advantages to train
• The author closes /
travel is that you can go from city centre
concludes with / by…
to city centre. No need to travel out to an
airport and back into the next city at great
cost and loss of time. Cabs from airports
into cities like London and Paris can run
as much as $100 each way. And when you
add up the time needed to get to and from
out-of-city airports, it can be another two to
three hours travel time. In many cases, this
actually makes door to door travel times by
train shorter. For example, Eurostar trains
from Paris to London take about two hours.
A flight between the two cities is only about
an hour to an hour and a half; however,
add to this the travel time to and from the
airport, the extra hours for early check-in,
security wait time, and time needed to get
bags, you add another four to six hours to
the journey. Sum it all up and the same trip
comes in at about seven hours – five hours
longer than by train.
For years the reputation of train travel has
suffered under the popularity of air travel,
but it might be time to rethink this image.
The next time someone says to you ‘Let’s
catch a flight somewhere’, think again. It Oxford Online
could be time to share the secret, sit back, Skills Program
and enjoy the ride.
Travel
Writing task: Summarize an article

Tip  A summary gives the main points of a text. It’s important for a writer to paraphrase
the information in his / her own words so it is different from the source text’s exact
words. However, you must still refer to the author to let the reader know you’re talking
about someone else’s work.
Follow this procedure:
• Read the entire text and highlight the main points. Look at first and last sentences to
help you with this.
• Begin the paragraph by introducing the author and the main idea of the text.
• Write a draft of your summary including the main points you highlighted in the text.
• Review your summary to paraphrase the author’s work and reorganize information to
make it clear and to the point.
• Re-read the main text. Then review your summary to make sure you’ve covered all the
important information. Refer to the author often.
Check it!  Read your summary again and check for grammar, vocabulary and spelling
errors.

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