Every PTE question type, explained properly
Guides to every PTE Academic and PTE Core task type — the format, timing, exact scoring, the strategies that raise your score and the mistakes that cost marks.
Speaking
- PTE Read AloudIn PTE Read Aloud you are shown a short text and must read it out loud, clearly and naturally, into the microphone. It is scored on content (did you say every word), oral fluency (did you speak at an even pace without hesitating or repeating) and pronunciation (are the words recognisable). It contributes to both your Speaking and your Reading score, which makes it one of the highest-value tasks in the exam.Counts towards Speaking & Reading
- PTE Repeat SentenceIn PTE Repeat Sentence you hear a short sentence once and must repeat it back as accurately as you can. It is scored on content (how many words you reproduce in the right order), oral fluency and pronunciation, and it feeds both the Speaking and the Listening score. Because it is short, frequent and double-weighted, Repeat Sentence is one of the most efficient tasks to improve.Counts towards Speaking & Listening
- PTE Describe ImageIn PTE Describe Image you are shown a graph, chart, map, diagram or photograph and must describe it aloud in 40 seconds. It is scored on content, oral fluency and pronunciation. You are not being marked on analysis or opinion — you are being marked on whether you can speak continuously and intelligibly about what is in front of you, which is why a rehearsed structure works so well here.Counts towards Speaking
- PTE Answer Short QuestionIn PTE Answer Short Question you hear a simple general-knowledge question and answer it in one or a few words. It is scored on whether your answer is correct and intelligible, and it contributes to both Speaking and Listening. This is the one speaking task where content is genuinely right or wrong — a fluent wrong answer scores nothing.Counts towards Speaking & Listening
- PTE Retell LectureIn PTE Retell Lecture (PTE Academic only) you listen to a short academic lecture and then retell it in your own words in 40 seconds. It is scored on content, oral fluency and pronunciation, and contributes to both Speaking and Listening. The skill being tested is note-taking under pressure: you cannot retell what you did not capture.Counts towards Speaking & Listening
- PTE Summarize Group DiscussionIn PTE Summarize Group Discussion (PTE Academic) you listen to several speakers debating a topic and then summarise what they collectively said. It is scored on content, oral fluency and pronunciation. The difficulty is not the English — it is tracking who argued what, so your notes need a column per speaker.Counts towards Speaking & Listening
- PTE Respond to a SituationIn PTE Respond to a Situation you are given an everyday scenario — apologising, declining an invitation, asking a favour, complaining politely — and must respond aloud as you would in real life. It is scored on content, oral fluency and pronunciation, and unlike the academic tasks it also rewards appropriate tone: the scorer wants to hear a natural, socially appropriate reply.Counts towards Speaking
Writing
- PTE Summarize Written TextIn PTE Summarize Written Text you read a passage and condense it into a summary within a strict word limit. In PTE Academic the answer must be a single sentence of 5 to 75 words; in PTE Core you write 25 to 50 words. It is scored on content, form, grammar and vocabulary — and form is unforgiving: in PTE Academic, using more than one sentence or breaking the word limit sends your form score, and with it the whole item, to zero.Counts towards Writing & Reading
- PTE Write EssayIn PTE Write Essay (PTE Academic) you are given a prompt and must write a 200 to 300 word argumentative essay in 20 minutes. It is scored on content, form, development and coherence, grammar, linguistic range, vocabulary and spelling. Because the marking rewards structure so heavily, a well-organised essay with simple language outscores a brilliant but rambling one almost every time.Counts towards Writing
- PTE Write EmailIn PTE Write Email (PTE Core) you are given a everyday situation and must write an appropriate email of 80 to 120 words in 9 minutes. It is scored on content, form, grammar, vocabulary, spelling and — crucially — organisation and register: the email must open with a greeting, cover every point the prompt asks for, and close with a sign-off in the right tone.Counts towards Writing
Reading
- PTE Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown)In PTE Reading and Writing: Fill in the Blanks you are given a passage with several gaps, and for each gap you choose the correct word from a dropdown menu. Each blank is scored separately with no negative marking, and because the task feeds both the Reading and the Writing score it is one of the highest-value items in the exam.Counts towards Reading & Writing
- PTE Fill in the Blanks (Drag & Drop)In PTE Reading: Fill in the Blanks you drag words from a box below the passage into the gaps in the text. There are more words offered than gaps, so some are pure distractors. Each correctly filled blank earns a point and there is no negative marking, so every gap should be filled even if you are guessing.Counts towards Reading
- PTE Re-order ParagraphsIn PTE Re-order Paragraphs you are given several text boxes in a jumbled order and must drag them into the sequence that forms a coherent paragraph. Scoring is by adjacent pairs: you earn a point for every pair of boxes that ends up correctly next to each other, so a partially correct order still scores.Counts towards Reading
- PTE Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers (Reading)In PTE Reading Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers you read a passage and select every option that is correct — there is more than one. This task carries negative marking: each correct choice earns a point and each incorrect choice loses one, with the item floored at zero. That single rule should change how you answer it.Counts towards Reading
- PTE Multiple Choice, Single Answer (Reading)In PTE Reading Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer you read a short passage and pick the one correct option. There is no negative marking on this task, so you should always answer, even if you are guessing between two options.Counts towards Reading
Listening
- PTE Summarize Spoken TextIn PTE Summarize Spoken Text you listen to a lecture or report and then write a summary of it. PTE Academic asks for 50 to 70 words in 10 minutes; PTE Core asks for 20 to 30 words in 8 minutes. It is scored on content, form, grammar, vocabulary and spelling, and it contributes to both the Listening and the Writing score, so it repays practice twice over.Counts towards Listening & Writing
- PTE Write from DictationIn PTE Write from Dictation you hear a short sentence once and must type it exactly. Every correctly spelled word in the right place earns credit, and the task contributes to both the Listening and the Writing score. Word for word, it is widely considered the highest-value task in the whole exam relative to how little time it takes — which is why it should be the last thing you practise before test day.Counts towards Listening & Writing
- PTE Highlight Incorrect WordsIn PTE Highlight Incorrect Words you read a transcript on screen while the audio plays, and click the words that differ from what the speaker actually says. This task has negative marking — each correct click earns a point and each incorrect click loses one — so accuracy matters far more than coverage.Counts towards Listening & Reading
- PTE Fill in the Blanks (Listening)In PTE Listening: Fill in the Blanks you see a transcript with words missing and must type each missing word as you hear the recording. It is scored one point per correctly spelled word, with no negative marking, and it contributes to both the Listening and the Writing score.Counts towards Listening & Writing
- PTE Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers (Listening)In PTE Listening Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers you listen to a recording and select every option that is correct. Like its reading counterpart, it carries negative marking: correct choices add a point and incorrect ones subtract a point, floored at zero, so restraint scores better than enthusiasm.Counts towards Listening
- PTE Multiple Choice, Single Answer (Listening)In PTE Listening Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer you listen to a short recording and select the single correct option. There is no negative marking, so you should always answer even when you are unsure.Counts towards Listening
- PTE Highlight Correct SummaryIn PTE Highlight Correct Summary (PTE Academic) you listen to a recording and then choose the paragraph that best summarises it. It contributes to both the Listening and the Reading score. The distractors are deliberately close: they typically contain a true detail from the recording but misrepresent its overall point.Counts towards Listening & Reading
- PTE Select Missing WordIn PTE Select Missing Word you listen to a recording that is cut off at the end, and choose the option that best completes it. There is no negative marking. The task tests whether you followed the speaker's line of argument closely enough to predict where it was going.Counts towards Listening