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Unit 01
PTE Academic Guide: Format, Scoring & Strategy
a computer-based test scored from 10 to 90
What Is PTE Academic?
PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English) is accepted by universities around the world and for visa applications in countries such as Australia, New Zealand and the UK. The whole test is taken on a computer: you speak into a microphone, type your answers, and listen through headphones.
In August 2025 the test was updated: two new speaking tasks were added — Respond to a Situation and Summarize Group Discussion — bringing the total to 22 task types, and human raters now double-check the content of several tasks. Answers that look memorised or templated can be flagged and lose points.
Test Format
The number of items in each task varies from test to test, so treat these times as a guide.
| Part | Time (approx.) | Task types |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Speaking & Writing | about 70 minutes | Personal Introduction (not scored), Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image, Re-tell Lecture, Answer Short Question, Summarize Group Discussion, Respond to a Situation, Summarize Written Text, Write Essay |
| 2. Reading | about 30 minutes | Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks, Multiple Choice (multiple answers), Reorder Paragraphs, Reading: Fill in the Blanks, Multiple Choice (single answer) |
| 3. Listening | about 30–40 minutes | Summarize Spoken Text, Multiple Choice (multiple / single), Fill in the Blanks, Highlight Correct Summary, Select Missing Word, Highlight Incorrect Words, Write from Dictation |
How Scoring Works
- You get an overall score and four skill scores (Speaking, Writing, Reading, Listening), each from 10 to 90.
- Many tasks are integrated: one answer counts towards two skills. For example, Read Aloud counts for Speaking and Reading; Repeat Sentence for Speaking and Listening; Write from Dictation for Listening and Writing.
- Negative marking: in Multiple Choice (multiple answers) and Highlight Incorrect Words, each correct choice gains a point and each wrong choice loses one (the minimum is zero). Choose only the options you are sure of.
- In other multiple-choice tasks there is no penalty, so never leave them blank.
Where the Points Are
- Repeat Sentence and Write from Dictation appear many times and affect two skills each — they are the most valuable tasks to practise.
- Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks depends heavily on collocations — learn words in combinations (see the vocabulary unit).
- In the speaking tasks, fluency and pronunciation matter as much as content: speak smoothly, without long pauses or restarts.
- The microphone stops recording after about three seconds of silence. Never stop to think in the middle of an answer.