PTE Academic

Part 1 of the PTE Academic test is Speaking and writing. This part tests your ability to produce spoken and written English in an academic environment.

Section 1: Personal introduction

In this section, you are given a prompt and are asked to introduce yourself orally. You speak about yourself for up to 30 seconds. This is not assessed but is sent to institutions along with your score report.

Section 2: Read aloud

In this section, you are given a text (up to 60 words) and are asked to read the text aloud. You do six to seven of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Section 2: Repeat sentence

In this section, you hear a sentence. You are asked to repeat the sentence exactly as you heard it. You do ten to twelve of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Section 2: Describe image

In this section, you are given an image (picture, graph, table, etc.). You are asked to describe in detail what the image is showing. You do six to seven of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Section 2: Re-tell lecture

In this section, you hear a lecture. You are asked to retell the lecture in your own words. You do three to four of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Section 2: Answer short question

In this section, you are asked a question, the answer to which is a word or short phrase. You do ten to twelve of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Sections 3-4: Summarize written text

In these sections, you read a text (up to 300 words). You are then asked to summarize the text in one sentence. You are given ten minutes to write each summary sentence.

Section 5: Summarize written text / Write essay

This section is either a Summarize written text task or a Write essay task (see Section 6), depending on the combination of items in your test.

Section 6: Write essay

In this section, you are given a prompt to read. You are then asked to write an essay (200-300 words). You are given twenty minutes to write your essay.

Part 2 of the PTE Academic test is Reading. This part tests your ability to understand written English in an academic environment.

Multiple-choice, choose single answer

In this section, you read a text (up to 300 words). You are then given a multiple-choice question with three to five answer options. You choose the one correct answer option. You do two to three of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers

In this section, you read a text (up to 300 words). You are then given a multiple-choice question with five to seven answer options. You choose all the correct answer options. You do two to three of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Re-order paragraphs

In this section, you are given a text (up to 150 words) divided into paragraphs. The paragraphs are in the wrong order. You have to drag and drop the paragraphs into the correct order. You do two to three of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Reading: Fill in the blanks

In this section, you read a text (up to 80 words) which has blanks in it. You drag words from a box and drop each word onto the correct blank to complete the text. You do four to five of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Reading and Writing: Fill in the blanks

In this section, you read a text (up to 300 words) which has blanks in it. You click on each blank and a drop down list appears. You choose the correct word from each list to complete the text. You do five to six of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Part 3 of the PTE Academic test is listening. This part tests your ability to understand spoken English in an academic environment. It also tests your ability to understand a variety of accents, both native and non-native.

Section 1: Summarize spoken text

In this section, you listen to a short lecture. You are then asked to write a summary of that lecture (50-70 words) for a fellow student who was not present at the lecture. You do two to three of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Section 2: Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers

In this section, you listen to a recording on an academic subject. You are then given a multiplechoice question with five to seven answer options. You choose all the correct answer options. You do two to three of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Section 2: Fill in the blanks

In this section, you listen to a recording while you read a transcription of that recording. The transcription has up to seven blanks in it. As you listen, you type in the missing words you hear. You do two to three of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Section 2: Highlight correct summary

In this section, you listen to a recording. You read three to five paragraphs and select the paragraph which is the best summary of the recording. You do two to three of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Section 2: Multiple-choice, choose single answer

In this section, you listen to a recording on an academic subject. You are then given a multiplechoice question with three to five answer options. You choose the one correct answer option. You do two to three of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Section 2: Select missing word

In this section, you listen to a recording. The final word or group of words has been replaced by a beep. You are given three to five answer options. You choose the correct answer option to complete the recording. You do two to three of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Section 2: Highlight incorrect words

In this section, you listen to a recording while you read a transcription of that recording. The transcription contains up to seven deliberate errors. You click on the words in the transcription which do not match the recording. You do two to three of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

Section 2: Write from dictation

In this section, you hear a sentence. You are then asked to write the sentence exactly as you heard it, using correct spelling. You do three to four of these items, depending on the combination of items in your test.

PTE (Academic) provides the taker composite or overall score as well as a separate score for each of the communicative and enabling skills.

Overall Score

The composite score is based on the test taker’s performance on all test items (70–91 items of 20 different types). The score given for each item contributes to the overall score. The score range, for each parameter as well as overall, is 10–90 points.

Communicative Skills Score

The communicative skills measured are listening, reading, speaking and writing. Items testing these communicative skills also test specific enabling skills. For items integrating various communicative skills, the score contributes to such different communicative skills are involved. The score range for each skill is 10 – 90.

Enabling Skills Score

The enabling skills — grammar, oral fluency, pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary and written discourse — are tested in related assessment items in speaking and writing. The score range for each skill is 10 – 90 points. No enabling skills score is awarded if the response for the related item is inappropriate in content or form. An essay write-up unrelated to the topic assigned, for example, will earn no score, even for the related enabling skills. In relation to form, if a task requires a one-sentence summary of a text and the response consists of a list of words, no score points for the response will be given.