PTE - Pearson Test Of Engish- Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and USA

PTE TEST

PTE Academic exam is conducted all round the year, for students seeking admission in foreign universities.The PTE academic syllabus consists of four sections, reading, writing, listening, and speaking. PTE is designed in a pattern that every question generally tests 2 skills together, like reading and speaking or listening and reading.

PTE Academic Pattern

The PTE exam pattern includes the following components:

1. Question: Time to Reading the Text Prompt: The time duration of each prompt you get varies depending upon the length of the text. The length is measurable in words or sentences. You need to be active in this part.
2. Prepare for Answer: Time granted to Relax and Think: You do not have to immediately answer the question. On average, you get 10 to 15 seconds to prepare for each segment. You should relax and think for a while on how to answer.
3. Answer: Time for Action: This is the total time duration where you have to perform. The answers are recorded when you speak, saved as text when you write, and selected in multiple-choice questions.

Exam Timing

The total test time is of 2 hours for speaking, reading, Listening, and Writing.

PTE Exam Paper Pattern

Let's discuss the PTE Academic Exam Pattern:

PTE Academic: Speaking and Writing — 54–67 minutes

The PTE academic speaking and writing section comprises PART 1. PTE speaking tests the candidate’s English speaking proficiency in an academic ambiance. Whereas, PTE writing assesses the written proficiency of the candidate as responses in an academic context.

Part 1 Speaking and Writing (approx. 54–67 minutes)
Item type	Time allowed	Number of items	Scoring	Communicative skills scored
Read aloud	30-35 minutes	6-7	Partial credit	Reading and speaking
Repeat sentence		10-12	Partial credit	Listening and speaking
Describe image		3-4	Partial credit	Speaking
Re-tell lecture		1-2	Partial credit	Listening and speaking
Answer short question		5-6	Correct/ incorrect	Listening and speaking
Answer short question		5-6	Correct/ incorrect	Listening and speaking
Summarize written text	20-30 minutes	1-2	Partial credit	Reading and writing

PTE Academic: Part 2 - Reading (approx. 29–30 minutes) minutes

The PTE academic reading section is the second part of the exam pattern. PTE reading contains a mixture of question types which include integrated and independent types.

Part 2 Reading (approx. 29–30 minutes)
Item type	Number of items	Scoring	Communicative skills scored
Reading and writing: Fill in the blanks	5-6	Partial credit (for each correctly completed blank)	Reading and writing: 1 Each correctly completed blank 0 Minimum score
Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers	1-2	Partial credit (for each correct response. Points deducted for incorrect options chosen)	Reading: 1 Each correct response - 1 Each incorrect response 0 Minimum score
Re-order paragraphs	3-4	Partial credit	Reading: 1 Each pair of correct adjacent textboxes 0 Minimum score
Reading: Fill in the blanks	1-2	Partial credit	Reading: 1 Each correctly completed blank 0 Minimum score
Multiple-choice, choose single answer	5-6	Correct/ incorrect	Reading: 1 Each correctly completed blank 0 Minimum score

PTE Academic: Listening — approx. 30–43 minutes

The PTE academic pattern of listening is part 3 of the exam pattern. PTE listening comprises audios and videos from which the candidate needs to listen and form their answers. The recordings are played once, and the volumes can be adjusted. Candidates can note down important facts. Candidates are advised to consult PTE exam format PDF for a better understanding of the question types and scoring.

Part 3 Listening (approx. 30–43 minutes)
Item type	Time allowed	Number of items	Scoring	Communicative skills scored
Summarize spoken text	20-30 minutes	5-6	Partial credit	Listening and writing
Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers		1-2	Partial credit (for each correct response. Points deducted for incorrect options chosen)	Listening: 1 Each correct response - 1 Each incorrect response 0 Minimum score
Fill in the blanks		2-3	Partial credit (for each word spelled correctly)	Listening and writing: 1 Each correct word spelled correctly 0 Minimum score
Highlight correct summary		1-2	Correct/incorrect	Listening and reading: 1 Correct response 0 Incorrect response
Multiple-choice, choose single answer		1 - 2	Correct/ incorrect	Listening: 1 Correct response 0 Incorrect response
Select missing word		1-2	Partial credit	Listening: 1 Correct response 0 Incorrect response
Highlight incorrect words		2-3	Partial credit (For each word. Points deducted for incorrect options chosen)	Listening and reading: 1 Each correct word - 1 Each incorrect word 0 Minimum score
Write from dictation		3-4	Partial credit (for each word spelled correctly)	Listening and writing: 1 Each correct word spelled correctly 0 Each incorrect or misspelled word

PTE Academic Score

The PTE academic score comprises overall score, communicative skills, and enabling skills and calculated on a range of 10 – 90 points. The overall PTE score refers to the performance of the candidates in English reading, writing, speaking, and listening. To ensure a high score, PTE academic practice tests should be practiced daily.

For candidates preparing for PTE academic, the PTE test format needs to be understood properly to answer the questions correctly.

PTE Score vs IELTS

IELTS and PTE score conversion has different score calculation methods. PTE score bands range from 10 - 90. IELTS is marked based on band scores from 1 - 9.