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About the Test

PTE (Pearson Test of English) is a standardized English language proficiency test designed to evaluate the English skills of non-native speakers. It is commonly used for study abroad, migration, and work purposes in English-speaking countries.

Key Features of PTE:

Computer-based: The entire test, including speaking, is conducted on a computer.
AI-Scored: Answers are evaluated by artificial intelligence, ensuring impartial and consistent scoring.
Fast Results: Test-takers typically receive their results within 48 hours.
Integrated Skills: Tasks often assess more than one language skill simultaneously (e.g., listening and writing, or reading and speaking).

Difference Between PTE Academic and PTE Core

Aspect	PTE Academic	PTE Core
Purpose	Primarily for academic purposes, such as university admissions.	Focused on general language proficiency for work and migration.
Recognition	Accepted by universities, colleges, and academic institutions worldwide.	Accepted for visa and migration applications (e.g., for Australia, Canada).
Content	Includes academic-oriented tasks like summarizing academic texts or lectures.	Covers general English tasks applicable to real-world scenarios.
Target Audience	Students planning to study in English-speaking countries.	Individuals applying for migration or work in English-speaking environments.
Test Modules	Speaking & Writing, Reading, Listening.	Similar modules but with less academic focus in task design.
Availability	Globally available.	Currently available in select countries and contexts.
Example Tasks	- Write an essay on an academic topic. - Summarize spoken lectures.	- Respond to real-life scenarios. - Describe everyday events.

Choosing the Right Test

PTE Academic: Choose this if you're applying for a university program or need to demonstrate academic English proficiency.
PTE Core: Opt for this if you're applying for work visas or permanent residency programs and need to prove general English proficiency.

Most Important and Least Important Question Types with Number of Questions and Weightage

Section	Question Type	Importance	No. of Questions	Weightage (%)
Speaking	Read Aloud	Most Important	6–7	20–25% (Overall Score)
	Repeat Sentence	Most Important	10–12	20–25% (Overall Score)
	Describe Image	Most Important	5–6	10–15% (Speaking)
	Re-tell Lecture	Most Important	3–4	5–10% (Speaking)
	Answer Short Question	Least Important	5–6	< 5% (Speaking)
Reading	Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks	Most Important	5–6	20–25% (Reading)
	Fill in the Blanks (Reading)	Most Important	4–5	15–20% (Reading)
	Re-order Paragraphs	Most Important	3–4	10–15% (Reading)
	Multiple Choice, Single Answer	Least Important	2–3	< 5% (Reading)
	Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers	Least Important	2–3	< 5% (Reading)
Listening	Write from Dictation	Most Important	3–4	25–30% (Listening)
	Fill in the Blanks (Listening)	Most Important	2–3	20–25% (Listening)
	Highlight Correct Summary	Most Important	2–3	10–15% (Listening)
	Multiple Choice, Single Answer	Least Important	2–3	< 5% (Listening)
	Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers	Least Important	2–3	< 5% (Listening)

Key Takeaways

Weightage Distribution: The most impactful question types like Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, and Write from Dictation contribute heavily to the overall score due to their integration across multiple skills.
Effort Allocation: Focus your preparation on tasks with higher weightage, ensuring consistent practice of these question types.
Question Familiarity: Despite low weightage, practice "Least Important" questions to maximize every scoring opportunity.

This table provides a structured overview for prioritizing tasks based on importance, number of questions, and their contribution to your score.

Test Format

Speaking & Writing

54-67 Minutes

Personal introduction

Read aloud

Repeat sentence

Describe image

Re-tell lecture

Answer short question

Summarize writen text

Essay

Reading

29-30 Minutes

Fill in the blanks

Multiple type single answer

Re-order paragraphs

Reading and Writing fill in the blanks

Multiple type multiple answer

Listening

30-43 Minutes

Summarize Spoken text

Multiple type single answer

Fill in the blanks

Highlights the correct summary

Multiple type multiple answer

Select Missing word

Highlight the incorrect summary

Write from dictation

What will change?

Duration & Timings: Duration of shorter PTE Academic exam or PTE Online exam is 2 Hours.

To ensure proper assessment of test taker's English skills no question is removed from the test format and will continue to follow the highly accurate testing practices. The test length is made shorter by reducing the number of some questions. Find details below:

In Speaking & Writing Module

In Reading Module

In Listening Module

Score Report:

1. Scoring information will be explicit. 2. Enabling skills will no longer be shown in the report. 3. Test Name will be highlighted as ‘PTE Academic Online’. 4. A new feedback & suggestion, ‘skills profile’ report will be given to help learners analyze their performance & improve skills.

Break: No optional 10-minute break will be available.

Focus on high scoring tasks to score 79 or above in PTE.

The below highlighted ones are the high scoring tasks, which you must concentrate more and practice well to score 79 or above in PTE Academic.

PTE Scoring

All items in PTE Academic are machine - scored using PTE Academics automated scoring system. There are two skills - Enabling Skills and Communication Skills - that are assessed and scored depending upon specific question types. For example, in Speaking, even listening skill is assessed while in Reading, the writing skill is also evaluated. In Listening, writing is also evaluated. There are questions where grammar, content, spellings, fluency, pronunciation, form (word limit), cohesion, sentence structure are tested and awarded scores.

Correct or Incorrect : A score of 1 score point will be given for correct responses and no score points are awarded for incorrect responses.

Partial Credit : There are item types where partial credit is given considering the requirement of that particular type. If responses to these items are correct, the maximum score points available for each item type will be awarded, but if these are partly correct, some score points will be given, that will be less than the maximum available for the item type. If responses are incorrect, no score points will be awarded.

The PTE scales are as follows :

Speaking and Writing time: 54-67 Minutes
ITEM TYPE	TIME ALLOWED	NUMBER OF ITEMS	SCORING	COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS, ENABLING SKILLS AND OTHER TRAITS SCORED
Read aloud	24-37 minutes	06	Partial credit	Reading and speaking Oral fluency, pronunciation Content
Repeat sentence	24-37 minutes	05-06	Partial credit	Listening and speaking Oral fluency, pronunciation Content
Describe image	24-37 minutes	03	Partial credit	Speaking Oral fluency, pronunciation Content
Re-tell lecture	24-37 minutes	01-02	Partial credit	Listening and speaking Oral fluency, pronunciation Content
Answer short question	24-37 minutes	05	Correct/incorrect	Listening and speaking Vocabulary
Summarize written text	10 minutes	01	Partial credit	Reading and writing Grammar, vocabulary Content, form

Speaking and Writing time: 54-67 Minutes
ITEM TYPE	TIME ALLOWED	NUMBER OF ITEMS	SCORING	COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS, ENABLING SKILLS AND OTHER TRAITS SCORED
Write essay	20 minutes	01	Partial credit	Writing Grammar, vocabulary, spelling, written discourse Content; development, structure and coherence form, general linguistic range
Reading (29-30 Minutes)
Reading and writing: Fill in the blanks	29-30 minutes	03	Partial credit (for each correctly completed blank)	Reading and writing
Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers	29-30 minutes	02	Partial credit (for each correct response. Points deducted for incorrect options chosen)	Reading
Re-order paragraphs	29-30 minutes	02	Partial credit (for each correctly ordered, adjacent pair)	Reading
Reading: Fill in the blanks	29-30 minutes	03	Partial credit (for each correctly completed blank)	Reading
Multiple-choice, choose single answer	29-30 minutes	02	Correct/incorrect	Reading
Listening (30-34 Minutes)

Speaking and Writing time: 54-67 Minutes
ITEM TYPE	TIME ALLOWED	NUMBER OF ITEMS	SCORING	COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS, ENABLING SKILLS AND OTHER TRAITS SCORED
Summarize spoken text	10 minutes	01	Partial credit	Listening and writing Grammar, vocabulary, spelling Content, form
Multiple–choice, choose multiple answers	20-33 minutes	02	Partial credit (for each correct response. Points deducted for incorrect options chosen)	Listening
Fill in the blanks	20-33 minutes	02	Partial credit (each correct word spelled correctly)	Listening and writing
Highlight correct summary	20-33 minutes	02	Correct / incorrect	Listening and reading
Multiple-choice, choose single answer	20-33 minutes	01	Correct/incorrect	Listening
Select missing word	20-33 minutes	02	Correct / incorrect	Listening
Highlight incorrect words	20-33 minutes	02	Partial credit (for each word. Points deducted for incorrect options chosen)	Listening and reading
Write from dictation	20-33 minutes	03	Partial credit (for each word spelled correctly)	Listening and writing

Contact info

PTE Academic Preparation

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