PTE Academic

Speaking: 1.2 Read aloud

Task

A text appears on screen. Read the text aloud.

Skills assessed

Reading and speaking

Prompt length

Text up to 60 words

Time to answer

Varies by item, depending on the length of text.

For this item type you need to read a written text aloud.

The recording status box displays a countdown until the microphone opens. You have 30-40 seconds to prepare, depending on the length of the passage. You hear a short tone. After the tone, start speaking immediately. Do not start speaking before the microphone opens because your voice will not be recorded.

You should speak clearly. There is no need to rush.

Finish speaking before the progress bar reaches the end. The word “Recording” changes to “Completed”.

You are only able to record your response once.

TIP: If you remain silent for longer than 3 seconds, the recording will stop.

Speaking: 1.3 Repeat sentence

Task

After listening to a recording of a sentence, repeat the sentence.

Skills assessed

Listening and speaking

Prompt length

3-9 seconds

Time to answer

15 seconds

For this item type you need to repeat the sentence you hear.

The audio begins to plays automatically. When the audio finishes, the microphone opens and the recording status box shows “Recording”. Speak into the microphone immediately (there is no short tone) and repeat exactly what you heard.

You should speak clearly. There is no need to rush.

Finish speaking before the progress bar reaches the end. The word “Recording” changes to “Completed”.

You are not able to replay the audio. You are only able to record your response once.

Speaking: 1.4 Describe image

Task

An image appears on screen. Describe the image in detail.

Skills assessed

Speaking

Prompt length

NA

Time to answer

40 seconds

For this item type you need to describe an image.

The recording status box displays a countdown until the microphone opens. You have 25 seconds to study the image and prepare your response. You hear a short tone. After the tone, start speaking immediately. Do not start speaking before the microphone opens because your voice will not be recorded.

You should speak clearly. There is no need to rush.

Finish speaking before the progress bar reaches the end. The word “Recording” changes to “Completed’’.

You are only able to record your response once.

Speaking: 1.5 Re-tell lecture

Task

After listening to or watching a lecture, re-tell the lecture in your own words.

Skills assessed

Listening and speaking

Prompt length

Up to 90 seconds

Time to answer

40 seconds

For this item type you need to re-tell what you heard.

The audio begins to play automatically. You may also see an image related to the audio. After the audio finishes, you have 10 seconds to prepare.

The recording status box displays a countdown until the microphone opens. You hear a short tone. After the tone, start speaking immediately. Do not start speaking before the microphone opens because your voice will not be recorded.

You should speak clearly. There is no need to rush.

Finish speaking before the progress bar reaches the end. The word “Recording” changes to “Completed’’.

You are only able to record your response once.

Note: While the audio is playing, you can take notes on the erasable noteboard provided.

Speaking: 1.6 Answer short question

Task

After listening to a question, answer with a single word or a few words.

Skills assessed

Listening and speaking

Prompt length

3-9 seconds

Time to answer

3-9 seconds

For this item type you need to reply to the question in one or a few words.

The audio begins to play automatically. You may also see an image.

When the audio finishes, the microphone opens and the recording status box shows “Recording”. Speak into the microphone immediately (there is no short tone) and answer the question with one or a few words.

You should speak clearly. There is no need to rush.

Finish speaking before the progress bar reaches the end. The word “Recording” changes to “Completed”.

You are not able to replay the audio. You are only able to record your response once.

Writing: 1.7 Summarize written text

Task

After reading a text, write a one-sentence summary of the passage.

Skills assessed

Reading and writing

Prompt length

Text up to 300 words

Time to answer

10 minutes

For this item type you need to write a summary of the text in one sentence.

You have 10 minutes to write your summary. Make sure to include the main points of the reading passage in a full, single sentence of no more than 75 words.

The Word Count at the bottom of the screen counts the number of words you write. There are also cut, copy and paste buttons which you may use while constructing your summary.

Cut: Select text from your answer that you wish to remove and left-click “Cut”.

Copy: Select text from your answer that you wish to copy and left-click “Copy”.

Paste: Place the cursor where you wish to paste the cut/copied text and left-click “Paste”.

Writing: 1.8 Essay

Task

Write a 200–300 word essay on a given topic.

Skills assessed

Writing

Prompt length

2-3 sentences

Time to answer

20 minutes

For this item type you need to write a 200-300 word argumentative essay in response to a prompt.

You have 20 minutes to write your essay.

The Word Count at the bottom of the screen counts the number of words you write. Make sure to write a minimum of 200 words, but no more than 300 words.

There are also cut, copy and paste buttons which you may choose to use while constructing your response.

Cut: Select text from your answer that you wish to remove and left-click “Cut”.

Copy: Select text from your answer that you wish to copy and left-click “Copy”.

Paste: Place the cursor where you wish to paste the cut/copied text and left-click “Paste”.

Reading: 2.2 Multiple choice, multiple answer

Task

After reading a text, answer a multiple-choice question on the content or tone of the text by selecting more than one response.

Skills assessed

Reading

Prompt length

Text up to 300 words

For this item type you need to read the passage and answer the multiple-choice question. There is more than one correct response.

You need to select all the response options that you think are correct from the list of possible options.

To select an option click on it using the left button on your mouse. If you change your mind, left-click on the option again to deselect it.

The options you select are highlighted in yellow.

Reading: 2.3 Re-order paragraphs

Task

Several text boxes appear on screen in a random order. Put the text boxes in the correct order.

Skills assessed

Reading

Prompt length

Text up to 150 words

For this item type, you need to restore the original order of the text by selecting text boxes and dragging them across the screen.

There are two ways you can move the text:

Left-click on a box to select it (it will be outlined in blue), hold the left mouse button down and drag it to the desired location.
Left-click on a box to select it, and then left-click on the left and right arrow buttons to move it across. On the right panel, you can also use the up and down arrow buttons to re-order the boxes.
To deselect a box, left-click elsewhere on the screen.

Reading: 2.4 Fill in the Blanks

Task

A text appears on screen with several gaps. Drag words from the box below to fill the gaps.

Skills assessed

Reading

Prompt length

Text up to 80 words

For this item type you need to drag and drop words across the screen to correctly fill in the gaps in the text.

There is a passage with some missing words. You have a list of words in the blue box that you can use to fill the gaps in the text. There are more words than gaps so you will not use all the words provided.

Left-click on a word to select it; keep the left mouse button held down and drag the word to the gap where you want to place it. You can also drag words between gaps. To remove a word from a gap, drag it back to the blue box.

Reading: 2.5 Multiple choice, single answer

Task

After reading a text, answer a multiple-choice question on the content or tone of the text by selecting one response.

Skills assessed

Reading

Prompt length

Text up to 300 words

For this item type you need to read the passage and answer the multiple-choice question.

There are several possible response options but only one is correct.

To select an option click on it using the left button on your mouse. If you change your mind, left-click on the option again to deselect it, or left-click on a different option.

The option you select is highlighted in yellow.

Listening: 3.2 Multiple choice, multiple answer

Task

After listening to a recording, answer a multiple-choice question on the content or tone of the recording by selecting more than one response.

Skills assessed

Listening

Prompt length

40-90 seconds

For this item type you need to listen to the recording and answer the multiple-choice question. There is more than one correct response.

The audio begins to play automatically. You are only able to listen to the audio recording once.

You need to select all the response options that you think are correct from the list of possible options.

To select an option click on it using the left button on your mouse. If you change your mind, left-click on the option again to deselect it.

The options you select are highlighted in yellow.

Listening & Writing: 3.3 Fill in the blanks

Task

A transcript of a recording appears on screen with several gaps. After listening to the recording, type the missing word in each gap.

Skills assessed

Listening and writing

Prompt length

30-60 seconds

For this item type you are presented with a transcript of the audio recording, however, some words are missing. Restore the transcript by typing in the missing words.

The audio plays automatically. You are only able to listen to the audio recording once.

Left-click on each gap and type in the missing word. You can also use the Tab button on the keyboard to move between gaps.

Note: While the audio is playing, you can take notes on the erasable noteboard provided and then fill in the gaps.

Listening: 3.4 Highlight correct summary

Task

After listening to a recording, select the paragraph that best summarizes the recording.

Skills assessed

Listening and reading

Prompt length

30-90 seconds

Listening: 3.5 Multiple choice, single answer

Task

After listening to a recording, answer a multiple-choice question on the content or tone of the recording by selecting one response.

Skills assessed

Listening

Prompt length

30-60 seconds

For this item type you need to listen to the recording and answer the multiple-choice question.

The audio begins to play automatically. You are only able to listen to the audio recording once.

There are several possible response options but only one is correct.

To select an option click on it using the left button on your mouse. If you change your mind, left-click on the option again to deselect it, or left-click on a different option.

The option you select is highlighted in yellow.

Listening: 3.6 Select missing word

Task

After listening to a recording, select the missing word that completes the recording from a list of options.

Skills assessed

Listening

Prompt length

20-70 seconds

For this item type the last word or group of words in the recording has been replaced by a beep. Select the most appropriate option to complete the recording.

The audio begins to play automatically. You are only able to listen to the audio recording once.

There are several possible response options but only one is correct.

To select an option click on it using the left button on your mouse. If you change your mind, left-click on the option again to deselect it, or left-click on a different option.

The option you select is highlighted in yellow.

Listening: 3.7 Highlight incorrect words

Task

The transcript of a recording appears on screen. While listening to the recording, identify the words in the transcript that differ from what is said.

Skills assessed

Listening and reading

Prompt length

15-50 seconds

For this item type you are presented with a transcript of the audio recording, however, the transcript contains some errors. While listening and reading, you need to select the words in the text that differ from what the speaker says.

The audio begins to plays automatically. You are only able to listen to the audio recording once.

To select a word click on it using the left button on your mouse. If you change your mind, left-click on the word again to deselect it.

The words you select are highlighted in yellow.

Listening: 3.8 Write from dictation

Task

After listening to a recording of a sentence, type the sentence.

Skills assessed

Listening and writing

Prompt length

3-5 seconds

For this item type you hear a short sentence. Type the sentence into the response box at the bottom of the screen.

The audio begins to play automatically. You are only able to listen to the audio recording once.

Note: While the audio is playing, you can take notes on the erasable noteboard provided.

Remember to check your spelling.

The words you select are highlighted in yellow.