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All You Need To Know About PTE Exam Format
- July 31, 2021
- Posted by: admin
- Category: Informational

Are you looking for PTE exam format? So, you are not a native English speaker? are you planning to study abroad? Indeed, You might need to prove your English Language Proficiency to pursue your academic study.
Suppose a student wants to study in an English language country, and his/her native language isn’t English. In that case, they have to provide an English Language Proficiency test to pursue their dream in a foreign English-speaking country.
In this Scenario, PTE Academic might be the best choice for you to go with.
Well, It’s not like you don’t have other options.
There are many different English language tests available worldwide to test, which prove your English Language Proficiency. But we have a reason for you to go with the PTE (Pearson Test of English) Academic.
While The PTE Exam is getting increasingly popular over the globe by providing the new test structure and characteristic features for the students.
There is nothing to hide in that the PTE exam is more accurate when it comes to assessing English Proficiency in Writing, Listening, Speaking, and Reading.
Let us get into the main reason you are here.
In this article, we are going to cover the important details of the PTE Exam Format, as well as Eligibility Criteria for the PTE Test.
PTE Exam Format – The Overview
PTE Exam Format tests all 4 components of English Language skills. The tests take around 3 hours to 3 and half hours, divided into 3 sections (other than an introduction) which began with an introduction of the candidate.
Introduction can be of unlimited time, where the applicant can learn basics know-how of PTE test. after the intro, the PTE exam format continues to test speaking, writing, listening and reading.
The test contains three main parts, that is speaking and writing combined, reading, and listening.
At the beginning of each part, the candidate will receive a general introduction of each part and get specific instructions for each module.
Part Of Test (Sections) | Module | Item Type | Time |
Intro | Not given | ||
Part 1: Speaking And Writing | Module 1 | Personal Introduction | 1 minute |
Module 2 |
|
30- 35 minutes | |
Module 3-4 | Summarize Written Text | 20 Minutes | |
Module 5 | Summarize written text or write an essay | 10 or 20 minutes | |
Module 6 | Write Essay | 20 minutes | |
Part 2: Reading |
|
32 – 41 minutes | |
Part 3: Listening | Module 1 | Summarize Spoken Test | 20 or 30 minutes |
Module 2 |
|
23- 28 Minutes |
As seen above, each Section carries a specific Module that is timed individually. As PTE Exam is based on the computer-based test the time of each of the parts is specific and can not be extended.
The test will come as a task-based, representing the number of functions and situations that the candidate has to encounter during the exam.
PTE Test Format for Each Part:
We have broken each part and provided detailed information for better understanding and practice of the PTE exam.
The links below carry additional information on each Item of the specific Module.
PTE Test Question Types
SPEAKING & WRITING: (75 to 95 minutes) |
READING: (30 to 40 Minutes) |
LISTENING: (45 to 60 minutes) |
⇒Personal Introduction | ⇒Fill in the blanks | ⇒Summarize spoken text |
⇒Read aloud | ⇒Multiple-choice questions | ⇒Multiple-choice questions |
⇒Repeat sentence | ⇒Re-order paragraphs | ⇒Fill the blanks |
⇒Describe image | ⇒Fill in the blanks | ⇒Highlight the correct summary |
⇒Re-tell lecture |
⇒Multiple-choice questions
|
⇒Multiple-choice questions |
⇒Answer short question | ⇒Select missing word | |
⇒Summarize written text | ⇒Highlight incorrect words | |
⇒Essay | ⇒ Write from dictation |
PTE Speaking & Writing Format:
PTE Speaking & Writing Section assesses candidate skills on how well the student can perform in speaking and writing components. The Exam format starts with an introduction round where candidate provides some basic information about themselves. However, it’s a good push to start and getting comfortable.
The key factor in the writing section is to look after your grammar and spelling mistakes, as the PTE Exam is computer algorithm-based. It’s for sure your grammar and spelling mistakes will be counted as an error.
Furthermore, We have provided the speaking & writing format in a tabular form below for you for a better understanding of how the PTE speaking exam format works.
Question Type |
Task |
Skills assessed |
Question length |
Answer time |
Introduction |
Introduction question is an opportunity for students to provide some information about themselves to their selected institutions |
Speaking |
25 seconds to prepare to respond
|
30 seconds to record |
Read Aloud
|
Text will appear on the screen, you must read the text aloud. |
Reading and Speaking |
up to 60 words of text 30-40 seconds will be provided to prepare |
depends on the length of text provided. |
Repeat sentence
|
listen to a recording of a sentence and repeat the sentence |
Listening and Speaking |
3-9 seconds |
15 seconds
|
Describe Image
|
An image appears on the screen. Describe the image in detail. |
Speaking |
N/A |
40 seconds
|
Re-tell Lecture
|
listen or watch a lecture and re-tell the lecture in your own words. |
Listening and Speaking |
up to 90 seconds |
40 seconds
|
Answer short question |
listen to a question and answer with a single word or a few words. |
Listening and Speaking |
3-9 seconds |
10 seconds |
Summarize written text |
read a text and write a one-sentence summary of the passage. |
Reading and Writing |
up to 300 words of text |
10 minutes |
Write essay |
Write a 200– 300-word essay on a given topic. |
Writing |
2-3 sentences |
20 minutes |
PTE Reading Format:
Reading exam format has the lowest amount of questions. But, it is a tricky part for most of the candidates. However, the reading section assesses the candidate’s reading ability by providing a reading passage and questions.
The candidate has to find the answers to that question from the given passage, and In the reading section, you have 30 to 40 minutes to find all the answers.
As for advice, you must read the questions carefully and understand the question. You might think you have found the answer, but it may not be the correct answer.
For example, we have provided the reading format below, and you can take a look at the table below to find the pattern of questions that comes in the PTE reading exam.
Question Type |
Task |
Skills assessed |
Question length |
Multiple-Choice, Choose Single Answer |
read a text and answer a multiple-choice question (single answer) |
Reading |
up to 110 words text |
Multiple-Choice, Choose Multiple Answers |
read a text and answer a multiple-choice question (multiple answers) |
Reading |
up to 300 words of text |
Re-order Paragraphs |
Several text boxes will appear on the screen randomly ordered. you must Put the text boxes in the correct order |
Reading |
up to 150 words of text |
Reading: Fill in the blanks |
Text will appear on screen with some gaps. you must drag words from the box below to fill the gaps |
Reading |
up to 80 words of text |
Reading and Writing: Fill in the blanks |
text will appear on screen with some gaps. you must select the most appropriate words from a drop-down list to restore the text. |
Reading and Writing |
up to 80 words of text |
PTE Listening Format:
Here we go to the final section of the PTE exam, The listening section. It is obvious that most of the candidate finds listening exam most accessible to increase their overall PTE score.
It might be a difficult section for some candidates. Well, it depends on personal preference.
However, It takes nearly 45 to 60 minutes to complete the PTE listening exam. The pattern assesses your listening, writing, and reading ability to understand the English language.
This part of the PTE exam is divided into small parts, and you will be provided with audio or video clips. But, These clips will be played only once.
You must listen to audio/video carefully and answer the questions given in an appropriate form. Below is the listening questions format list you can look to understand the pattern.
Question Type |
Task |
Skills assessed |
Question length |
Summarize spoken text |
listen to a recording and write a 50-70 word summary of the content |
Listening and Writing |
60-90 seconds |
Multiple Choice, choose multiple answers |
listen to a recording and answer a multiple-choice (multiple answers) |
Listening |
40-90 seconds |
Fill in the blanks |
A transcript of a recording appears on screen with several gaps. listen to the recording and type the missing word in each gap |
Listening and Writing |
30-60 seconds |
Highlight correct summary |
listen to a recording and select the paragraph that best summarizes the recording |
Listening and Reading |
30-90 seconds |
Multiple Choice, choose a single answer |
listen to a recording and answer a multiple-choice question (single answer) |
Listening |
30-60 seconds |
Select missing word |
listen to a recording and select the missing word that completes the recording from a list of options |
Listening |
20-70 seconds |
Highlight incorrect words |
The transcript of a recording appears on the screen. identify the words in the transcript that differ from what is said While listening to the recording |
Listening and Reading |
15-50 seconds |
Write from dictation |
listen to a recording of a sentence and complete the sentence |
Listening and Writing |
3-5 seconds |
Why Choose PTE Over Others
In the end, As we told you before, PTE is overcoming other English language test providers. But, the reason that makes PTE so popular over others is that it utilizes AI (artificial intelligence) to assess every test taker.
Besides, You don’t have to worry about human interaction, and all the processes will be done online and using a computer algorithm.
That new way to assess the English Language Proficiency skills seems more prominent than other English tests.