How are PTE and IELTS different? Here’s what you need to know

PTE Author
PTE Author
Image, teaching, 800px

Read Time: 6 minutes

PTE Academic is a real-world English test. This means it uses authentic source materials and a range of accents to assess natural real-world English proficiency. The test format is clearly structured, but students still need to understand the tasks in each section and know what they have to do to succeed on test day. 

The good news is that if you’re already used to preparing candidates for IELTS Academic, you’ll easily be able to adapt to help prepare them for their PTE Academic test. 

Let’s have a look at the similarities and differences between both tests and explore how you can adapt your test preparation classes for success in PTE Academic. 

The structure of the tests

The structure of PTE Academic and IELTS Academic is broadly similar. Both tests assess students on all four language skills: speaking, writing, reading and listening. The biggest difference in structure is that for PTE Academic there is just one two-hour computed-based test for all four skills. Whereas with IELTS Academic you need to book a separate face-to-face speaking test. More on that below. The order that skills are tested in, and the way the tasks are timed and organized, is also different:

Overall test structure

PTE Academic IELTS Academic
Listening: 30 - 43 minutes Listening: 30 minutes
Reading: 29 - 30 minutes Reading: 60 minutes
Speaking and Writing: 54 - 67 minutes (tested together) Writing: 60 minutes
  Speaking: 11 - 14 minutes
Test duration: Approximately 2 hours Test duration: Approximately 2 hours 45 minutes

The speaking sections of PTE Academic and IELTS Academic are quite different. Firstly, PTE Academic tests the integrated skills of speaking and writing, whereas with IELTS Academic these skills are tested separately.  

Secondly, the PTE Academic speaking section is completed on a computer (and is machine scored). This is in contrast to the IELTS Academic speaking section, which is done face to face with a human examiner. Many students taking PTE Academic report feeling less nervous about completing the speaking section on a computer. This is because they feel confident that it is their English skills that are being scored, and nothing else.

What’s more, because the PTE Academic speaking section is computer-based, the whole test can be completed on the same day in a single test session. In IELTS Academic, students may have to complete the speaking section on a different day – up to a week later.

Task types 

While some of the tasks within the tests might seem quite different, they often test the same skills. Let’s take a look:  

1. Writing 

In both PTE Academic and IELTS Academic, the 'Essay' tasks are very similar. This means you won’t need to adapt your preparation techniques much at all.

For the other writing task, the main point of difference between the tests is that PTE Academic asks students to summarize a written text, using a single sentence. For IELTS Academic, test takers must write a description/summary of a chart or graph: 

Writing

PTE Academic IELTS Academic
Speaking and Writing: 54 - 67 minutes Writing: 60 minutes
  • Task 1: Summarize Written Text - up to 75 words. Summarize a passage of text in one single sentence. Testing reading and writing.
  • Task 2: Essay - 20 - 40 minutes - 200- 300 words. Argumentative or persuasive essay.
  • Task 1: Written description or summary of a chart or graph - 150 words.
  • Task 2: Essay - 250 words. Point of view, argument or problem response.

There is also a great deal of overlap in the skills tested here. In order to score well in either test, students will need to: 

  • organize their sentences and paragraphs in a logical way

  • synthesize information for writing a summary

  • support an opinion with details, examples, and explanations

  • use correct grammar, spelling, and mechanics

  • use appropriate language for the context of their writing. 

2. Speaking  

The 'Describe Image' task in PTE Academic tests the same language abilities as the first writing task in IELTS Academic, where students are asked to describe a graph or chart. So you’ll be able to adapt your preparation technique for this task very easily. Students find it helpful to practise the 'Describe Image' task, so that they can become comfortable with the skill.

Speaking

PTE Academic IELTS Academic
Speaking and Writing: 54 - 67 minutes Speaking: 60 minutes

Multiple input texts - integrated tasks and skills tested.

5 item types - 25 - 33 questions:

  • Read Aloud
  • Repeat Sentence
  • Describe Image
  • Retell Lecture
  • Answer Short Question
Interview style in 3 parts. Number of questions may vary.
  • Task 1 - Introduction and interview
  • Task 2 - Long turn - speaking about a topic for 2 minutes
  • Task 3 - Discussion about task 2 topic, where examiner will ask questions related to the topic.

Both tests require students to speak fluently and use correct pronunciation, stress, and intonation. They’ll need to be capable of organizing an oral presentation in a logical way, and supporting their analysis of the image with details, examples, and explanations.

3. Reading 

The reading sections of IELTS Academic and PTE Academic differ in terms of structure and timing. In PTE Academic, students answer fewer questions over a significantly shorter time. There are more individual texts, but they’re shorter. Moreover, test takers are only asked one question per text. So, if they aren’t sure about the meaning of a text, they can move on to the next one, with more opportunities to demonstrate their proficiency. They won’t be asked five questions about one single text.

Learners will need to focus on the meaning of the text and be able to identify the main theme, purpose, and tone of the text. Skimming and scanning for information are also important skills, as is the ability to infer meaning. The best way to ensure success in this section is to make sure your students are reading widely and regularly.

Reading

PTE Academic IELTS Academic
Reading: 29 - 30 minutes Reading: 60 minutes

Multiple input texts - 13 - 18 questions

One reading text per question

Task types:

  • Multiple Choice (single and multiple answer)
  • Fill in the Blanks (two different types)
  • Reorder Paragraphs

3 input texts - 40 questions

One reading text, multiple questions

Task types:

  • Multiple choiceIdentifying information or writers' views or claims
  • Matching information or headings, features or sentence endings
  • Sentence completion or summary completion
  • Note or table, flow chart or diagram completion
  • Short answer

4. Listening  

The Listening sections in IELTS Academic and PTE Academic are significantly different. 

Listening

PTE Academic IELTS Academic
Listening: 30 - 43 minutes Listening: 30 minutes + 10 minutes

8 item types - 12 - 20 questionsIntegrated tasks (multiple skills tested).Recordings all from authentic academic sources.

Task types:

  • Summarize Spoken 
  • TextMultiple Choice (single and multiple answers)
  • Fill in the Blanks
  • Highlight Correct Summary
  • Select Missing Word
  • Highlight Incorrect Word
  • Write from Dictation

4 recordings - 40 questions

  • R1 - a conversation - two people set in an everyday social context
  • R2 - a monologue set in an everyday social context
  • R3 - a conversation between up to four people set in an educational or training context
  • R4 - a monologue on an academic subject

Task types include:

  • Multiple choice
  • MatchingPlan, map or diagram labelling
  • Form, note, table, flow chart or summary completion
  • Sentence completion
  • Short answer questions

IELTS Academic has conversations and monologues set in social contexts. In contrast, seven out of the eight PTE Academic recordings are from authentic academic sources. Similar to the Reading section, IELTS Academic has fewer recordings but more questions.

What’s more, the task types are quite different. Some of the IELTS Academic tasks require students to complete the sentence, label a map or diagram, and match answers. Some of the PTE Academic tasks ask students to highlight correct summaries, highlight incorrect words, and write from dictation.

Whether your students are working towards PTE Academic or IELTS Academic, you’ll be teaching them broadly similar skills. To score well in the Listening section, your learners will have to be able to listen for gist and for detail. They’ll need to identify words and phrases appropriate to the context. Note-taking skills can also contribute towards a student’s success. Therefore it’s important to make sure your learners are getting plenty of practice at taking notes of key, relevant information, while also listening for overall comprehension.

Smart Preparation resources

Smart Prep is a one-stop preparation portal where you can find everything you need to be confident and test ready for PTE Academic, PTE Core and PTE Home tests.

For PTE Academic this includes more information and links to:

  • Scored Practice Tests ($35.99 USD) — the closest you can get to the real test and scored in the same way, these five scored practice tests are perfect for giving an accurate indication of how you'll perform in the test.

  • Question Bank ($19.99 USD) — the Question Bank features 300 test questions, split by task type, as well as sample answers for the Speaking and Writing sections of the test.

  • The Official Guide to PTE Academic ($39.99 USD) — your official guide to PTE Academic with in-depth information and robust, practical advice on sitting each part of the test, along with an online practice bank of questions and additional online resources.

View our full range of free and paid preparation materials for PTE Academic.

Teacher resources

We also offer a huge number of helpful resources for teachers who are preparing students for the PTE Academic test. These include:

  • Our Teacher Preparation Pathway - A guide to all of our resources and a way for you to become more familiar with the test.

  • Classroom resources - Official coursebooks, free lesson plans, and our free PTE Academic preparation course outline are just some of the resources available to support your planning and teaching.

  • Teacher courses - We offer six, self-paced courses which can be accessed across devices, to support you anytime, anywhere.

View all PTE resources for teachers.

Ready to book?

Find a date and test center to suit you.

Book PTE Academic now

 

Related Content

  • Image - Australian city hall- 800px
    How to find work in Australia
    By PTE Author
    Reading time: 3 minutes

    Have you ever dreamt of migrating to Australia for work or study? As one of the world’s most attractive places to both work and live, you’re not alone, however, there are a number of things to keep in mind before you start planning to apply for jobs in Australia.

    Let’s explore some of the major things that you need to keep in mind when looking to find work in Australia.

    Organizing your visa

    In order to legally apply for work in Australia, you’re going to need a visa that gives you permission to enter the country with a view to seeking employment.

    It’s important to remember that the appropriate visa depends on your career type and industry that you’re applying to. To understand what visa applies to your specific skills, use the visa finder on the government’s Home Affairs site.

    Learn the culture

    The workplace culture in Australia is unique for many reasons. Whilst Australian’s are known to be laid-back, this isn’t to be confused with their approach to hard work. Australian’s work hard though also have strict workplace laws that protect the health and wellbeing of all employees.

    Australian’s like to keep things casual in the workplace and it is common that everyone is encouraged to speak up during meetings. This can cause culture shock for those that migrate from countries where the workplace hierarchy dictates your ability to speak up.

    In-demand skills

    As with all countries, certain professions are in demand in Australia. It’s important to remember that seasonality can impact the demand for certain jobs at different times of the year so it’s important to do your own research to understand job availability in your specific area of expertise.

    To learn more about careers in demand in Australia, visit the government’s Job Outlook site.

    Choosing where to work in Australia

    If you’re looking to migrate to Australia for work, you’ve probably done some research on where you’d like to live. The major capital cities in Australia are:

    • Adelaide, South Australia

    • Brisbane, Queensland

    • Canberra, Australian Capital Territory

    • Darwin, Northern Territory

    • Hobart, Tasmania

    • Melbourne, Victoria

    • Perth, Western Australia

    • Sydney, New South Wales

    Whilst Sydney is best known for tourism, each capital city has a unique look and feel and all have unique attributes. The major Australian universities are largely spread across Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne and the two most dominant cities for professional careers are Sydney and Melbourne.

    Writing a resume and cover letter

    It’s a common misconception that applying for a job in a new country requires a unique resume and cover letter style. Whilst there isn’t a specific formula when applying for a job in Australia, it’s important to consider that an employer in Australia may not have any context around the businesses that you’ve worked with in your home country. As a result, it’s a good idea to ensure that this context is shared in your cover letter to ensure that key skills aren’t overlooked.

    Applying for jobs in Australia

    As is the case in virtually all major job markets, applying for jobs in Australia is largely an online experience. The Australian market has a number of major job listing sites and it’s on these sites that you’ll also be required to file job applications. In addition to the major job listing sites, LinkedIn is commonly used in Australia for connecting with recruiters and applying for jobs too, however, this can vary depending on your job category and what you’re hoping to apply for.

    The most appropriate site to apply for jobs really depends on what industry you’re applying for, so it’s best to do your own research to find what job site best suits your needs.

  • Image- Study group - 800px
    Speaking: Core English Skills
    By PTE Author
    Reading time: 3 minutes

    In Part 1 of the PTE Academic test, you require certain skills to answer the questions within the test to the best of your ability.

    We’ve put together some tips and advice on how to practice and improve your core skills.

    Oral Fluency

    Oral fluency applies to the Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image and Re-tell Lecture question types.

    To improve your oral fluency before your test, we recommend that you speak English as often as you can. If you don’t have anyone you can speak English with, join an English-speaking club or take a short course.

    As soon as you’ve booked the test, we suggest that you try to read, listen and write in English as much as you can.

    If you’re having trouble with speaking too slow or too fast, record yourself and listen back to identify where you need to improve.

    You can also use Tiny Texts to help improve your speaking. Read the text silently to yourself, then listen to a recording while you read and have a try afterward to read at a similar pace.

    Pronunciation

    Pronunciation skills are required for the Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image and Re-tell Lecture question types.

    In PTE Academic you do not have to speak like a fluent speaker of English to do well. However, you do need to use a pronunciation that can be understood by a regular speaker of English.

    This means you need to make sure your vowel and consonant sounds are pronounced in a fluent-like way with the correct words. You also need to use the correct sentence stress to convey meaning.

    Luckily, there are many online tools that can help with your pronunciation, such as:

    Vocabulary

    The only question type in the speaking section that will require strong vocabulary skills is Answer Short Question.

    The easiest way to improve your vocabulary is to keep a vocabulary notebook to use as your own personal dictionary. When you hear or see new words, add them along with the meaning and put them in a sentence.

    Want more prep ideas?

    Explore Smart Prep, which combines all our practice materials in one place, so it's easier for you to stay on track with your PTE preparation.

    • Smart Prep is a clear path to test day, guiding you through the official paid and free resources available for your test

    • It can be accessed whether you’ve booked a test or not – just create, or sign in to your myPTE account

    • Preparation materials include guided practice tests, introductory videos, video courses and test tips.

    Ready to get started?

  • Image- Students at library- 800px
    Part 3: Listening Test Introduction
    By PTE Author
    Reading time: 4 minutes

    Part 3 of PTE Academic will take 45-57 minutes to test your listening skills.

    This section is designed to test your ability to listen, read and write. PTE Academic is an integrated skills test, therefore, this test contains multiple question types that test up to 2 skills each.

    There are eight question types in the listening section. A breakdown of these question types is as below.

    Summarize Spoken Text

    The first question type you will need to complete is Summarize Spoken Text, which will tests listening and writing skills.

    To complete the task, a recording between 60-90 seconds long will be played for you to listen to. As you listen, try to use the Erasable Noteboard Booklet to take notes of key points to help you understand the context.

    After the recording, you will have 10 minutes to write a summary of what you heard.

    To answer this question type, you must write a minimum of 50 words but no more than 70 words.

    You can receive a maximum of 2 points for content, 2 for form, 2 for grammar, 2 for vocabulary and 2 for spelling.

    Multiple-choice, multiple answer

    The second question type, Multiple-Choice, Multiple Answer will test listening skills.

    First, you will be given information to help answer the question. You only have 7 seconds to read this. A recording will then play that is between 40-90 seconds long.

    Select all the response options that you think are correct.

    In this question type, you can receive 1 point for each correct option, but will lose -1 point for each incorrect option. You cannot score below 0.

    Fill in the blanks

    In the third question type, Fill in the Blanks, listening and writing skills will be tested.

    Similar to the previous task, you will be given 7 seconds to read some information before hearing the recording.

    A recording between 30-60 seconds will play. As you listen, type each word in the blank spaces as you hear them so that you do not miss any.

    Do not leave any spaces blank, you can review them at the end.

    You receive 1 point for each correct word which is spelled correctly.

    Highlight correct summary

    The fourth question type, Highlight Correct Summary, will test listening and reading skills.

    You will be given 10 seconds before the recording starts to read the options. A recording will be played that is between 30-90 seconds long.

    To complete the task, select only one correct response. If unsure, choose the one you think is correct as you cannot lose points in this question.

    Your response will either be marked as correct or incorrect.

    Multiple-choice, single answer

    The fifth question type, Multiple-Choice, Single Answer will test listening skills.

    To complete this task, you will be given information to read for context, you will then need to listen to a recording between 30-60 seconds long.

    Choose the option that best suits.

    Your response to this question type will be marked as correct or incorrect.

    Select missing word

    In the sixth question type, Select Missing Word, will test your listening skills.

    A recording between 20-70 seconds long will be played and you will need to predict the last word or words of the text to complete the task.

    You will be marked on this question type as either correct or incorrect.

    Highlight incorrect words

    In the seventh question type, Highlight Incorrect Words, your listening and reading skills will be tested.

    In this question type, you will be shown information and have 10 seconds to read it before a recording starts.

    A recording between 15-50 seconds will play and you will need to select the words that are incorrect and do not match the recording.

    You can receive 1 point for each correct word and lose -1 point for each incorrect word. You cannot score below 0.

    Write from dictation

    The eighth and final question type, Write from Dictation, tests listening and writing skills.

    You will have 7 seconds to read the instructions before the recording starts. The recording is between 3-5 seconds long and once it starts, listen and type the sentence in the response box.

    You can receive 1 point for each correct word you write. Write the words in the right order and spell them correctly in order to receive 1 point. Points are not lost for incorrect words.

    What's next?

    We recommend reviewing the core listening skills required for PTE Academic.

    Want more prep ideas?

    Plus, explore Smart Prep, which combines all our practice materials in one place, so it's easier for you to stay on track with your PTE preparation.

    • Smart Prep is a clear path to test day, guiding you through the official paid and free resources available for your test

    • It can be accessed whether you’ve booked a test or not – just create, or sign in to your myPTE account

    • Preparation materials include guided practice tests, introductory videos, video courses and test tips.

    Ready to get started?