Why fluent English speakers don’t always get a perfect score

Part 2 of PTE Academic will take 32-41 minutes and will test your reading skills. This single-timed section contains 15-20 questions that test both independent and integrated skills.

The sections within part 2 are designed to test your ability to read and write in English. PTE Academic is an integrated skills test, therefore, one question type in this part of the test also assesses writing skills.

There are five questions types in the reading section. Below, we will break down each part of this section of the test.

Multiple-choice, Choose Single Answer

For the first question type, you will need to complete is Multiple-choice, Choose Single Answer question, which is designed to test your reading skills.

You will be shown a text prompt for this assessment that will be up to 300 words. Possible response options will be given, with only one being correct.

For this question, you need to read the text and answer a multiple-choice question by selecting one response based on the content or tone of the text.

In this question type, you will earn 1 point for correct answers and 0 points for incorrect answers.

Multiple-choice, Choose Multiple Answer

The second question type will be similar to the previous. Multiple-Choice, Choose Multiple Answer will test your reading skills.

In this question type, you will be given a text prompt of up to 300 words. Like the previous questions, you will need to answer the question by selecting the most suitable responses from the list of options, based on the content or tone of the text.

For each correct answer you will earn 1 point, however, you will lose -1 point for each incorrect answer. Don’t worry, you cannot score below 0 in this assessment.

Re-order Paragraphs

The third question type to test reading skills will be to re-order paragraphs.

You will be provided with a text prompt of up to 50 words and will be shown some text boxes on the screen in a random order.

To complete the question, read the paragraph, then drag and drop or click the arrows on the screen to put your chosen responses in the correct order.

You will earn 1 point for every pair of sentences that you place in the correct order and receive full marks if the whole paragraph is in the correct order.

Reading: Fill in the Blanks

Your reading skills will be tested in the fourth question type, Reading: Fill in the Blanks. You will do 4-5 of these questions.

For this question, you will be provided with a text prompt of up to 80 words. There will be 3-5 missing words from the text.

You will need to select a single correct answer from the 6-8 words given to fill the blanks. Not all words in the box will be used.

You will earn 1 point for every blank that is filled in correctly for this question.

Reading and Writing: Fill in the Blanks

The last question type will test your reading and writing skills. Reading and Writing: Fill in the Blanks is an integrated skills question type.

You will be shown a text prompt of up to 80 words with up to five blank spaces.

To complete the question, select one of the five options in each drop-down list to fill in the blank spaces.

You will earn 1 point for every blank space that is filled in correctly.

To do well in the reading test there are many core skills you will need to learn to ensure a good score.

If you have already attempted PTE Academic, were not happy with your score, and would like to improve, we recommend reviewing your test performance to see where you can improve.

What's next?

You can also read more about Part 3: Listening Test Introduction to learn everything you need 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?

As part of the PTE Academic, you must demonstrate a certain set of core English skills to maximize your score.

To help you do your best in Part 1: Writing we’ve put together some tips.

Summarize Written Text

In the Summarize Written Text question type, you will be scored based on the content, formal requirements, grammar, and vocabulary.

When completing this question type you should first quickly scan read the text prompt given to make sure you understand what it is about. If you are unsure what it is about, make a guess based on the context.

You should try to take notes on the Erasable Noteboard Booklet or on the screen as you read. If you do use the screen, remember to delete your notes before clicking ‘next’ or time runs out.

Some quick ways to pick up points include:

• Stick to the topic or purpose of the text. Key points in the text will usually be repeated, developed, and highlighted – try to include these in your writing. If you do not summarize the meaning or purpose you will score zero points.

• Do not include examples or supporting evidence in your summary.

• Use words from the text but try to use synonyms where possible.

• Use noun phrases where possible to show that you can use certain features of academic vocabulary in your writing.

When completing the question type, make sure you write only one sentence. If you write more, points will be lost.

A good sentence for this question type is 20-35 words long. If you write a short sentence, it will not capture all the meaning. Remember to check the word count in the box below your answer.

As you write the sentence, try to think about:

• Have I summarized the key points?

• Does my sentence start with a capital letter and end with a full stop? If you spell everything in capital letters or all of the words are in lower case, you will score zero.

• Did I use run-on sentences? If you have, change them to a compound or complex sentence.

Make sure to use grammatical structures that you feel you can write correctly. Usually, a complex structure is required for summarizing text.

Don’t forget, always take time to check your grammar and vocabulary before clicking “next” or the 10 minutes is up.

When checking your answer, look for articles, especially ‘the’, prepositions, tenses, plurals, and subject-verb agreement as well as your own common errors. Check that you have not written a run-on sentence. If so, turn it into a compound or complex sentence.

Write Essay

The second part of the Writing section contains the Write Essay question type.

This question type will test grammar, spelling, vocabulary, and written discourse skills. It is important to manage time, as you will need enough time to plan, write and proofread the essay, all within 20 minutes.

You will be scored on the content and formal requirements of the question, as well as your grammar, general linguistic range, vocabulary range, and spelling.

Overall your essay should:

• Address the prompt. If not, you will score zero.

• Be well-planned and organized.

• Demonstrate critical thinking to show a logical approach to the essay topic.

• Include 4 paragraphs: an introduction, 2 body paragraphs each developing an idea, and a short conclusion summarizing your ideas.

• Include examples, explanations, and facts to support the point of view you are expressing.

• Be between 200-300 words long. Try to write just over 200 words and use the time to check the quality of your writing. If you write less than 200 or more than 380 words, you will score zero.

Use the same method of taking notes as the Summarize Written Text question type.

Your introduction can be linked to the body paragraphs with an overview. Then, the first body paragraph can be linked to the second body paragraph with a cohesive device.

More information on cohesive devices can be found at the below links:

• GrammarBank

• RMIT English Worldwide Cohesion part 1

• RMIT English Worldwide Cohesion part 2

Then for a conclusion, link it by writing In conclusion, To conclude.. etc.

In your writing, try to use complex sentences as you will score more points. Make sure to vary language by using synonyms, antonyms, and academic vocabulary.

The use of appropriate idiomatic expressions or colloquialisms will help you score well, but do not use too many as your writing will not be entirely academic.

Lastly, when it comes to spelling, make sure to spell each word correctly. Making more than 1 spelling mistake will mean you will score zero for this question.

Always remember to proofread your writing to make sure there are no errors before clicking next.

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?

Part 3: Listening in PTE Academic requires many hours of practice to maximize your score. Whilst practicing other parts of the test you would have learned certain core English skills that are needed in Part 3 that you can further improve.

To do well in the listening questions set a daily goal of listening regularly to authentic English texts. The more you listen, the better you will do in the test.

When choosing recordings to listen to, do not choose examples that are too difficult. Start at a level you are comfortable with and build up to a higher level example as you improve.

If you find the recording too difficult, try to just listen for the content words, such as nouns, adjectives, and verbs so that you can pick up the meaning of the recording.

Always try to listen as many times as you need to fully understand the content. Try to go back and listen to the same recording a few days later to help you remember the content, vocabulary, and pronunciation.

Use an Online Tone Generator tool to help slow down recordings and keep the original pitch of the speaker. Try not to slow it down so much that you translate the meaning into your own language as this will not help improve your listening skills.

Don’t forget to be an active listener and focus on what you are hearing.

What should I listen to?

As the speakers in PTE Academic have various accents, we recommend listening to a wide range of speakers from different backgrounds to learn the different pronunciations used.

Try to listen to speakers from Britain, America, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as second language speakers from India, China, and Europe.

Some of the below podcasts will help:

• BBC’s (UK)

• Luke’s English Podcast

• English Class 101

• Better at English

• VOA Learning English

• Culips Chatterbox

• Aussie English Podcast

You can also listen to radio around the world at Live Online Radio.

When listening keep a listening diary to write down the titles of recordings along with notes. Listen for stressed words in the recordings as these are usually the most important.

The easiest way to take notes will be to use abbreviations and/or symbols as you will not have enough time in the test to write full words.

From your notes, you should be able to answer the following questions:

• What was the topic and main ideas?

• What accent did the speaker/s use?

• Was it interesting?

• What did you learn from it?

• What vocabulary did you learn?

• Do you want to listen to more texts from that site?

• Did you need to slow the text down? If so, what speed?

• How many times did you listen to the text? Do you want to listen again?

• Do you feel your listening skills are improving?

What's next?

To learn more about how to apply listening skills and improve test results, view our self-improvement strategies:

• Listening: Self-Improvement Part 1

• Listening: Self-Improvement Part 2