Part 2: Reading test introduction

PTE Author
PTE Author
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Reading time: 4 minutes

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

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