Overview of the PTE Test
Start your PTE preparation with an overview of each part of the test: speaking, writing, reading and listening.

Speaking
Here are some key points about speaking in the PTE test:
- Speaking is assessed in Part 1, together with writing.
- You record your speaking responses using a microphone – there’s no human examiner present.
- Some speaking question types also assess your reading and listening skills.
A variety of question types are used:
- Personal introduction
- Read aloud
- Repeat sentence
- Describe image
- Re-tell lecture
- Answer short question
Writing
Here are some key points about writing in the PTE test:
- Writing is assessed in Part 1, together with speaking.
- One writing question type also assesses your reading skills.
A variety of question types are used:
- Summarize written text
- Write essay
Reading
Here are some key points about reading in the PTE test:
- Reading is assessed in Part 2.
- You have approximately 32–41 minutes to complete the reading tasks.
- One reading question type also assesses your writing skills.
A variety of question types are used:
- Multiple-choice, choose single answer
- Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers
- Re-order paragraphs
- Reading: Fill in the blanks
- Reading & writing: Fill in the blanks
Listening
Here are some key points about listening in the PTE test:
- Listening is assessed in Part 3.
- You have approximately 45–57 minutes to complete the listening tasks.
- You hear each listening passage once only.
- The audio recordings are very authentic. They feature a variety of native and non-native accents, as well as characteristics of natural speech such as fillers, hesitations and false starts.
- Some listening question types also assess your writing and reading skills.
A variety of question types are used:
- Summarize spoken text
- Multiple-choice, choose multiple answers
- Fill in the blanks
- Highlight correct summary
- Multiple-choice, choose single answer
- Select missing word
- Highlight incorrect words
- Write from dictation
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