The Pearson Test of English (PTE Academic) assesses the written, spoken, skills of the candidates to ensure that they are capable of studying in the international environment, with a good grasp over the universal language of English. By scoring well in this test, students can assure the admission committee as well as the visa officers that they are capable of understanding the globally accepted official language while studying on the foreign land.
A good score in the test also ensures that candidates would be able to represent their ideas, deliver presentations, work to gain international exposure, and basically function on the international front in front of foreign audiences. This helps the applicants ensure that they are ready to study amidst students from all over the world and international faculty members in the universal official language.
As an English language test, PTE is no exception and has a similar kind of Exam Pattern like other English language tests. It focusses on the three major sections of the language proficiency:
Reading Section
Listening Section
Speaking and Writing Section
The PTE test is made of the following components:
1. Question: Time to Reading the Text Prompt: The time duration of each prompt you get varies depending upon the length of the text. The length is measurable in words or sentences. You need to be active in this part.
2. Prepare for Answer: Time granted to Relax and Think: You do not have to immediately answer the question. On average, you get 10 to 15 seconds to prepare for each segment. You should relax and think for a while on how to answer.
3. Answer: Time for Action: This is the total time duration where you have to perform. The answers are recorded when you speak, saved as text when you write, and selected in options multiple-choice questions.
Refer to the segment-wise description boxes given along with each section explaining the PTE Exam Pattern 2020 in detail:
As the name implies, this section tests the candidate’s on the basis of their 2 major skills of communication, which are spoken and written skills. This section comprises of six small sections that test you on your promptness over speaking and writing the written test that you would get to read for the first time ever. The complete section is given time duration of 77 to 93 minutes and the time allotted to each segment is as follows:
| Segments Pattern | Time Duration |
|---|---|
| Personal Introduction | 55 seconds: 25 seconds for prompt, 30 seconds to record |
| Read Aloud | 30-40 seconds to prepare for reading out the text of 60 words |
| Repeat Sentence | 15 seconds: 3-9 seconds for prompt, 15 seconds to record |
| Describe Image | 25 seconds are granted to study the image as well as prepare your response on the same |
| Re-Tell Lecture | 90 seconds for prompt length, 10 seconds to prepare and 40 seconds to |
| Answer Short Question | 20 seconds: 3-9 seconds for prompt, 10 seconds to answer |
| Summarize Written Text | 10 minutes to answer to text prompt of 300 words |
| Essay | 20 minutes to answer to text prompt of 2-3 sentences |
This section tests the candidates on the basis of their ability to understand the written instructions in the language. The section further divided into 5 segments is 32 to 41 minutes long. Check out the segment-wise pattern for time distribution of this section:
| Segments Pattern | Time Duration varies on the length of the Text Prompt |
|---|---|
| Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer | Read 300 words of text |
| Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers | Read 300 words of text |
| Re-Order Paragraphs | Read 150 words of text |
| Reading: Fill in the Blanks | Read 80 words of text |
| Reading and Writing: Fill in the Blanks | Read 300 words of text |
The listening section of the PTE Academic is stretched over 45 to 57 minutes of duration. This one is designed to determine the ability to understand spoken English by the candidate. Here, the student needs to ascertain that they carefully hear the audio file played and retain what they heard. This section is divided into 8 segments and the time give to each segment is as follows.
| Segments Pattern | Time Duration |
|---|---|
| Summarize Spoken Text | 60-90 seconds to retain 50-70 words, 10 minutes to write |
| Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer | 40-90 seconds for prompt |
| Fill in the Blanks | 30-60 seconds |
| Highlight Correct Summary | 30-90 seconds |
| Multiple Choice, Single Answer | 30-60 seconds |
| Select Missing Word | 20-70 seconds |
| Highlight Incorrect Words | 15-50 seconds |
| Write From Dictation | 3-5 seconds |
Designed to verify the applicant’s English language skills, the standardized English language tests follow almost the same pattern. Hence, preparing for any one of these, you automatically are prepared for taking up any of the remaining two. Now that you have understood the PTE Academic Exam Pattern, you must check out the preparation tips on each section separately:
