What to practise first
PTE preparation gets easier when you stop treating all 22 tasks as equal. Use this map to choose a starting point, then jump into the exact guide or filtered Practice Hub view.
Tasks that touch more than one skill
Prioritise these when your target score needs gains across multiple communicative skills.
- Repeat Sentence: Listening plus Speaking
- Write from Dictation: Listening plus Writing
- Summarize Spoken Text: Listening plus Writing
Short tasks for daily reps
Use these for quick attempts when you want high-frequency practice without a full mock test.
- Answer Short Question
- Read Aloud
- Multiple Choice, Single Answer
Tasks where guessing can hurt
Practise these with discipline: the goal is controlled selection, not maximum selection.
- Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers
- Highlight Incorrect Words
- Read the scoring guide before guessing
Speaking task types
Read Aloud
Read Aloud tests whether you can turn a short written passage into clear, fluent speech. Learn what Pearson scores, how to use preparation time, and what to practise next.
- Prompt
- Text of up to 60 words
- Timing
- Varies by item
Repeat Sentence
Repeat Sentence is an integrated Listening and Speaking task. The goal is not imitation for its own sake: you need to retain the message and reproduce it clearly, in the correct sequence.
- Prompt
- 3-9 seconds of audio
- Timing
- 15 seconds
Describe Image
Describe Image measures how clearly you can organise and deliver a spoken description of visual information. A strong response identifies the main message and supports it with relevant details.
- Prompt
- An image, chart or diagram
- Timing
- 40 seconds
Retell Lecture
Retell Lecture combines one-listen note-taking with a short spoken presentation. The aim is to preserve the lecture's main message and important relationships, then deliver them clearly in 40 seconds.
- Prompt
- Audio or video up to 90 seconds
- Timing
- 40 seconds
Answer Short Question
Answer Short Question tests whether you can understand a brief recorded question and supply an accurate word or short phrase. Longer answers do not earn extra credit, so speed and precision matter.
- Prompt
- 3-9 seconds of audio
- Timing
- 10 seconds
Summarize Group Discussion
Summarize Group Discussion asks you to follow three speakers, identify the central issue and explain how their contributions relate. A strong response synthesises the exchange instead of listing disconnected comments.
- Prompt
- Three-person discussion up to 3 minutes
- Timing
- 2 minutes
Respond to a Situation
Respond to a Situation tests whether you can speak appropriately in an everyday academic context. You need to satisfy every instruction, choose the right level of formality and communicate naturally within 40 seconds.
- Prompt
- Written and spoken situation up to 60 words
- Timing
- 40 seconds
Writing task types
Summarize Written Text
Summarize Written Text asks you to compress a passage into one accurate sentence. It tests Reading and Writing together, with strict form requirements that can gate the entire response.
- Prompt
- Text of up to 300 words
- Timing
- 10 minutes
Write Essay
Write Essay gives you 20 minutes to develop a clear argumentative response. Strong performance depends on answering the exact prompt, organising evidence and staying within the published form limits.
- Prompt
- A topic in 2-3 sentences
- Timing
- 20 minutes
Reading task types
Reorder Paragraph
Reorder Paragraph tests whether you can recognise how an academic text develops. Instead of guessing a complete order at once, build reliable links between sentences and use them to reconstruct the passage.
- Prompt
- Text of up to 150 words
- Timing
- No separate item timer
Fill in the Blanks (Drag and Drop)
Reading Fill in the Blanks asks you to restore a short passage using a word bank with extra options. Each choice must fit meaning, grammar and collocation, not simply the topic.
- Prompt
- Text of up to 80 words
- Timing
- No separate item timer
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown)
Fill in the Blanks (Dropdown) asks you to choose the best word for each gap from a short dropdown list. The task is slower than it looks because the right answer must fit meaning, grammar and the surrounding academic style.
- Prompt
- Text of up to 300 words with dropdown gaps
- Timing
- No separate item timer
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers
Reading Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers rewards precise comprehension and punishes over-selection. The safest approach is to prove each selected option from the passage, not to chase every familiar phrase.
- Prompt
- Text of up to 350 words and answer options
- Timing
- No separate item timer
Multiple Choice, Single Answer
Reading Multiple Choice, Single Answer asks for the one best answer to a passage question. Strong performance depends on understanding the main claim, not just matching isolated keywords.
- Prompt
- Text of up to 300 words and answer options
- Timing
- No separate item timer
Listening task types
Write from Dictation
Write from Dictation is an integrated Listening and Writing task. You hear one short sentence and type it accurately, making recall, word order and spelling central to the response.
- Prompt
- 3-5 seconds of audio
- Timing
- No separate item timer
Summarize Spoken Text
Summarize Spoken Text combines one-listen note-taking with concise academic writing. You need to preserve the lecture's main point and essential support while meeting a narrow word-count target.
- Prompt
- 60-90 seconds of audio
- Timing
- 10 minutes total
Highlight Incorrect Words
Highlight Incorrect Words tests whether you can track a transcript against one-play audio. Correct selections earn credit, but incorrect selections lose points, so disciplined clicking matters.
- Prompt
- 15-50 seconds of audio
- Timing
- No separate item timer
Fill in the Blanks (Type In)
Listening Fill in the Blanks gives you an incomplete transcript and one-play audio. Every missing word must be heard, retained and spelled correctly, so efficient previewing and post-audio checking both matter.
- Prompt
- 30-60 seconds of audio
- Timing
- No separate item timer
Highlight Correct Summary
Highlight Correct Summary asks you to match one-play audio to the most accurate written summary. The best choice must preserve the main point and supporting relationship, not merely repeat familiar words.
- Prompt
- 30-90 seconds of audio
- Timing
- No separate item timer
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers
Listening Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers tests whether you can identify several supported points from one recording. Because incorrect selections lose marks, the task rewards selective note-taking and disciplined elimination.
- Prompt
- 80-120 seconds of audio or video and answer options
- Timing
- No separate item timer
Multiple Choice, Single Answer
Listening Multiple Choice, Single Answer asks you to choose the one option that best answers the question after one recording. The correct answer usually depends on the speaker's main point or purpose, not a single remembered word.
- Prompt
- 30-90 seconds of audio and answer options
- Timing
- No separate item timer
Select Missing Word
Select Missing Word asks you to predict the final missing word or phrase after a recording ends with a beep. The best answer follows the logic of the whole recording, not just the final few words.
- Prompt
- 20-70 seconds of audio ending with a beep
- Timing
- No separate item timer
How to use the task library
- Start with the task guide for any question type you do not understand yet.
- Open matching practice and complete several attempts before judging your level.
- Use the full mock test when you want section order, fatigue and integrated scoring practice.
PTE Academic is integrated, so a credible practice product needs more than four generic skill pages. PrepEx now gives users a clear public path into every scored task type.