PTE Exam Pattern 2025: Section-wise PTE Test Format

An automated scoring system assesses your performance in each section, assigning scores from 10 to 90 for Speaking, Writing, Reading, and Listening. Your overall English proficiency is the average of these scores, ensuring an unbiased evaluation.

With the new update from 07 August 2025, the Part 1 - Speaking & Writing of the PTE exam will have 10 different question types. These new tasks will be introduced as task 7th and task 8th in Speaking and Writing section of the PTE exam.

The complete (updated) list of different question types in Part 1 - Speaking and Writing of the PTE exam is given below.

1. Personal Introduction
2. Read Aloud
3. Repeat Sentence
4. Describe Image
5. Re-tell Lecture
6. Answer Short Question
7. Summarize Group Discussion (New)
8. Respond to a Situation (New)
9. Summarise Written Text
10. Essay

There are 5 different types of questions in Part - 2 of the PTE exam, these are:

1. Fill in the blanks (Dropdown)
2. Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer
3. Re-order Paragraphs
4. Fill in the Blanks (Drag and drop)
5. Multiple Choice, Single Answer

Both the PTE Academic and IELTS have been designed to understand the English language proficiency of the candidate. They have been designed to test the writing, speaking reading, and listening skills of the test taker. Hence, both the tests are at par with each other and the candidate should opt for the one he is comfortable in. However, there are some points of differences that must be noted when making a decision, these are:

1. The PTE exam (2 hours) is shorter than the IELTS exam (3 hours).
2. All the sections of a PTE exam are tested within a day, in a single sitting. However, the speaking section of the IELTS exam is assessed on a separate day, usually within 1 week of the main exam. 
3. The IELTS exam tests speaking, listening, reading and writing proficiencies in the English language separately, which may not fully test the real-life comprehension abilities of the test-taker. On the other side, the PTE exam tests all these skills simultaneously based on the belief that successful communication is developed by combining all these skills together.  
4. Your performance in a PTE exam is judged by AI, which leaves little to no room for human errors and any sort of bias. the scores awarded in this manner are mostly accurate. While, in an IELTS exam, a human examiner is present to test your overall English proficiency. 
5. Results can be expected within two days of taking the PTE exam, while the IELTS exam results are released later. 

As per Pearson PTE, the minimum PTE scores required to obtain an Australian student visa is 42. This much of score makes you eligible to apply for the Subclass 500 visa. However, the universities may need an even higher PTE score depending on the course and location you choose. Hence, it is advisable that you confirm the exact PTE score requirement for your course at your desired university's website.  

Each PTE Academic test has 22 auto-scored question types. Multiple choice answers are scored as right or wrong, but scores for more complex question types, like essay questions, are based on a mix of criteria. Some responses are also reviewed by a human expert before the automated score is finalised.

Below are some of the best expert advices on how you can start preparing for your PTE exam:

1. Cram Everything about the PTE Exam: If you practice this, more than 30% of your job is done. PTE Academic is a time-based test and a prior understanding of the entire exam pattern, question types and the right approach to answering each of these questions can save you a lot of time for the answering part rather than it getting wasted on reading and understanding instructions for each question type. 
2. Prepare on a Wide Range of Topics: Understanding what is being asked in the question is important and answering it for any given skills is another part. For that reason, you will be required to make your English more versatile by consuming knowledge on each topic from different channels such as newspaper, documentries, podcasts, vlogs, blogs, magazines and dramas - all these formats include a wide range of vocabulary. 
3. Avoid Using Memorised Script or Format for Answering a Question: Create a pattern or structured response for answering a particular type of question but do not learn specific format or script. You can instead use your own words to create a response based on - point (the main idea of the question), illustration and explanation of the same. 
4. Practice and Practice More: Practicing often and practicing different types of questions in the PTE exam can get you an edge.     

Both the PTE Academic and IELTS have been designed to understand the English language proficiency of the candidate. They have been designed to test the writing, speaking reading, and listening skills of the test taker. Hence, both the tests are at par with each other and the candidate should opt for the one he is comfortable in. However, there are some points of differences that must be noted when making a decision, these are:

1. The PTE exam (2 hours) is shorter than the IELTS exam (3 hours).
2. All the sections of a PTE exam are tested within a day, in a single sitting. However, the speaking section of the IELTS exam is assessed on a separate day, usually within 1 week of the main exam. 
3. The IELTS exam tests speaking, listening, reading and writing proficiencies in the English language separately, which may not fully test the real-life comprehension abilities of the test-taker. On the other side, the PTE exam tests all these skills simultaneously based on the belief that successful communication is developed by combining all these skills together.  
4. Your performance in a PTE exam is judged by AI, which leaves little to no room for human errors and any sort of bias. the scores awarded in this manner are mostly accurate. While, in an IELTS exam, a human examiner is present to test your overall English proficiency. 
5. Results can be expected within two days of taking the PTE exam, while the IELTS exam results are released later. 

The PTE Academic test comprises of three main sections:

1. Part 1 - Speaking & Writing
2. Part 2- Reading
3. Part 3 - Listening

One can take the PTE test 12 times within a 12 month window. However, you may be granted permission to take some extra attempts if the reason for your retake aligns with the retake policy of the PTE exam. 

Note: Candidates must not use new IDs to get benefitted with extra number of attempts as this may lead to the delay in results and may put one in breach of exam's malpractice policy.  

The PTE test dates are available all year round. However, a student can appear for the PTE exam for a maximum of 12 times within a period of 12 months.  

Yes, you can appear for Pearson Test of English every month but with some certain conditions. 

1. You can only retake the test after you have received scores from your previous PTE test. 
2. A student can take the PTE test for a maximum of 12 times in a period of 12 months. So, if you have taken the test 12 times within a period of 6 months, you will have to wait for another 6 months for being able to book another test date.   

Apart from this, there is no condition for appearing in PTE exam. Keep in mind, retaking the exam is not a bad thing but preparing well for the exam is an effective approach.

Both IELTS and PTE are English proficiency tests required to study abroad in English speaking countries. Below are a few differences between these two tests that can help you make clear choices.

1. Acceptance: IELTS is more widely accepted worldwide while PTE is less acceptable. However, the latter is getting increasingly accepted by more and more institutions and organisations in the world owing to its faster processing time. Both the exams are accepted for Australian student visas and migration applications. 

2. Exam Pattern: Both the IELTS and PTE exams comprise the Reading, Listening, Writing and Speaking sections. However, the duration and the sequence of assessing these 4 core English language skills differ in both exams.

The IELTS exam assesses Listening (30 minutes), Reading (60 minutes) and Writing (60 minutes) skills in a sequence while Speaking (10-14 minutes) is assessed face-to-face by a real examiner. This is done on a different date from the actual IELTS exam, maybe till a week later. You may expect to get your IELTS exam results after 1 or 2 weeks of taking the exam depending on the type of exam you opted for (on-paper or computer-based).

On the contrary, the sequence of assessment of these core skills in the PTE exam is Speaking and Writing (50 - 67 minutes), Reading (30 minutes) and Listening 30-45 minutes. The total duration of the exam is 2 hours and test takers can expect to see their results within 48 hours of taking the exam. 

3. Assessment: The Speaking section in the IELTS exam is assessed separately in real-time by the English experts in a face-to-face round which is often conducted a week after your IELTS exam date. 

The Speaking section in the PTE exam is assessed along with the Writing section which is a more natural way to assess test taker’s skills. The speaking section along with all other sections are completed online, on the computer and are assessed by artificial intelligence. 

4. Release of Results: PTE releases its test results within 48 hours of taking the test. However, the IELTS exam result can take around a week's or 2 weeks' time to get relesaed. IELTS scores are generated by English experts who compare your performance with the global standards while PTE uses an automated scoring system by using AI. 

These factors may help you arrive at your decision of which exam to choose from for your academic endeavours. 

This is entirely upon the discretion of the organization. Universities and colleges do offer deserving candidates' scholarships and grants and your PTE Academic scores could act as a catalyst to the same.

The main difference between PTE Academic and PTE Core lies in their intended purpose, test format, and where they are accepted. Here are the basic differences between above given PTE exam patterns:

The fee for PTE Academic coaching would depend on your location. You can always refer to the official PTE website for the latest online/offline preparatory material.