PTE guides and free practice
Everything here is written for PTE Academic specifically — the tasks that carry the most marks, the mechanical rules that cap scores, and free practice questions drawn from a bank of 30,800 original items. Start with whichever matches where you are.
Start here
- How to get 79+ in PTE
- PTE tips for beginners
- The full test format
- What is a good PTE score?
- How PTE scoring works
- How long preparation takes
- A 4-week study plan
By section
- Speaking tips
- Writing tips
- Reading tips
- Listening tips
- Speaking practice routine
- Reading practice routine
- Listening practice routine
By task
- Read Aloud
- Repeat Sentence
- Describe Image
- Re-tell Lecture
- Answer Short Question
- Summarize Written Text
- Essay topics
- Summarize Spoken Text
- Write from Dictation
- Re-order Paragraphs
- Fill in the Blanks
- Highlight Incorrect Words
- Highlight Correct Summary
- Select Missing Word
- Multiple choice questions
Free practice questions
- Free mock test
- Read Aloud sentences
- Dictation sentences
- Repeat Sentence practice
- Short questions
- Essay prompts
- SWT passages
- SST transcripts
- Retell Lecture transcripts
- Reading questions
- Re-order exercises
Skills and strategy
- Using templates safely
- Writing templates
- Vocabulary
- Grammar
- Pronunciation
- Note-taking
- Time management
- Common mistakes
Exam day and after
Why your score is stuck
- Speaking stuck at 65
- Fluency low, pronunciation high
- Overall below every section
- Writing stuck despite good grammar
- Same score every attempt
- Score dropped on retake
What the marking rules actually are
- Dictation: capitals and punctuation
- Dictation: do extra words cost marks?
- SWT over the word limit
- Is SWT marked on spelling?
- Repeat Sentence: word for word?
- Do templates count as memorised?
- Negative marking in HIW
- Re-order: partial marks
- SST word count
- What ASQ scores count for
- Essay over 300 words
Something went wrong in the exam
- I coughed in Read Aloud
- Microphone failed mid-exam
- Recording cut me off
- I spoke before the beep
- I froze on Describe Image
- Computer froze mid-test
- I restarted a sentence
- Noise at the test centre
Results, retakes and sending scores
- Rebooking before results
- Results are late
- Retaking one section only
- Is a rescore worth it?
- When universities get your score
- Sending scores to several universities
- Rescheduling inside 14 days
- Score reports after 2 years
- Do universities see every attempt?
Practise with instant scoring
30,800 original practice questions across all 22 PTE task types, scored the way the real engine scores you. Free to start, no card needed.
Start practising free →PTE AI is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to Pearson. PTE Academic is a trademark of Pearson. All practice material here is original and written for this site.