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PTE Pattern and Skills - 2023

Oct 26 2023

What is the 2023 PTE pattern? What are the different question types? What skills are tested? All your questions answered.

Before we do anything, let's get the exam sections and the overall geography of the exam out of the way. This is a good starting point to understand how the PTE works.

PTE Exam Pattern and Test Structure

Here are the three broad sections of the PTE and the amount of time you will be spending on each of those sections.

Exam Segment	Duration
Speaking & Writing	54 – 67 minutes
Reading	29 – 30 minutes
Listening	30 – 43 minutes

Will I get a longer PTE test than my friend does?

Remember that if you spend a little more time on one section, you will be spending a little less time in the other. The overall test duration will be more or less the same for everyone. In short, if you are planning to take a test with a friend, you can be assured that the duration of the test will be more or less the same. So, if you want to take the test along with your friends, go right ahead. You will enter and exit the exam centre together!

What are the different question types that you encounter in PTE?

There are 20 different question types in PTE. That seems like a large number, but again, all these questions test only the four basic language skills. That are reading, writing, speaking, and listening. They are just integrated tasks that sometimes test multiple skills together, just like it happens in real life. Here are all the question types and the skills that they test you on, laid out clearly for you!

PTE Question Types

Here are the broad areas you are tested on and the question types you can expect to encounter as a part of the PTE, and the skill areas that you are tested on.

Question Type	Skills Tested
Read Aloud	Reading, Speaking
Repeat Sentence	Listening, Speaking
Describe Image	Speaking
Re-tell Lecture	Listening, Speaking
Answer Short Question	Listening, Speaking
Summarize Written Text	Reading, Writing
Write Essay	Writing
Summarize Spoken Text	Listening, Writing
Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer	Reading
Fill in the Blanks, Listening	Listening

PTE Preparation and Pratice

Generally speaking, if you are used to using English, you will not need any preparation for the PTE. If you wish to understand the pattern and talk to one of our experts, you can attend a free session with us. The session is completely free and there are no obligations. We will not try to upsell you into training!