Tips & Strategies

    Official PTE test tips, organised by skill

    Every Pearson tip for every question type — V4 July 2025, including the updated test's two new speaking tasks. Each task ends with a 5-question quick check.
    22
    Question types covered
    22
    Quick-check quizzes
    110
    Practice questions

    Speaking

    7 question types

    Pronunciation, fluency, content — under the microphone.

    ≈ 30–35 min on test day

    Question types inside · click to jump
    What you'll get for each task
    • Instructions Pearson actually scores you on
    • Illustrated strategy sticky notes for every task
    • Do / Don't lists drawn from official tips
    • Sample answers compared (excellent → poor)
    • 5-question quick check after every task
    Open speaking tips

    Writing

    2 question types

    Plan, structure, revise — under strict word limits.

    ≈ 29–30 min on test day

    Question types inside · click to jump
    What you'll get for each task
    • Word-limit rules and how form is scored
    • Sentence-combining patterns for 1-sentence summaries
    • 4-paragraph essay structure in 20 minutes
    • Practice prompts straight from Pearson
    • 5-question quick check after every task
    Open writing tips

    Reading

    5 question types

    Skim, scan, eliminate — with negative marking on MCMA.

    ≈ 29–30 min on test day

    Question types inside · click to jump
    What you'll get for each task
    • Skim-then-scan routine for the whole section
    • Topic-sentence + clue-chain method for reorder
    • Collocation & part-of-speech elimination for blanks
    • Distractor traps Pearson warns about
    • 5-question quick check after every task
    Open reading tips

    Listening

    8 question types

    Audio plays once. Notes, predictions, then click.

    ≈ 31–39 min on test day

    Question types inside · click to jump
    What you'll get for each task
    • How to use the 5–7 second prep window
    • Whiteboard note templates that always work
    • Negative-marking score protection (MCMA, HIW)
    • Spelling rules for FIB & Write from Dictation
    • 5-question quick check after every task
    Open listening tips