PTE Academic – Taking the real test

A PTE Academic test can be booked through the below website. Depending on the country/city in where you sit an exam, the exam fee varies. In Australia, it costs 330 dollars as of July 2018.

PTE Academic – The English test that takes you places

Home

You should arrive at least 30 minutes prior to your test time.

At test centre
1. When you arrive at the test centre, you will submit your passport and take a photo of your face.
2. Leave your belongings at the dedicated area.
3. Your name will be called and staff will take you including other candidates to a test room.

The below is a typical test room structure. This may vary depending on where you take your test . Normally there is a divider between each test takers desk.

Test room example: 8 test takers will be allocated to each seat randomly decided by one of its staff.

In the test room
1. You will be given instructions on the test before entering the room.
2. You will be given a notepad and a pen then be directed to your seat in the room.
3. Each desk has a desktop computer and a headset.
4. Staff will come to set up your test then you will be ready to start your test

Total test time is around 2.5 hours and 4 sections including Personal Introduction are assessed in the below order:

1.Personal Introduction
2.Speaking
3.Writing
4.Reading
5.Listening

Section
Item type
Time limit

0
Personal introduction
1 minutes
Speaking
1
Read aloud
Repeat sentence
Describe image
Retell lecture
Answer short question
30~35 minutes
Writing
2.1
Summarize written text
20 minutes
Writing
2.2
Summarize written text/Write essay
10/20 minutes
Reading
3
Fill in the blanks
Multiple choice questions
Re-order paragraphs
Fill in the blanks
Multiple choice questions
32~41 minutes
Listening
4.1
Summarize spoken text

20~30 minutes

4.2
Multiple choice questions
Fill in the blanks
Highlight the correct summary
Multiple choice questions
Select missing word
Highlight incorrect words
Write from dictation
23~28 minutes

During and after exam
Instruction time does not count time.
Raise your hand when you need to go to toilet. The staff will come to you.
You will be given an optional 10-minute break after the end of the Reading section. If it is not required you may continue.
Once you have completed all sections, raise your hands to let the staff know
You will be given a paper which indicates how to view your score online

Things to remember
Don’t be overwhelmed by other test takers
The worst enemy in the Speaking section are the other test takers in the room. Normally one room is occupied by 8 to 10 candidates. You may see only the plain divider between the desk but this does not prevent you from listening to the others’ voices.

Some candidate’s voices are loud enough to let everyone in the room hear. Don’t be overwhelmed by those candidates. You will need to win the exam, otherwise you might need to pay another load of money!

Different test takers will receive different questions
Even if two test takers are in the same test centre, they will receive different questions. For example, one of the two may receive two Essay questions in the Writing section, but the other may receive only one. This ensures that not all candidates will finish their exams at the same time. Do not get distracted by others finishing early, this does not mean they have completed the same exam as you are doing.

Be First to Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *