The Pearson Test of English or PTE evaluates the English speaking and writing skills of applicants. The PTE exam pattern is designed to test whether candidates can study at international institutions that have English as the main language for instructions. Students demonstrate their capabilities of understanding, speaking, and writing in English suitably in a foreign land through their PTE Scores. The PTE exam structure is similar to many other English testing examinations. It emphasizes three sections, namely, Reading, Listening, and Speaking & Writing. 

Types of PTE Tests and Their Uses

The PTE exam structure is such that it is used by organizations, colleges and governments alike to assess a candidate’s English language proficiency. It is this credibility of the exam that has made the two types of the test, PTE Academic and PTE General, popular. 

PTE Academic: It is taken by candidates to study or work in English-speaking nations like the USA, the UK, Australia and New Zealand among others. 

PTE General: It is not an English proficiency test and rewards brilliant achievements in English learning. 

The pattern of the PTE exam is uniform across countries that accept the test scores. What may vary is the cut-off.

PTE Academic Exam Pattern and Format

One may need around three hours to take the PTE Academic exam, which like other language proficiency tests assess candidates on their speaking, listening, writing and reading skills. 

The table given below elaborates on the PTE Academic exam format:

 PTE Exam Pattern: PTE Speaking and Writing

PTE Speaking and Writing section start with a personal introduction that requires the candidate to speak about their prompt. This is one of the PTE tools required to send to the universities/colleges to have better knowledge about the candidate. This section of the PTE exam is split into various small segments and this section is 77-93 minutes long. Remember, this task is not scored. The PTE test format is stated below:

1. PTE Read Aloud: This task requires the candidate to read a prompt of around 60 words, prepare for 30 – 40 seconds then read it aloud;
2. PTE Repeat Sentence: Here, a 3 – 9 seconds recording will be played which needs to be repeated;
3. PTE Describe Image: Candidates get 40 seconds to illustrate an image displayed. The PTE tutorials speaking help in preparing for this section;
4. PTE Re-tell Lecture: Candidates will listen/view around 90 seconds of the lecture and re-tell it in 40 seconds in their way;
5. PTE Answer Short Question: Here, a question will be played off for 3 – 9 seconds, and candidates need to respond within 10 seconds in one or more words;
6. PTE Summarize Written Text: Read around 300 words of text and summarize it in 1 sentence of not more than 75 words;
7. PTE Essay: Test-takers need to write a 200 – 300 wordsPTE Writing  Candidates during their PTE study online need to practice hard to excel in this section.

PTE Exam – Format for Reading

This section assesses the reading skills of the candidates with a set of different questions such as multiple-choice, re-order paragraphs and fill-in-the-blanks. The reading segment of the Pearson Test of English is 32 to 41 minutes long and evaluates the candidate’s understanding of written information in the English language. The candidates are advised to read the questions carefully and answer accordingly.

PTE Exam – Format for Listening

Listening is the final section of the PTE test. Divided into various small parts, this segment tests the candidate’s ability to understand spoken English. The questions included in this section are based on audio or video clips played just once for the candidates taking the test. So, they need to listen to the clips very carefully and make notes as well. The audio or video clips are generally of 60-90 seconds and the candidates get 10 minutes to write their response in 50-70 words.

PTE Exam – Registration Process

In order to appear for this test, the candidates first need to register themselves on the official website of Pearson PTE Academic. The PTE registration is fairly simple and easy. Find below the steps required to be followed by the applicants to register themselves on the website.

• First, the applicants need to visit thehome page  and click on the ‘Book Now’ button which opens a new page.
• Now, the candidates should click on the ‘Create Account’ and enter all the required details to fill the form.
• The applicants receive an email within 2 days that contains their login details.
• The applicants need to sign in using the username & password and schedule their test by selecting the preferred test centre and available test date & time.
• Now, the candidates need to make the required payment to book their slot for PTE test and complete their application process.

 PTE Exam – Test Fees

To complete the booking of test slot for the PTE exam, the applicants need to pay INR 13,300 as the PTE test fee. However, the applicants need to pay INR 16,625 as the late booking price if the booking for the test is delayed.