What to expect on the test day
What to expect
In Part 2 you will be tested on your reading skills. The time given to this section is 32-40 minutes.
This single timed section contains 15-20 independent and integrated skills items, depending on the combination of items in a given test. Different response formats, including multiple-choice, re-order paragraphs, and fill in the blanks, are designed to test your ability to read, write and listen to information provided in English. Because PTE Academic is an integrated skill test, one item type in this part of the test also assesses writing skills.
Understand each section and question in-depth
For this item type, you need to select the most appropriate words from a drop-down list to restore the text.
There is a passage with some missing words. Beside each gap, there is a button with a drop-down list. Left-click on this button to reveal the drop-down list of options for that gap. Select the option you think best fills the gap.
To change your mind, left-click on a different option.
Test tips
Skim for overall meaning to help you choose the correct word
When you click on the drop down arrows, you may find options that are also related to the main topic. You can then check grammar and overall meaning to see whether the words fit the blanks:
Read before and after the blank to help you identify the correct word
Scan the text for the repeated words. Then read around them to find the answer more quickly:
How this question is scored
Note
- This question type affects the scoring of reading and writing.
- Your listening and speaking skills are not tested by this question type.
- For more information download the Score Guide.
For this item type you need to read the passage and answer the multiple-choice question. There is more than one correct response.
You need to select all the response options that you think are correct from the list of possible options.
To select an option click on it using the left button on your mouse. If you change your mind, left-click on the option again to deselect it.
The options you select are highlighted in yellow.
Test tips
Make sure you know how the task is scored
Note any repeated words in the options
Scan the text for the repeated words. Then read around them to find the answer more quickly:
How this question is scored
Note
- This question type affects the scoring of reading.
- Your listening, speaking and writing skills are not tested by this question type.
- For more information download the Score Guide.
For this item type, you need to restore the original order of the text by selecting text boxes and dragging them across the screen.
There are two ways you can move the text:
- Left-click on a box to select it (it will be outlined in blue), hold the left mouse button down and drag it to the desired location.
- Left-click on a box to select it, and then left-click on the left and right arrow buttons to move it across. On the right panel, you can also use the up and down arrow buttons to re-order the boxes.
To deselect a box, left-click elsewhere on the screen.
Test tips
Read all the text boxes quickly before you start re-ordering them
Next, use the key words to form an overall idea of what the original text is about. This will help you find the logical order for the ideas in the text boxes:
Find the topic sentence first
The topic sentence can stand alone; it does not begin with a linker or a pronoun that refers back to something or someone (e.g., ‘he’ or ‘this’), nor does it does refer back to information or actions previously mentioned through the use of things like passive verb tenses (‘No link was found’):
How this question is scored
Note
- This question type affects the scoring of only reading.
- Your listening, speaking and writing skills are not tested by this question type.
- For more information download the Score Guide.
For this item type you need to drag and drop words across the screen to correctly fill in the gaps in the text.
There is a passage with some missing words. You have a list of words in the blue box that you can use to fill the gaps in the text. There are more words than gaps so you will not use all the words provided.
Left-click on a word to select it; keep the left mouse button held down and drag the word to the gap where you want to place it. You can also drag words between gaps. To remove a word from a gap, drag it back to the blue box.
Test tips
Think about words that you often see or hear together
Use your knowledge of grammar to help you select the correct word
Finally, choose from the words that are left, the one that has the correct meaning: ‘view’ and ‘look’ mean ‘see’, but we ‘quote’ or ‘cite’ references, so only ‘cite’ fits the blank:
How this question is scored
Note
- This question type affects the scoring of only reading.
- Your listening, speaking and writing skills are not tested by this question type.
- For more information download the Score Guide.
For this item type you need to read the passage and answer the multiple-choice question.
There are several possible response options but only one is correct.
To select an option click on it using the left button on your mouse. If you change your mind, left-click on the option again to deselect it, or left-click on a different option.
The option you select is highlighted in yellow.
Test tips
Note the key words in the prompt before you read the text
Evaluate the response options
How this question is scored
Note
- This question type affects the scoring of only reading.
- Your listening, speaking and writing skills are not tested by this question type.
- For more information download the Score Guide.