Exam guide
PTE Core: the whole test on one page
PTE Core is the two-hour, computer-based English test Pearson built for Canadian immigration. Every question type, its timing and its scoring traits, taken from the official score guide and arranged so you can see where the points actually are.
The shape of the test
Three timed parts, taken in one sitting, no break you can bank on. Part 1 mixes speaking and writing, Part 2 is reading only, Part 3 is listening with some typing. The number of questions varies slightly from one test form to another, which is why the official counts are ranges. Every form is balanced so that no test runs past two hours.
- 19 question types in total, each scored on its own traits.
- Integrated scoring: many tasks feed two skills at once. Read Aloud counts for Reading and Speaking; Write from Dictation counts for Listening and Writing.
- Two scoring styles: correct/incorrect items (one point or nothing) and partial-credit items (points per correct word, blank, pair or trait).
- Four skill scores and one overall score, each on a 10 to 90 scale. IRCC reads the four skill scores only.
Part 1: Speaking & Writing 50–65 minutes
| Task | How many | Time | Scored for | Traits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Read Aloud | 6–7 | 30–40 s to prepare, 30–40 s to speak | Reading + Speaking | Content, Pronunciation, Oral fluency |
| Repeat Sentence | 10–12 | 3–9 s prompt, 15 s to respond | Listening + Speaking | Content, Pronunciation, Oral fluency |
| Describe Image | 3–4 | 25 s to prepare, 40 s to speak | Speaking | Content, Pronunciation, Oral fluency |
| Respond to a Situation | 2–4 | 20 s to prepare, 40 s to speak | Listening + Speaking | Appropriacy, Pronunciation, Oral fluency |
| Answer Short Question | 5–6 | 3–9 s prompt, 10 s to answer | Listening + Speaking | Vocabulary |
| Summarize Written Text | 1–2 | 10 minutes, one sentence of 5–75 words | Reading + Writing | Content, Form, Grammar, Vocabulary |
| Write Email | 2–3 | 9 minutes, 50–120 words | Writing | Content, Form, Email conventions, Organization, Vocabulary, Grammar, Spelling |
Part 2: Reading 27–37 minutes
| Task | How many | Time | Scored for | Traits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks | 5–6 | shares the 27–37 min reading clock | Reading + Writing | Each correct blank |
| Reading: Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers | 1–2 | shares the reading clock | Reading | Correct options |
| Reorder Paragraphs | 2–3 | shares the reading clock | Reading | Adjacent pairs |
| Reading: Fill in the Blanks | 4–5 | shares the reading clock | Reading | Each correct blank |
| Reading: Multiple Choice, Single Answer | 1–2 | shares the reading clock | Reading | Correct option |
Part 3: Listening 22–37 minutes
| Task | How many | Time | Scored for | Traits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Summarize Spoken Text | 1–2 | 8 minutes, 20–30 words | Listening + Writing | Content, Form, Grammar, Vocabulary, Spelling |
| Listening: Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers | 1–2 | shares the 22–37 min listening clock | Listening | Correct options |
| Listening: Fill in the Blanks | 2–3 | shares the listening clock | Listening + Writing | Each correct word |
| Listening: Multiple Choice, Single Answer | 1–2 | shares the listening clock | Listening | Correct option |
| Select Missing Word | 1–2 | shares the listening clock | Listening | Correct option |
| Highlight Incorrect Words | 1–2 | shares the listening clock | Listening + Reading | Each correct word |
| Write from Dictation | 3–4 | shares the listening clock | Listening + Writing | Each correct word |
How partial credit works
For a partial-credit task you receive the maximum score points when the response is fully correct, some points when it is partly correct, and none when it is wrong. Speaking and writing tasks add trait scores on top: Content first, then Form where it applies, then the quality traits. If Content or Form is scored zero, the response gets nothing, whatever the grammar looked like. That is the single most important rule in the test: an email on the wrong topic, or a summary that is two sentences instead of one, scores zero before anyone looks at the language.
Speaking tasks are scored by Pearson's automated engine, trained on thousands of human-rated responses. It listens for content, pronunciation and oral fluency separately, so a hesitant reading with perfect sounds and a smooth reading with a strong accent can land on the same number.
What the scores mean for Canada
IRCC converts each skill score to a Canadian Language Benchmark. The overall score is not converted and is not asked for. This is the official alignment table.
| CLB | Listening | Reading | Speaking | Writing |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLB 10 | 89–90 | 88–90 | 89–90 | 90–90 |
| CLB 9 | 82–88 | 78–87 | 84–88 | 88–89 |
| CLB 8 | 71–81 | 69–77 | 76–83 | 79–87 |
| CLB 7 | 60–70 | 60–68 | 68–75 | 69–78 |
| CLB 6 | 50–59 | 51–59 | 59–67 | 60–68 |
| CLB 5 | 39–49 | 42–50 | 51–58 | 51–59 |
| CLB 4 | 28–38 | 33–41 | 42–50 | 41–50 |
| CLB 3 | 18–27 | 24–32 | 34–41 | 32–40 |
Source: Pearson PTE Core Score Guide, Jan 2024 (v1), p. 9. Check the IRCC site for the current table before you book.
Two readings of that table matter. Writing is the tightest: CLB 9 needs 88, and the band for CLB 7 is 69 to 78. Speaking is the most forgiving at the top but the strictest at the bottom. If your target is CLB 9 across the board, the writing tasks (Summarize Written Text, Write Email, Summarize Spoken Text, Write from Dictation) deserve a disproportionate share of your practice time.
Practise each task the way it is scored
Every task below has its own page: what it asks, how it is scored, a worked example and the mistakes that cost the most. Sign in to practise the real questions on screens that match the test.