PTE Core · Part 3 · Listening + Reading
PTE Core Highlight Incorrect Words
One or two recordings, each heard once, with a transcript on screen that does not quite match. Some words in the transcript are different from what the speaker says. You click them as you hear them. Wrong clicks cost a point each, so it rewards a steady eye and a fast, honest hand.
- Questions in the test
- 1–2
- Time
- shares the listening clock
- Scoring
- Partial credit, minus one per wrong click
- Traits scored
- Each correct word
37 real Highlight Incorrect Words questions inside
A glimpse of the bank. The full prompt, audio and scoring open after you sign in.
- 1Climate Change
- 2Online Learning
- 3Conservation Programs
What the task asks
A transcript of a short recording appears on screen. After a brief pause the recording plays, once, and you read along. Several words in the transcript have been swapped for different words; the speaker says the original, the screen shows the substitute. Each time you hear a word that does not match what you are reading, you click it. Clicking a word highlights it; clicking again removes the highlight. When the audio ends you can still change your selections until you click Next. There is no item timer; the task runs on the shared Part 3 listening clock.
The substituted words are chosen to be plausible on the page. They are the same part of speech as the original, they fit the sentence, and they often sound a little like the word they replaced: schedule for shuttle, fifteen for fifty, finish for furnish. Reading the transcript on its own gives no clue that anything is wrong. The only way to find them is to be at the right word on the screen at the moment the speaker says something else.
How it is scored
This item uses negative marking. Each incorrect word you click earns a point; each correct word you click by mistake loses a point; the score for the item cannot fall below zero. Because you are reading as well as listening, the task contributes to both your Listening and your Reading scores.
| Trait | What is measured | Scale |
|---|---|---|
| Each correct word | Every substituted word you highlight adds one; every unchanged word you highlight subtracts one; the floor is zero. | 0 to the number of substituted words |
The arithmetic rewards precision over coverage. Four substitutions in the transcript, three found and nothing else clicked: 3. Three found plus two stray clicks: 1. The stray clicks usually happen after the audio has ended, when a test taker scans the transcript for words that look wrong and highlights them on suspicion. Nothing looks wrong by design, so those clicks are nearly always losses.
How our practice scorer grades it
When you submit your highlights here they are marked automatically and exactly by the Pearson rule: plus one for every substituted word highlighted, minus one for every unchanged word highlighted, never below zero. The answer is revealed instantly, with the transcript showing each substituted word, what the speaker actually said in its place, which ones you caught, which you missed and which clicks were stray. Your score across items is shown on the 10 to 90 scale with the CLB level beside it.
It is a practice estimate. The rule is the real one; the recordings are ours; nothing here sees your actual test.
A worked example
The shuttle bus leaves the main entrance every twenty [thirty] minutes between seven in the morning and nine at night. Seats cannot be reserved [booked] in advance, so please arrive a few minutes early during the busy periods. The service is free for staff and students [visitors], but you will need to show your pass to the driver. If the bus is full [late], the next one will be along shortly.
Four substitutions in about sixty words. Twenty for thirty is a number swap, the most common kind, and easy to miss if you are reading ahead. Reserved for booked is a near-synonym, which means you cannot find it by meaning; only the sound is different. Students for visitors is a category swap that fits the sentence perfectly on the page. Full for late changes the meaning slightly but still makes sense, which is the point. A reader who was exactly on reserved when the speaker said booked gets the click; a reader who was two words ahead or behind does not.
Notice that none of the four is a difficult word. The task is not testing vocabulary. It is testing whether your eyes and your ears are in the same place at the same moment, through sixty seconds without a lapse.
Five habits that raise the score
- Put the cursor on the first word before the audio starts. And keep the mouse moving along the line as the speaker goes, so a click is a reflex rather than a search.
- Read at the speaker's speed, not yours. Reading ahead is the main cause of misses. Stay on the word being spoken.
- Click the instant you hear the mismatch. Half a second of doubt and the next word is already past. Click first; you can unclick after the audio if you were wrong.
- Expect numbers, near-synonyms and categories. Those three types account for most substitutions, and knowing it keeps you alert in the right places.
- Do not add clicks after the audio ends. Review what you clicked; remove anything you are now sure was a mistake; add nothing on suspicion.
The mistakes that cost the most
- Clicking words that look wrong after the audio. They are written to look right. Post-audio clicks are the main source of lost points.
- Losing your place. Once you are a line behind, every substitution until you catch up is gone. If it happens, jump to the current sentence rather than trying to read faster.
- Reading for meaning. The transcript makes sense with the substitutions in it. Meaning will not help; sound will.
- Hesitating on a near-synonym. Reserved and booked mean the same thing; the task is about which one was said. Click.
- Leaving your hand off the mouse. The click has to be instant. Hover and follow.
Quick answers
How many Highlight Incorrect Words items are in PTE Core?
One or two, late in Part 3, before Write from Dictation. See the exam guide for the full order.
Can the score for the item go negative?
No. The floor is zero, but a stray click can cancel a correct one.
Can I change my clicks after the recording ends?
Yes, until you click Next. Use that time to remove doubtful clicks, not to add new ones.
Which scores does this task affect?
Listening and Reading. It is one of the few listening items that also feeds Reading, which the CLB converter can show you the value of.