PTE Listening – Complete Task Breakdown

PTE Listening – Complete Task Breakdown

Total time: 30–43 minutes
Audio played once only
Headphones compulsory

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1 Summarize Spoken Text (SST)

Feature	Details
Number of questions	1–2
Audio length	60–90 seconds
Preparation time	During audio only (note-taking allowed)
Answer time	10 minutes per question
Word limit	50–70 words
Negative marking	❌ No
Skills tested	Listening + Writing

Tips

• Write in one paragraph
• Focus on main idea + key points
• Grammar & vocabulary affect score

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2 Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer (MCMA)

Feature	Details
Number of questions	1–2
Audio length	40–90 seconds
Preparation time	While listening
Answer time	2–3 minutes
Negative marking	✅ YES
Skills tested	Listening

Negative Marking Rule

• +1 for each correct option
• −1 for each incorrect option
• Minimum score = 0

Only choose options you are sure about

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3 Fill in the Blanks (Listening & Writing)

Feature	Details
Number of questions	2–3
Audio length	30–60 seconds
Preparation time	While listening
Answer time	2–3 minutes
Negative marking	❌ No
Skills tested	Listening + Writing

Tips

• Check spelling
• Words come in order
• Grammar matters

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4 Highlight Correct Summary

Feature	Details
Number of questions	1–2
Audio length	60–90 seconds
Preparation time	During audio
Answer time	1–2 minutes
Negative marking	❌ No
Skills tested	Listening + Reading

Tips

• Focus on overall meaning, not details
• Eliminate extreme or unrelated options

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5 Multiple Choice, Single Answer (MCSA)

Feature	Details
Number of questions	1–2
Audio length	30–90 seconds
Preparation time	While listening
Answer time	1 minute
Negative marking	❌ No
Skills tested	Listening

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6 Select Missing Word

Feature	Details
Number of questions	1–2
Audio length	20–70 seconds
Preparation time	While listening
Answer time	20–30 seconds
Negative marking	❌ No
Skills tested	Listening

Tip

• The correct option matches the speaker’s tone and logic

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7 Highlight Incorrect Words

Feature	Details
Number of questions	2–3
Audio length	15–60 seconds
Preparation time	While listening
Answer time	2–3 minutes
Negative marking	❌ No
Skills tested	Listening + Reading

Tips

• Click only incorrect words
• Be careful: accents and fast speech matter

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8 Write From Dictation (WFD)

Feature	Details
Number of questions	3–4
Audio length	3–5 seconds
Preparation time	None
Answer time	1 minute per sentence
Negative marking	❌ No
Skills tested	Listening + Writing

⭐ High-Scoring Task

• Each correct word = score
• Affects Listening + Writing
• Spelling and word order are critical

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Time Strategy Summary

Task	Avg. Time
Summarize Spoken Text	10 min
MCMA	2–3 min
Fill in the Blanks	2–3 min
Highlight Summary	1–2 min
MCSA	1 min
Select Missing Word	30 sec
Highlight Incorrect Words	2–3 min
Write from Dictation	1 min

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Negative Marking Summary

Task	Negative Marking
MCMA	✅ Yes
All other Listening tasks	❌ No