Every PTE Core task type, explained and practisable
PTE Core currently uses 19 task types across Speaking, Writing, Reading and Listening. This hub links each official type to a focused guide and to original practice that actually runs in the matching format. Use it as a checklist: learn the scoring risk, practise the method, then test it in a mock.
Important: PTE Core and PTE Academic are different bookings. These pages use Core’s task set and Core writing limits. If your goal is Canadian economic immigration, confirm the accepted test and score thresholds directly with IRCC before booking.
Reading · 5 task types
Choose a task for its scoring impact, method, worked example and live practice bank.
Fill in the Blanks (Reading & Writing)
A passage contains dropdown blanks and each blank has its own set of options. The task tests whether vocabulary, grammar and meaning work together across a short text rather than whether one word looks vaguely related to the topic.
Open task guide →ReadingMultiple Choice, Multiple Answers
You read a passage and select every option supported by its content or tone. More than one answer is correct, but the task uses negative marking, so evidence—not the number of boxes checked—should determine each selection.
Open task guide →ReadingRe-order Paragraphs
Several text segments appear in the wrong order and you rebuild a coherent paragraph. The fastest method is to find mandatory links—introductions, pronouns, repeated nouns, cause and result—rather than trying every possible full sequence.
Open task guide →ReadingFill in the Blanks (Reading)
Words from a shared bank are dragged into gaps, with extra distractors left unused. Because one word cannot fill two gaps, the task rewards both local language knowledge and global allocation across the passage.
Open task guide →ReadingMultiple Choice, Single Answer
You read a text and choose one answer about its main idea, detail, purpose, tone or inference. The distractors are often related to the topic but fail because they reverse, exaggerate or answer a different question.
Open task guide →Listening · 7 task types
Choose a task for its scoring impact, method, worked example and live practice bank.
Summarize Spoken Text
You hear a recording once and write a 20–30-word summary in PTE Core. The task requires selective notes: the central message and one or two essential developments must survive, while examples and repetition usually do not.
Open task guide →ListeningMultiple Choice, Multiple Answers
You hear a recording once and select every supported answer. Notes should capture the question target and speaker relationships, because the options may mix genuine details with statements that reverse or overextend what was said.
Open task guide →ListeningFill in the Blanks
A transcript appears with gaps while the recording plays once, and you type the missing words. Reading ahead, tracking position and spelling from context matter as much as hearing the sound itself.
Open task guide →ListeningMultiple Choice, Single Answer
You listen once and choose one answer about the recording’s main idea, detail, purpose, tone or inference. The crucial skill is knowing what the question asks before audio begins so your notes capture the right information.
Open task guide →ListeningSelect Missing Word
A recording stops before its final word or phrase and you choose the most likely completion. The answer depends on the message, grammar, collocation and the speaker’s direction—not on hearing the missing ending, because it is deliberately absent.
Open task guide →ListeningHighlight Incorrect Words
A transcript is visible while a recording plays once, but some displayed words differ from what is spoken. You select each mismatch while staying synchronized with the audio; the task tests precise listening and reading together.
Open task guide →ListeningWrite from Dictation
You hear a short sentence once and type it from memory. The task rewards exact word recovery and spelling, so a repeatable listen-chunk-type-check routine is more dependable than trying to hold the entire sound string untouched.
Open task guide →Writing · 2 task types
Choose a task for its scoring impact, method, worked example and live practice bank.
Summarize Written Text
You read a passage and write a concise summary of its central message. In PTE Core the response is 25–50 words and does not have to be one sentence, which is an important difference from the Academic version.
Open task guide →WritingWrite Email
You write an email for an everyday purpose such as making a request, explaining a problem or responding to a service situation. The prompt asks for 80–120 words, so complete coverage and suitable tone matter more than essay-style complexity.
Open task guide →Speaking · 5 task types
Choose a task for its scoring impact, method, worked example and live practice bank.
Read Aloud
A short text appears on screen and you read it into the microphone after preparation time. This is not a dramatic-reading contest: the goal is accurate words, steady phrasing and speech that remains easy to follow from beginning to end.
Open task guide →SpeakingRepeat Sentence
You hear one sentence once and reproduce it aloud. The task compresses listening, short-term memory and spoken delivery into a few seconds, so a reliable chunking method beats trying to remember an unbroken string of individual words.
Open task guide →SpeakingDescribe Image
A visual such as a chart or graph appears and you describe its main information aloud. You do not need to inventory every label: a useful response identifies the visual, selects the most important features and connects them in a clear spoken overview.
Open task guide →SpeakingAnswer Short Question
You hear a general-knowledge question and answer with one word or a short phrase. It is a precision task, not an invitation to explain: recognize the question type, retrieve the exact concept and say only what is needed.
Open task guide →SpeakingRespond to a Situation
You receive an everyday situation and speak as the person in that situation. A strong response completes the communicative job—requesting, explaining, refusing, apologizing or negotiating—while matching the relationship and level of formality.
Open task guide →Turn the guides into a study sequence
- Take the five-minute diagnostic to identify a starting skill.
- Use the matching task guides above, then complete several drills without changing method.
- Check your score history on the homepage and retest the weakest skill.
- Finish with the PTE Core timed mock.
Primary sources: Pearson’s official PTE Core format pages forSpeaking & Writing,Reading andListening, plus the2026 PTE Core Score Guide. Verified July 2026. TestDayTwin is independent of Pearson.