PTE Academic · Reading
PTE Academic Reading Test: Format, Task Types and How to Practise
Quick answer
The PTE Academic reading test is Part 2 of the exam and takes 23–30 minutes. It has five question types: dropdown fill-in-the-blanks, multiple choice with multiple answers, re-order paragraphs, drag-and-drop fill-in-the-blanks and multiple choice with a single answer. Most use partial credit, one deducts points for wrong picks, and one also counts towards your writing score. Reading is reported on Pearson's 10–90 scale.
Facts from Pearson's official PTE Academic pages and its July 2025 institution score guide, read 5 Oct 2026, paraphrased. Pearson can change the test; check pearsonpte.com before you book. LingoLeap is not affiliated with Pearson and does not provide PTE practice questions.
PTE Academic reading section: format and timing
PTE Academic has three parts: Speaking & Writing (76–84 minutes), Reading (23–30 minutes) and Listening (31–39 minutes) (Pearson, Pearson reading, Pearson listening). Because Reading is a separate, short block, it is the one part where pacing across many small items matters more than stamina on a long text. Pearson does not publish how many items of each type you will see, so avoid any guide that claims an exact count.
PTE reading task types at a glance
| Task type | What you do | Text | Scoring | Skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reading & Writing: Fill in the blanks (dropdown) | Choose a word from a dropdown menu for each gap in a passage | Up to 200 words | Full marks if every gap is right; partial credit otherwise | Reading and writing |
| Multiple choice, multiple answers | Read a text and select every correct response | Up to 350 words | Credit for correct picks; points are lost for incorrect ones | Reading |
| Re-order paragraphs | Arrange scrambled text boxes into a logical sequence | Up to 110 words | Full marks for the right order; partial credit otherwise | Reading |
| Reading: Fill in the blanks (drag and drop) | Drag words from a pool into gaps; the pool has more words than gaps | Up to 80 words | Full marks if all correct; partial credit otherwise | Reading |
| Multiple choice, single answer | Read a text and pick the one correct response | Up to 110 words | Right or wrong, no partial credit | Reading |
Source: Pearson PTE Academic reading format, read 5 Oct 2026. Text lengths are Pearson's upper limits.
How PTE reading is scored
- Scale: overall and communicative skills scores run 10–90. The communicative skills are listening, reading, speaking and writing; the enabling skills (grammar, vocabulary, fluency, pronunciation) are reported separately (Pearson, score guide).
- Reading contributes to more than one score. Pearson's score guide says integrated tasks, such as those that assess reading and writing, count towards both skills. Of the reading tasks, Pearson lists dropdown fill-in-the-blanks as assessing writing too.
- The overall score is not an average of the four skill scores, and a whole test has between 65 and 75 questions across 22 question types, so reading is one slice of a larger pool of evidence.
- Marking: Pearson describes AI scoring in which multiple-choice answers are marked right or wrong and results usually arrive in 48 hours (Pearson scoring).
- Weighting: the published pages do not give per-item points or the weight of each reading task, so we do not state one.
Strategy for each PTE reading task
Scoring rules and Pearson's tips are sourced (format page, re-order, multiple answers); the rest is LingoLeap's own coaching advice.
Fill in the blanks (dropdown)
- Skim the whole passage first so you know its topic before you touch a menu; Pearson's own tip is to read for overall meaning.
- Test each option in its sentence. Check what the words around the gap demand: a grammatical form, a fixed collocation, or a meaning that fits the argument.
- Do not leave gaps blank: partial credit is available, so a considered guess on a hard gap costs nothing extra.
Multiple choice, multiple answers
- Because incorrect selections lose points, tick only options you can point to in the text. A reasoned two-out-of-three is safer than ticking everything that sounds plausible.
- Read the question stem before the passage, then check each option against the text separately; options often echo the passage's wording while changing the meaning.
- Pearson's tip: read the surrounding context carefully before choosing. Watch for options that go further than the author does.
Re-order paragraphs
- Look for the opening box first: the one that introduces the topic and does not depend on something before it. Pearson suggests finding the topic sentence.
- Then chain boxes by reference: a pronoun, a "this" or "these", a contrast word or a time sequence points back to something earlier.
- Reread your final order as a single passage. If one jump feels abrupt, a box is probably in the wrong place.
Fill in the blanks (drag and drop)
- There are more words than gaps, so decide the grammatical slot (noun, verb form, adjective) before looking at the pool.
- Eliminate words that clearly fit nowhere, then fill the easiest gaps first so the pool shrinks.
- Watch collocations: Pearson points to word combinations as a clue.
Multiple choice, single answer
- There is no partial credit, so speed matters: this is the shortest text type, so do not over-read it.
- Find the sentence that answers the question, then check why each wrong option fails (too broad, too narrow, or not stated).
- Keep the time you save for the longer tasks.
How to practise (any exam)
- Read short academic-style articles daily and summarise each paragraph's job in a few words; that is the skill re-ordering and gap-filling both test.
- Keep a list of collocations and linking words you miss, and review it before each session.
- Time yourself in blocks that mimic the 23–30 minute section, then review every wrong answer by finding the sentence that decides it.
- For full-length exam-style material, use Pearson's own preparation resources; this page deliberately contains no PTE questions.
PTE reading vs TOEFL reading vs IELTS reading
| PTE Academic | TOEFL iBT (2026) | IELTS Academic | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time | 23–30 min | About 30 min | 60 min |
| Structure | Five short task types; texts up to 80–350 words | Three task types: Complete the Words, Read in Daily Life, Read an Academic Passage | 40 questions over three texts (2,150–2,750 words in total), 11 question formats |
| Reading score | 10–90 | 1–6 section scale | Bands 1–9 |
Sources: Pearson, ETS, IELTS, read 5 Oct 2026. ETS notes that TOEFL test time and items can vary because the test adapts.
If you are choosing between tests, PTE rewards quick, precise handling of short texts and grammar-aware gap filling; IELTS rewards locating information in long passages under time pressure. Our TOEFL vs IELTS comparison covers those two in depth.
What a PTE reading score means in IELTS terms
Pearson's current best estimate of PTE Reading scores that align with each IELTS score (July 2025 update). It is an estimate, not a guarantee of equivalence, and institutions set their own requirements.
| IELTS score | PTE Reading score |
|---|---|
| 5.0 | 36–41 |
| 5.5 | 42–47 |
| 6.0 | 48–53 |
| 6.5 | 54–58 |
| 7.0 | 59–64 |
| 7.5 | 65–69 |
| 8.0 | 70–74 |
Source: PTE Academic Institution Score Guide, July 2025, read 5 Oct 2026. For TOEFL, IELTS and CEFR, use our score conversion tool.
Who accepts PTE Academic
Pearson says PTE Academic is accepted by more than 4,000 institutions worldwide and recognised for academic programmes in more than 70 countries. It reports acceptance by 100% of Australian, New Zealand, and Canadian universities and by 99% of UK universities and colleges, and says the Australian, Canadian, UK and New Zealand governments accept it for visa applications (Pearson: who accepts PTE, read 5 Oct 2026).
Each institution sets its own minimum. Pearson's score guide says its experience suggests most universities require 51–60 for undergraduate degrees and 57–67 for postgraduate degrees, and some add a separate minimum for one skill such as reading. Always check the programme's own page.
Build the same reading skills for TOEFL or IELTS
Skimming, collocations, paragraph logic and eliminating near-miss options transfer across tests. Practise them with AI feedback for the two exams LingoLeap covers.
Related guides
- TOEFL reading practice →
Practise the 2026 TOEFL reading tasks
- IELTS reading question types →
Every IELTS reading format with strategy
- Score conversion →
Compare TOEFL, IELTS and CEFR scores
- TOEFL vs IELTS 2026 →
Format, scores, cost and which suits you
FAQ
How long is the PTE Academic reading test?
Pearson lists the Reading part as 23–30 minutes, with five question types. It is Part 2 of three: Part 1 is Speaking & Writing (76–84 minutes) and Part 3 is Listening (31–39 minutes).
What are the PTE reading question types?
Reading & Writing fill in the blanks (dropdown), multiple choice with multiple answers, re-order paragraphs, reading fill in the blanks (drag and drop), and multiple choice with a single answer.
Is there negative marking in PTE reading?
Only in one task. Pearson says that in multiple choice, multiple answers, incorrect selections cost points. The fill-in-the-blanks and re-order tasks give partial credit, and single-answer multiple choice is simply right or wrong.
Does PTE reading also count towards writing?
Yes, one task does. Pearson says the dropdown fill-in-the-blanks assesses writing as well as reading, and its score guide says scores on integrated tasks count toward both skills assessed.
What score scale does PTE use?
Scores run from 10 to 90 for the overall score and for each of the four communicative skills (listening, reading, speaking, writing). Pearson says the overall score is not an average of the skill scores, and results are typically available in 48 hours.
Is PTE reading easier than IELTS or TOEFL reading?
It is different rather than easier: PTE reading is a series of short items with fill-in and re-ordering tasks, while IELTS Academic reading is 40 questions over three longer texts in 60 minutes. Which suits you depends on your strengths; see the comparison above.
Does LingoLeap offer PTE practice tests?
No. LingoLeap's practice is for TOEFL and IELTS. This guide explains the format and how to prepare; it does not reproduce or imitate official PTE questions. Pearson offers its own preparation material on pearsonpte.com.