PTE Speaking & Writing Guide: Nine Current Task Types
Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence and Retell Lecture depend on content as well as oral fluency and pronunciation. Use a natural volume; shouting or exaggerated intonation does not improve intelligibility.
Currency note: This guide was checked on 5 August 2026 against information published by the official test owner. Dates, fees, test-centre availability, acceptance and visa rules can change, so confirm the current official notice and the requirements of your receiving organisation before booking.
PTE Speaking & Writing Guide: Nine Current Task Types brings the current official structure together with the practical actions a candidate should take. PTE Academic is an approximately two-hour computer-based academic English test that uses integrated-skill tasks. The current format includes Summarize Group Discussion and Respond to a Situation, introduced in 2025.
In brief
Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence and Retell Lecture depend on content as well as oral fluency and pronunciation. Use a natural volume; shouting or exaggerated intonation does not improve intelligibility.
Current official framework
Summarize Group Discussion and Respond to a Situation require accurate relationships between speakers or a suitable communicative purpose, not simple repetition. In writing tasks, format and word limits are fundamental.
| Task / part | What it measures or requires |
|---|---|
| Read Aloud | Reads a written passage aloud. |
| Repeat Sentence | Repeats a heard sentence. |
| Describe Image | Describes an image in a structured response. |
| Retell Lecture | Restates the content of an academic lecture. |
| Answer Short Question | Gives a brief, accurate answer. |
| Summarize Group Discussion | Summarises a multi-speaker discussion. |
| Respond to a Situation | Produces an appropriate spoken response to a social or academic situation. |
| Summarize Written Text | Expresses the main point in a single-sentence summary. |
| Write Essay | Writes a reasoned academic essay. |
Turning the format into preparation
After isolated task practice, combine Speaking and Writing in one session and measure microphone-keyboard transitions and fatigue.
Actionable preparation plan
- Use preparation time to build a content outline before the microphone opens.
- Apply a brief focus-reset routine when moving from speaking to writing.
- Map all 22 task types to their communicative-skill contributions using the official Score Guide.
- Score recordings and written responses from the same session to identify fatigue effects.
- In integrated tasks, preserve source meaning while building your own sentence structure.
- Practise Summarize Group Discussion and Respond to a Situation separately from older 20-task resources.
Common mistakes for this topic
- Practising speaking and writing separately without rehearsing the same-session transition.
- Starting the microphone before establishing the main idea.
- Copying the source or changing its meaning in an integrated task.
- Using an old 20-task format or treating the overall score as the average of four skills.
Quick self-check for PTE Academic
If you cannot evidence all three points in your PTE Academic preparation, repair the current study process before adding more resources.
- I practise microphone and keyboard tasks in one session.
- I turn preparation time into a short content plan.
- I preserve integrated-source meaning without copying.
Frequently asked questions
Should Speaking and Writing be practised together?
Add combined sessions that reproduce the official section after isolated skill practice.
Which task gives the greatest return?
Use official task contributions and your error profile rather than a fixed internet ranking.
Sources
- Current PTE Academic format, timing and results information — Pearson PTE
- PTE Academic Test Taker Score Guide — Pearson PTE
- PTE Academic 2025 task and scoring updates — Pearson PTE