It can be overwhelming when preparing for the PTE test as there are 4 sections and within them, there are 20 different question types. Out of the four sections, one of them is PTE Reading. The entire PTE test has been divided into 3 parts. Part 1 is Speaking & Writing, Part 2 is Reading and in the end, Part 3 is Listening. In this article, we are going to cover the PTE Reading – Questions Types and Format and everything you need to know about this section, including the facts, the question structure as well as focus on how you should manage your time for this section. So, for all PTE test takers who find the reading section challenging, this article is a must-read. Let’s get on with the details now.
PTE Academic Reading Overview and Facts
Firstly, PTE Reading is the second section of the PTE test. You get around 13 to 18 questions in this section and you should be spending no more than 30 minutes on those. Secondly, The reading section is designed to test your ability to read and write information provided in English. So, Please note that one of the PTE Reading question types also contributes to your writing score.
PTE Academic Reading Structure
In total, there are 5 types of questions in this section. We will look at each one of those in detail shortly. They are shown below in the same order in which it appears in the exam.
- Reading & Writing: Fill in the blanks
- Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers
- Re-order Paragraph
- Reading: Fill in the blanks
- Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer
Now, let’s dive deep into each of these question types and understand them.
Reading & Writing: Fill in the blanks
The first question that you see in the PTE Reading section is Reading & Writing: Fill in the blanks. Firstly, You are presented with a text passage with some blanks. Secondly, In place of each blank, you see a dropdown list that gives you the answer options for the blanks respectively, see the picture below. You have to select the best option for each of the blanks, which fits the context and also for the collocation. Now, read this article to learn more about collocation, if you are struggling with collocation in the reading section.
The passage itself is around 300 words in length and you get 5 to 6 of these questions in the PTE test. You score 1 mark for each correctly selected answer and there is no negative marking. NOTE: These questions contribute to both your Reading and Writing scores. Therefore, If you do well in this task, you get a good score in the reading section. To learn more, about how to do that, please read Reading and Writing: Fill in the blanks.
Reading & Writing: Fill in the blanks
Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers
The next question type that you get in the reading section is Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers. So, In this question type, you will get a reading passage of up to 300 words along with a question. There will be 3 to 5 answer options given to you and you need to select more than one response to the question. You get 1 to 2 of these questions in the test. But, there is no allocated time for any question types in the reading section, which means you need to manage your own time.
We will discuss more on how you should manage time in the latter part of this article. You get 1 mark for every correct answer selected, but if you select any wrong answer(s), 1 mark will be deducted. To know more about how is it scored, what skills are assessed, learn the tips & tricks, and tested strategy to solve this task, please read Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers.
Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers
Reorder Paragraph
The third question type that you get in the reading section is Reorder Paragraph. Firstly, for this task, a paragraph is broken down into sentences and you are presented with the sentences in random or jumbled order. Then, You are expected to arrange those sentences in the correct order. As you can see in the layout shown below, there are 2 boxes – unordered options and correct answer. The jumbled sentences are shown under the unordered options and you need to either use the mouse or the keys given there to drag the sentences to the correct answer box in the correct order.
You get 1 to 2 Reorder paragraph questions in the exam, and the total length of the paragraph is around 150 words. Each correct sequence fetches you 1 mark, note that 2 sentences make 1 sequence. There is no negative marking for this question type. This task is challenging if you don’t know how to solve it correctly. Proper guidance and sound strategy, along with practice can help you to ace this question type. To learn more, about how to do that, please read Reorder Paragraph.
Reorder Paragraph
Reading: Fill in the blanks
The fourth question type that you see in the PTE Reading section is Reading: Fill in the blanks. As the name suggests, you are presented with a text passage with some blanks. Below the passage, there are answer options that you need to drag and drop in the correct place. NOTE: The number of answer options is always greater than the number of blanks/ gaps in the text. You get 4 to 5 Fill in the blanks (Reading) questions in the test, so if you do well in this task, you will score higher. The length of the reading passage is not much, just around 80 words.
You get 1 mark for every correct answer, there is no negative marking on this question type. You need to understand the whole context in order to be successful in these questions. To learn more about tips & tricks and strategies related to Fill in the blanks (Reading), please read Reading: Fill in the blanks.
Reading: Fill in the blanks
Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer
The fifth and last question type that you see in the reading section is Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer. Firstly, for this task, you will be given a reading passage of around 300 words and you need to answer the given question by selecting one response. Given below is the layout of this question type, how you actually see it in the exam. You get around 1 to 2 of these questions in the test and there would be 3 to 5 answer options given to you. So, you get 1 mark if you answer correctly, there is no negative marking. Please read Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer to understand the secrets and strategies to attempt this task.
Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer
PTE Academic Reading Time Management
Lastly, let’s focus on the time management part. Since this section is not timed at all, so you need to manage your time intelligently, so you don’t overspend your time in this section and hence, lose time in the listening section. In total, you should be spending around 30 mins on the reading section. So, how do you manage the time for each question? Let me show you how.
The trick here is to spend a little bit more time on the questions that you feel are challenging and do the other questions quicker. But make sure you are more confident in at least 2 to 3 question types, so can utilize the time on the other challenging ones. We also have tables some recommended times on each question type, following which you will be able to complete the Reading section on time. Have a look below. As you can see, this is just a guideline, you may choose a different time for different questions, whichever suits your needs the most. But, alas, the below time management, if followed prudentially, can definitely help you to finish the section well in time.
PTE Academic Reading Summary
So, now you know everything about the PTE Reading section. What now? You should now go through each of the question types in detail and understand how to solve them. You also need to practice a lot, not only the questions but also by reading good material like blogs, news, magazines, editorials, etc. Essentially, you need to improve your overall reading skills and become a fast reader. After that, your next step should be to enroll with a quality PTE Training provider such as Edutrainex. We not only provide everyday live classes, videos, class recordings, different types of mock tests, and detailed feedback but there are also loads of features available on our learning platform, to help you in every way possible. Click here to select your package according to your needs and begin a journey towards PTE success.