Q: How is this section structured?
A. This section is divided into 5 tasks which each involve reading brief texts. These tasks are: “Multiple-choice (choose single answer)”, “Multiple-choice (choose multiple answers)”, “Re-order paragraphs”, “Reading: Fill in the blanks” and “Reading & writing: Fill in the blanks”.You can find information about each of these tasks by clicking on the “overview” tabs under “PTE –> ‘Reading’ “. This section will take you between 30-40 minutes, and it is important to note that the tasks are not individually timed, so you must use your time wisely. While it is important to be methodical and pay attention to detail while reading each text and answering the questions, you must be mindful of the clock ticking down and be aware of the tasks that will require more time for you to complete. For this reason, you should ensure that you have practiced each reading task and have an idea of how long each one generally takes you.
Q. What skills are being tested in this section?
A. When it comes to this section, evaluators are looking for how well you identify important ideas and relationships in the texts, how much you understand the vocabulary and content of the texts, and how skilled you are at evaluating the different aspects of the text for their usefulness and importance to each question. In addition, you are being tested on how well you can read the texts under timed conditions.
Q. How many times will I have to do each task?
A. You will have to do each task more than once, but the number of times you will do a task is dependent on the combination of tasks you are given in a section, and this is always different. In general however, you can expect repeat “Multiple-choice (choose single answer)” 2-3 times, “Multiple-choice (choose multiple answers)” 2-3 times, “Re-order paragraphs” 2-3 times, “Reading: Fill in the blanks” 4-5 times, and “Reading and writing: Fill in the blanks” 5-6 times.