PTE exam examples for Canada: PTE Core questions with sample answers
Pearson says IRCC recognizes PTE Core, which has between 52 and 67 tasks across 19 task types. Pearson's PTE Core Score Guide includes real test-taker responses at CLB 4, 5 and 7, which is the closest thing to official sample answers. This page lists each question and gives our own examples of three of them.
This page is for people heading to Canada. It covers PTE Core, the test Pearson says IRCC recognizes, and points to PTE Academic if you are applying to study. Pearson's pages decide the rules, and this is not immigration advice.
Which PTE test do these examples belong to?
In Canada the goal decides the test.
"PTE Core is recognized by the Canadian Government (IRCC) for all economic visa categories including permanent residency and citizenship."
"Plan to study in Canada? If you plan to apply to a Canadian university or college, you'll need PTE Academic instead of PTE Core."
This page is mostly about PTE Core, the test Pearson says IRCC recognizes. If you are applying to a Canadian university or college, Pearson says you will need PTE Academic, and our PTE exam sample page and reading samples page apply to you. Our PTE Academic vs PTE Core page explains the difference, and our English tests accepted by IRCC page lists the tests IRCC accepts. IRCC and your institution decide which scores they accept, and this is not immigration advice.
What a PTE Core test contains
Three parts, one sitting.
"A single, 2-hour test with results typically in 48 hours"
| Part | Duration | Question types | Skills assessed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1: Speaking and Writing | 50-65 minutes | 7 | Speaking and writing |
| Part 2: Reading | 27-37 minutes | 5 | Reading |
| Part 3: Listening | 22-37 minutes | 7 | Listening |
Pearson's PTE Core preparation page prints 9, 5 and 8 question types for the three parts, the same numbers as PTE Academic, while its PTE Core test page and Score Guide give 7, 5 and 7. We use the PTE Core test page and Score Guide.
Our reading: the three part ranges add up to more than 2 hours at the top end, and Pearson's PTE Core Score Guide explains it: each test version is balanced in overall length, no test taker gets the absolute minimum or maximum times, and no test exceeds a total of 2 hours. So do not add the part times together.
The Score Guide says you complete between 52 and 67 tasks in any given test and a range of 19 different task types. Pearson lists the question types in each part like this:
- Part 1: Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image, Respond to a Situation, Answer Short Question, Summarize Written Text, Write Email. A Personal Introduction comes first, and it does not count toward your score.
- Part 2: Reading and Writing: Fill in the Blanks, Multiple Choice with multiple answers, Reorder Paragraph, Fill in the Blanks, Multiple Choice with a single answer.
- Part 3: Summarize Spoken Text, Multiple Choice with multiple answers, Fill in the Blanks, Multiple Choice with a single answer, Select Missing Word, Highlight Incorrect Words, Write from Dictation.
Real PTE Core examples from Pearson
The closest thing to official sample answers.
Pearson's PTE Core Score Guide is free, and it includes real test-taker responses with comments from Pearson's Language Testing division. For the spoken question, Respond to a Situation:
"Samples of test takers’ spoken responses at the levels of CLB 4, CLB 5, and CLB 7 of the Canadian Language Benchmarks with comments from the Language Testing division of Pearson can be found below and on our website."
And for the written question, Write Email:
"Samples of test takers’ written responses at levels CLB 4, CLB 5 and CLB 7 are given below as well as comments from the Language Testing division of Pearson."
Read those responses and the comments next to them. They show what the marking looks for at each level, which no practice list of ours can do. The guide is on Pearson's PTE Core scoring page, and our PTE Core score chart shows how scores line up with CLB levels.
Pearson's practice products for PTE Core:
- Free resources in Smart Prep, which Pearson lists as including the PTE Core Score Guide, Test Tip documents, a Guided Practice Test and a video guide.
- The PTE Core Scored Practice Test, which Pearson describes as a full 2-hour mock test with 52 questions, covering all 4 skills and question types.
- Official PTE Core AI Practice, which Pearson says is "Free to start, no payment required". The free version has 1 Speaking and Writing diagnostic, 1 Reading and Listening diagnostic and several Reading and Listening questions. Pearson lists the full product as 300+ PTE questions, 5 full-length mock tests and 4 sectional tests, with paid plans for 7 day access at $29.99, 1 month access at $59.99 and 3 month access at $89.99, charged in USD as a one-time payment.
What each Speaking and Writing question looks like
Pearson's description of each PTE Core question, with its times.
| Question | What you do | Times and lengths (Pearson) |
|---|---|---|
| Read Aloud | Read a text aloud. | Text up to 60 words. You have 30-40 seconds to read the text and prepare. |
| Repeat Sentence | Listen to a sentence, then repeat it. | The recording is 3-9 seconds long. |
| Describe Image | Describe an image in detail. | 25 seconds to study the image, then 40 seconds to speak. |
| Respond to a Situation | Listen to and read a situation, then say what you would say. | Text up to 60 words. 20 seconds to prepare, then 40 seconds to speak. |
| Answer Short Question | Listen to a question and answer in one or a few words. | The recording is 3-9 seconds long. 10 seconds to answer. |
| Summarize Written Text | Read a text and write a short summary of 25-50 words. | Text up to 200 words. 10 minutes. |
| Write Email | Read a text and write an email in response. | Text up to 100 words. 9 minutes. |
Our guides to Repeat Sentence and Respond to a Situation are written for PTE Academic, but the tasks are similar in PTE Core. Check the Core timings above, because Respond to a Situation gives you more preparation time in PTE Core.
Our own PTE Core examples
Three questions, each with a model answer and notes. The situations are invented for practice.
These examples are ours. They are written to show what a good answer does, not to match Pearson's questions. We do not claim any sample would earn a particular score. Do not memorise them. In the real test the answer must be yours.
Respond to a Situation
Prompt (ours): Your manager, Ms. Brown, has asked you to present a short report to the team on Thursday. You have a medical appointment that morning and will not be in the office. Tell your manager the problem and suggest a solution.
Model answer (ours): "Hello, Ms. Brown. I'm afraid I have a problem with Thursday. I have a medical appointment that morning, so I won't be in the office when the team meets, and I won't be able to present the report myself. I'd like to suggest two options. I could present it on Wednesday afternoon, if the team is free, or I could send the slides and a short recording on Wednesday so that everyone can see them before the meeting. Please let me know which you prefer, and I'll arrange it. Thank you for understanding, and I'm sorry for the short notice."
What it does: a polite register for a manager, the problem stated with the details from the prompt (Thursday, the medical appointment, the report), two clear options, and a close that invites a reply. At about 100 words it works out at 150 words a minute to fit the 40 seconds, which is brisk (our estimate), so trim a sentence if you rush.
Pearson's tip for PTE Core is to use the preparation time to decide the main points and the register:
"You have 20 seconds to prepare, so examine the prompt to decide what main points you will need to convey, and whether you will need to use a formal or informal register."
"Appropriacy is scored by assessing how relevant and appropriate the language you use is to the situation and to the person(s) you are addressing."
Write Email
Prompt (ours): You live in an apartment building. Your neighbour's dog barks during the day while you are working from home. Write an email to your neighbour. In your email, (1) explain the problem, (2) say how it affects you, and (3) suggest what could be done.
Dear Mr. Patel,
I hope you are well. I am writing about your dog, which has been barking for long periods during the day. I work from home, and the noise makes it difficult for me to concentrate on calls with my clients.
I understand that dogs bark when they are bored or lonely. Perhaps a dog walker could visit around midday, or you could leave a radio playing quietly. I would be glad to talk about it in person if that is easier.
Thank you for your understanding.
Kind regards,
Maria
What it does: a greeting, a short introduction, a paragraph that covers the first two bullet points, a paragraph that covers the third, a closing line and a farewell. The tone is polite, and each bullet point from the prompt is answered.
Pearson's rules for the real question, in its words:
"The details you include should be relevant to the three bullet points in the prompt."
"Your response should include a salutation, an introduction, a conclusion and a farewell."
A word-count conflict to know about. Pearson's PTE Core format page gives two different ranges. The instruction says:
"For this question type, you need to write an email containing between 80 and 120 words in response to a prompt."
But the scoring text on the same page says:
"You will receive full credit if your email is between 50 and 120 words."
The Score Guide agrees with the second range: it gives the top Form mark for 50-120 words and lower marks outside it. We show both and do not pick one. Our advice is to follow the instruction and aim for between 80 and 120 words, so you are inside both ranges.
Summarize Written Text
Passage (ours): Many towns are replacing paper parking tickets with a phone app. Drivers can pay by the minute, add time from a café table and receive a reminder before their time runs out. The councils that introduced the apps say they have cut the cost of printing and collecting paper tickets. However, some older residents find the apps hard to use, and a few small shops worry that customers will avoid areas where payment is complicated. Several councils now offer help sessions and keep a small number of machines for people who prefer them.
Summary (ours, 45 words): Towns are replacing paper parking tickets with phone apps that let drivers pay by the minute and cut council costs, but some older residents find them hard to use and small shops worry about lost customers, so councils offer help sessions and keep some machines.
What it does: one sentence, with the main idea first (towns are replacing paper tickets with apps), the benefit, then the two groups who struggle, then the councils' response. It uses "but" and "so" to link the ideas and changes the passage's wording.
"If you write fewer than 25 words or more than 50 words, your response will not be scored"
PTE Core and PTE Academic examples are not interchangeable
Different question lists, different content.
PTE Core has a Write Email question. PTE Academic has Write Essay, Retell Lecture and Summarize Group Discussion, and its Part 1 has 9 question types against 7 in PTE Core. Pearson's preparation page also says:
"No, the preparation materials for PTE Academic/PTE Academic UKVI are based on academic English content, whereas PTE Core is based on everyday English content."
So when you look for a PTE exam example, check the label. An example written for one test is the wrong practice for the other.
Common questions
PTE Core Part 1 has seven question types: Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image, Respond to a Situation, Answer Short Question, Summarize Written Text and Write Email. Part 2 has five reading types and Part 3 has seven listening types. Our own examples above cover Respond to a Situation, Write Email and Summarize Written Text.
Yes. Pearson's PTE Core Score Guide includes samples of test takers' spoken and written responses at CLB 4, CLB 5 and CLB 7, with comments from Pearson's Language Testing division, for Respond to a Situation and Write Email.
Pearson lists free PTE Core resources in Smart Prep, including a Guided Practice Test, and a free version of Official PTE Core AI Practice with diagnostics. It sells a PTE Core Scored Practice Test that it describes as a full 2-hour mock test with 52 questions.
The Score Guide says you will complete between 52 and 67 tasks in any given test and a range of 19 different task types.
Pearson's PTE Core page describes a single, 2-hour test. Its three parts are 50-65 minutes for Speaking and Writing, 27-37 minutes for Reading and 22-37 minutes for Listening. Those ranges add up to more than 2 hours at the top end, and Pearson's PTE Core Score Guide explains it: each test version is balanced in overall length, no test taker gets the absolute minimum or maximum times, and no test exceeds a total of 2 hours. So do not add the part times together.
Pearson's pages give two ranges. The instruction says between 80 and 120 words, and the scoring text and Score Guide give full credit for 50-120 words. Aim for between 80 and 120 words to be inside both.
Pearson says no: “the preparation materials for PTE Academic/PTE Academic UKVI are based on academic English content, whereas PTE Core is based on everyday English content.”