PTE Academic and PTE Core have PTE Reading sections in their test format, having five question types for each. However, they differ slightly in terms of duration as PTE Academic is 29-30 minutes, while PTE Core Reading lasts for 30 minutes.
The five types for both PTE Academic and PTE Core Reading are reading & writing: fill in the blanks, multiple choice multiple answer, re-order paragraphs, fill in the blanks, and multiple choice single answer.
To achieve your desired score in PTE Reading, you should be building a strong vocabulary foundation, creating flashcards, improving reading speed, practicing reading in word groups, and dedicating daily practice time.
PTE offers free and paid practice materials. The free practice material includes Smart Prep, while paid practice materials come in packages of Bronze, Silver, and Gold.
What is the Structure and Duration of PTE Reading?
The PTE Reading section is present in PTE Academic and PTE Core, having five question types for each format. However, they differ significantly in terms of duration. PTE Academic is approximately 29-30 minutes. Meanwhile, PTE Core Reading lasts for 30 minutes.
What are the PTE Reading Question Types?
The five types for both PTE Academic and PTE Core Reading are reading & writing: fill in the blanks, multiple choice multiple answer, re-order paragraphs, fill in the blanks, and multiple choice single answer. Still, they differ in tasks, prompt lengths, and skills assessed.
What are the PTE Academic Reading Question Types?
The breakdown of the question types for PTE Academic Reading is listed below.
| Question Type | Task | Prompt Length | Skills Assessed |
| Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks | You will see a text with several gaps. Choose words from a dropdown menu to fill in the gaps. | Text up to 300 words | Reading and writing |
| Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer | After reading the text, answer a multiple-choice question on the content or tone of the text by selecting more than one response. | Text up to 300 words | Reading |
| Re-order Paragraphs | Several text boxes appear on the screen in random order. Put the text boxes in the correct order. | Text up to 150 words | Reading |
| Fill in the Blanks | The text appears on a screen with several gaps in it. Drag words from the box below to fill the gaps. | Text up to 80 words | Reading |
| Multiple Choice, Single Answer | After reading the text, answer a multiple-choice question by selecting one response. | Text up to 300 words | Reading |
What are the PTE Core Reading Question Types?
Given in the table below are the rundown of tasks, prompt lengths, and skills assessed for each PTE Core Reading question type.
| Question Type | Task | Prompt Length | Skills Assessed |
| Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks | You will see a text with several gaps. Choose words from a dropdown menu to fill in the gaps. | Text up to 200 words | Reading and writing |
| Multiple Choice, Multiple Answer | After reading the text, answer a multiple-choice question on the content or tone of the text by selecting more than one response. | Text up to 275 words | Reading |
| Re-order Paragraphs | You will see text boxes in a random order. Put the text in the correct order. | Text up to 110 words | Reading |
| Fill in the Blanks | You will see some text with several gaps. Drag words from the box below to fill the gaps. | Text up to 80 words | Reading |
| Multiple Choice, Single Answer | Read the text. Then answer a multiple-choice question on the content or tone of the text. You can select only one response. | Text up to 110 words | Reading |
What are Essential PTE Reading Preparation Strategies?
Essential PTE Reading preparation strategies to achieve a high score include building a strong vocabulary foundation, creating flashcards, improving reading speed, practicing reading in word groups, and dedicating daily practice time.
- Build Strong Vocabulary Foundation: Expand your vocabulary to assist in understanding what you read by focusing on vocabularies found commonly in PTE texts.
- Create and Review Flashcards: Develop flashcards for new words that appear while reading, which aids in learning a lot of vocabulary.
- Improve Reading Speed: Increase your speed without losing your comprehension to achieve better results in each type of PTE Reading question.
- Practice Reading in Word Groups: Read in chunks instead of individual words to train your brain for more efficient text processing.
- Dedicate Daily Practice Time: Allocate a daily amount of time to practicing speed reading to help you succeed on the PTE.
Which Official PTE Reading Preparation Materials Should I Use?
The official test provider for PTE offers free and paid practice materials through their official website to enhance your PTE Reading scores. The free practice material includes Smart prep which has guided practice tests, online courses, test tip documents, test format videos, and a free Taster Test.
On the other hand, paid practice materials come in packages which include Bronze Package containing 2 scored practice tests and a PTE Academic Question Bank, Silver Package having 4 scored practice tests and a PTE Academic Question Bank, and Gold Package comprising of 5 scored practice tests, a PTE Academic Question Bank, and the Official Guide to PTE Academic.