How to Tackle “Highlight Incorrect Words” in PTE Listening: Tips, Strategy & Examples

The Highlight Incorrect Words task in the PTE Listening section assesses your ability to process spoken English while simultaneously reading a transcript. This task replicates a real-world skill often used in academic or workplace settings. You should identify the error between spoken and written information. While the concept may seem simple, the challenge lies in accurately detecting differences in real time.

Task Overview

Objective:

You are presented with a short transcript (15–50 seconds) that contains deliberate errors. As the audio plays, your task is to identify and click on the words in the transcript that differ from what the speaker says.

Details:

• Skills assessed: Listening and Reading
• Prompt length: 15–50 seconds
• Audio plays automatically and only once
• Your task: Highlight incorrect words by clicking on them
• Time to answer: No time limit, but the audio does not replay

Scoring Criteria

• 1 point for each correct word identified as incorrect
• –1 point for each incorrect word selected
• 0 if no words are selected
• The minimum score for this item is zero; you cannot score negative overall

Important:

There are no more than 7 incorrect words in this task in the actual PTE exam. It is important not to over-click, as every incorrect selection reduces your score.

How to Answer This Question

Before the Audio Starts:

You have approximately 10 seconds to preview the transcript. During this time:

• Skim the passage quickly. Do not attempt to read every word.
• Focus on key content words such as nouns, verbs, and adjectives.
• Try to determine the general topic or theme of the text.

While Listening:

• Follow the transcript closely, moving your cursor word by word as the audio plays.
• Click immediately when you hear a word that does not match the transcript.
• Do not take notes during this task; full attention should be on listening and reading in parallel.

After Listening:

• Briefly review your selections.
• If you are uncertain about a highlighted word, and it may have been misheard rather than incorrect, consider deselecting it to avoid negative marking.

Strategies to Improve Accuracy (With Examples)

1. Skim the Transcript for Context

Before the audio begins, skim the text to identify key vocabulary and the main topic. Understanding the subject matter helps you detect words that don’t logically belong.

Example:

If the transcript discusses climate change and includes the sentence:

The rise in global temperatures is partly caused by carbon dioxide and nitrogen,

But the speaker says:

The rise in global temperatures is partly caused by carbon dioxide and methane,

Then “nitrogen” is the incorrect word to highlight. Methane is a known greenhouse gas; nitrogen, in this context, is not.

2. Follow the Transcript with the Cursor

Move your cursor across the transcript in sync with the speaker. This allows for precise tracking and helps catch variations the moment they occur.

Example:

Transcript: The committee advised that the policy should remain unchanged for the next five years.

Audio: The committee recommended that the policy should remain unchanged for the next five years.

Action: Highlight “advised” because it does not match the audio.

3. Listen for Subtle Differences in Word Choice or Tense

Differences may involve small changes such as verb tense, singular/plural forms, or synonyms that shift the meaning.

Example:

Transcript: Researchers stated the project begins next month.

Audio: Researchers stated the project began next month.

Action: Highlight “begins” because tense is incorrect.

4. Do Not Click Unless You Are Confident

Due to negative marking, you must avoid guessing. If you are unsure whether a word is incorrect, it is better to leave it unselected.

Tip:

If you are only 50% sure, it is safer not to click.

5. Use Contextual Clues

Words that disrupt the flow or contradict known facts or tone may be incorrect.

Example:

Transcript: The students were punished for their excellence in class.

Audio: The students were punished for their absence in class.

Action: Highlight “excellence” because it does not fit the audio or the logic of the sentence.

Practice Question

Paragraph with Incorrect Words

Access to clean drinking water is adaptable to human health and well-being. Water supports nearly every bodily function, including digestion, management, and temperature regulation. Despite its importance, millions worldwide still lack reliable access to safe water resources, leading to preventable diseases and high mortality rates. In developed countries, concerns often shift toward water question, contamination by industrial pollutants, and sustainability of supply. Hydration also plays a crucial role in cognitive performance and protocol levels, yet it is frequently overlooked in daily routines.

Transcript:

Access to clean drinking water is fundamental to human health and well-being. Water supports nearly every bodily function, including digestion, circulation, and temperature regulation. Despite its importance, millions worldwide still lack reliable access to safe water sources, leading to preventable diseases and high mortality rates. In developed countries, concerns often shift toward water quality, contamination by industrial pollutants, and sustainability of supply. Hydration also plays a crucial role in cognitive performance and energy levels, yet it is frequently overlooked in daily routines.

Answer Key:

• adaptable (Answer: fundamental )
• management (Answer: circulation)
• resources (Answer: sources)
• question (Answer: quality)
• protocol (Answer: energy)

Practice with Sumlingo to score high in the PTE Exam.