The PTE Academic exam assesses your English language proficiency across four main sections: Speaking, Writing, Reading, and Listening. For the PTE Writing section, two key tasks you will face are:
1. Summarize Written Text
2. Write Essay
Today, we’ll explore both tasks, the updated scoring criteria, and the best strategies to tackle them efficiently, especially post-7th August 2025.
Human Expert Review in PTE Writing
For certain tasks, such as Describe Image, Retell Lecture, Respond to a Situation, Summarize Group Discussion, Summarize Written Text, Write Essay, and Summarize Spoken Text, a human expert review is included in the final scoring process.
For the Write Essay task, the expert review will specifically focus on key aspects such as:
- Development, Structure, and Coherence: Ensuring your essay is well-organized and your argument is coherent.
- General Linguistic Range: Evaluating your use of vocabulary and grammar throughout the essay.
Summarize Written Text
Task Overview:
In this task, you will be asked to summarize a given text in one sentence. It will test your ability to understand and summarize the main ideas of a passage.
- Time to Answer: 10 minutes
- Word Limit: 5-75 words
- Number of Questions: Typically 2
- Skill Assessed: Reading and Writing
- Total Score: 9
Are you ready to test your skills?
Take a free mock test today and see where you stand!
How to Approach This Task:
- Focus on identifying the main points and key ideas. Do not get distracted by minor details.
- Paraphrase the main points effectively and create a concise summary that fits within the word limit, which means between 5 and 75.
- Use paraphrasing to ensure that your summary is in your own words. This will also demonstrate your understanding of the material.
- Eliminate any unnecessary details and focus only on the most important aspects of the text.
Scoring Criteria:
| Trait Scored | Description |
| Content | 1: Is written in one, single, complete sentence 0: Not written in one single, complete sentence or contains fewer than 5 or more than 75 words. The summary is written in capital letters. |
| Form | 1: Is written in one, single, complete sentence 0: Not written in one single, complete sentence or contains fewer than 5 or more than 75 words. The summary is written in capital letters. |
| Grammar | 2: Has correct grammatical structure 1: Contains grammatical errors but with no hindrance to communication 0: Has defective grammatical structure which could hinder communication |
| Vocabulary | 2: Has appropriate choice of words 1: Contains lexical errors but with no hindrances to communication 0: Has defective word choice which could hinder communication |
Write Essay Task Overview:
For this task, you are required to write a 200-300-word essay based on a given topic. This assesses your ability to form a structured argument, provide supporting examples, and communicate effectively.
- Time to Answer: 20 minutes
- Word Count: 200-300 words
- No. of Questions: 1
- Skill Assessed: Writing
- Total Score: 26
Are you ready to test your skills?
Take a free mock test today and see where you stand!
How to Approach This Task:
- Read the topic carefully and make sure you understand the focus of the question. Are you being asked to argue a point, discuss an issue, or compare ideas?
- Take a couple of minutes to outline your thoughts. Structure your essay with an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
- Ensure that your essay is coherent and well-organized. Each paragraph should discuss one main idea, with supporting examples.
- Once you’ve finished writing, review your essay to correct any grammatical errors and clarify points where necessary.
Scoring Criteria:
| Trait Scored | Description |
| Content | 6: The essay fully addresses the prompt in depth, demonstrating full command of the argument by reformulating the issue seamlessly in own words and expanding on important points with specificity. The argument is supported convincingly with subsidiary points and relevant examples throughout the response. 5: The essay adequately addresses the prompt, presenting a persuasive argument with relevant ideas. Main points are highlighted, and relevant supporting detail is given to support the response effectively, with minor exceptions. 4: The essay adequately addresses the main point of the prompt. The argument is generally convincing, though lacks depth or nuance. Supporting detail is inconsistent throughout the response. It is present for some points but weaker or missing for others. 3: The essay is relevant to the prompt but does not address the main points adequately. Supporting detail is often missing or inappropriate. 2 The essay attempts to address the prompt, but does so superficially, with little relevant information and largely generic statements or over reliance on repeating language from the prompt. Few supporting details are included. Ideas that are present lack relevance, with only tangential links to the topic. 1: The essay attempts to address the prompt, but demonstrates an incomplete understanding of the prompt with communication limited to generic or repetitive phrasing, or repeating language from the prompt. Supporting details, if present, are used in a disjointed or haphazard manner, with no clear links to the topic. 0: The essay does not properly deal with the prompt |
| Form | 2: Length is between 200 and 300 words 1: Length is between 120 and 199 or between 301 and 380 words 0: Length is less than 120 or more than 380 words. Essay is written in capital letters, contains no punctuation or only comprises bullet points or concise sentences |
| Development, Structure and Coherence | 6: The essay has an effective logical structure, flows smoothly, and can be followed with ease. An argument is clear and cohesive, developed systematically at length. A well- developed introduction and conclusion are present. Ideas are organised cohesively into paragraphs, and paragraphs are clear and logically sequenced. The essay uses a variety of connective devices effectively and consistently to convey relationships between ideas. 5: The essay has a conventional and appropriate structure that follows logically, if not always smoothly. An argument is clear, with some points developed at length. Introduction,conclusion and logical paragraphs are present. The essay uses connective devices to link utterances into clear, coherent discourse, though there may be some gaps or abrupt transitions between one idea to the next. 4: Conventional structure is mostly present, but some elements may be missing,requiring some effort to follow. An argument is present but lacks development of some elements or may be difficult to follow. Simple paragraph breaks are present, but they are not always effective, and some elements or paragraphs are poorly linked. The ideas in the response are not well connected. The lack of connection might come from an ordering of the ideas which is difficult to grasp, or a lack of language establishing coherence among ideas. 3: Traces of the conventional structure are present, but the essay is composed of simple points or disconnected ideas. A position/opinion is present, although it is not sufficiently developed into a logical argument and often lacks clarity. Essay does not make effective use of paragraphs or lacks paragraphs but presents ideas with some coherence and logical sequencing. The response consists mainly of unconnected ideas, with little organizational structure evident, and requires significant effort to follow. The most frequently occurring connective devices link simple sentences and larger elements linearly, but more complex relationships are not expressed clearly or appropriately. 2: There is little recognisable structure. Ideas are presented in a disorganised manner and are difficult to follow. A position/opinion may be present but lacks development or clarity. The essay lacks coherence, and mainly comprises disconnected elements. Can link groups of words with simple connective devices (e.g., “and”, “but” and“because”. 1: Response consists of disconnected ideas. There is no hierarchy of ideas coherence among points. No clear position/opinion can be identified. Words and short statements are linked with very basic linear connective devices(e.g., “and” or “then”). 0: There is no recognisable structure. |
| Grammar | 2: Shows consistent grammatical control of complex language. Errors are rare and difficult to spot. 1: Shows a relatively high degree of grammatical control. No mistakes which would lead to misunderstandings 0: Contains mainly simple structures and/or several basic mistakes |
| General Linguistic Range | 6: A variety of expressions and vocabulary are used appropriately to formulate ideas with ease and precision throughout the response. No signs of limitations restricting what can be communicated. Errors in language use, if present, are rare and minor, and meaning incompletely clear. 5: A variety of expressions and vocabulary are used appropriately throughout the response. Ideas are expressed clearly without much sign of restriction. Occasional errors in language use are present, but the meaning is clear. 4: The range of expression and vocabulary is sufficient to articulate basic ideas. Most ideas are clear, but limitations are evident when conveying complex/ abstract ideas, causing repetition, circumlocution, and difficulty with formulation at times. Errors in language use cause occasional lapses in clarity, but the main idea can still be followed. 3: The range of expression and vocabulary is narrow and simple expressions are used repeatedly. Communication is restricted to simple ideas that can be articulated through basic language. Errors in language use cause some disruptions for the reader. 2: Limited vocabulary and simple expressions dominate the response. Communication is compromised and some ideas are unclear. Basic errors in language use are common, causing frequent breakdowns and misunderstanding. 1: Vocabulary and linguistic expression are highly restricted. There are significant limitations in communication and ideas are generally unclear. Errors in language use are pervasive and impede meaning. 0: Meaning is not accessible |
| Vocabulary | 2: Good command of a broad lexical repertoire, idiomatic expressions and colloquialisms 1: Shows a good range of vocabulary for matters connected to general academic topics. Lexical shortcomings lead to circumlocution or some imprecision. 0: Contains mainly basic vocabulary insufficient to deal with the topic at the required level |
| Spelling | 2: Correct spelling 1: One spelling error 0: More than one spelling error |
