Free PTE Academic mock
One PTE Academic paper in the real exam format: 83 questions across 3 timed sections, 2 hr 25 min on a server-controlled clock.
About the real exam PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English Academic) is a fully computer-based English proficiency test used for university admission and visas worldwide.
Free, reversible until you begin · one attempt per account · no retake, no card.
Device and setup checklist
- A stable internet connection for the full duration.
- A working microphone (speaking sections are recorded).
- Headphones or speakers (this paper plays audio).
- A laptop or desktop is recommended for the closest exam experience.
The paper, section by section
Navigation: sections run strictly in order and a completed section cannot be reopened.
Scored instantly, or scored by AI
80 questions are scored automatically against the paper key the moment you submit.
1 written task and 2 recorded speaking prompts are scored by AI. These scores are estimates, provided as-is, and can arrive after your objective result.
What you get back
You get your raw marks and per-section scores. No scaled score, band, rank or percentile is estimated for this paper.
- Scored out of 165 raw marks, with per-section totals.
- There is no negative marking anywhere in this paper.
- AI-scored tasks are estimates provided as-is, and can arrive after your objective result.
How the real PTE Academic is scored
PTE Academic reports an Overall score and four Communicative Skill scores (Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing), each on the GSE 10-90 scale, plus a Skills Profile across enabling skills (grammar, oral fluency, pronunciation, spelling, vocabulary, written discourse). Scoring is integrated, so one task can affect several skills. There is no pass mark - your target depends entirely on where you are applying. Results are typically available within 48 hours (usually within 2-5 business days) and are valid for 2 years (up to 3 years for Australian migration).
- 79-90 (CEFR C1-C2)Very high proficiency. Meets the toughest university and visa requirements, including competitive programs and the highest skilled-migration English bands.
- 65-78 (CEFR B2-C1)Strong. Accepted by most universities for undergraduate and postgraduate admission and satisfies common visa English requirements.
- 58-64 (CEFR B2)Solid. Meets the entry requirement at many universities and several visa categories; check your specific program's minimum.
Context only - this free mock returns: You get your raw marks and per-section scores. No scaled score, band, rank or percentile is estimated for this paper.
The PTE Academic in four panels
The exam
PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English Academic) is a fully computer-based English proficiency test used for university admission and visas worldwide. It assesses speaking, writing, reading, and listening together through 22 integrated task types across three parts - Speaking & Writing, Reading, and Listening - in a single sitting of about 2 hours 15 minutes. PTE Academic is accepted by 3,500+ institutions across 70+ countries and by the Australian and New Zealand governments for visas (the UK uses PTE Academic UKVI for Home Office visas; Canadian permanent-residency applicants use the separate PTE Core).
The format
The full current PTE Academic task set, exactly as Pearson tests it after the August 2025 update: 22 task types across three parts. Part 1 Speaking & Writing (9 types, about 76-84 min): Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image, Re-tell Lecture, Answer Short Question, Summarize Group Discussion, Respond to a Situation, Summarize Written Text, Write Essay. Part 2 Reading (5 types, about 22-30 min): Fill in the Blanks (dropdown and drag-drop), Multiple Choice (single and multiple), Re-order Paragraphs. Part 3 Listening (8 types, about 31-39 min): Summarize Spoken Text, Multiple Choice (single and multiple), Fill in the Blanks, Highlight Correct Summary, Select Missing Word, Highlight Incorrect Words, Write from Dictation. Most tasks are integrated and contribute to more than one skill.
The candidates
- Students applying to universities in Australia, New Zealand, the UK, the USA, Canada, Ireland, and across Europe and Asia that accept PTE Academic.
- Applicants for Australian and New Zealand study and skilled-migration visas, who can use one PTE Academic result for both admission and the visa.
- Healthcare and other professionals needing English proof for bodies that accept PTE Academic (e.g. AHPRA in Australia, the GMC and NMC in the UK).
- Candidates comfortable typing and speaking into a microphone who want an integrated-skills test rather than separately-timed sections.
How people prepare for it
- Learn the 22 task types cold - PTE is task-weighted, so knowing exactly what each task asks and how it is scored matters more than raw English ability.
- Practise speaking into a microphone against the clock: Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, and Describe Image reward fluent, steady delivery with no long pauses.
- Master the high-value integrated tasks - Write from Dictation, Repeat Sentence, and Re-tell Lecture feed multiple skills and move your overall score the most.
- Drill the templated writing tasks: a one-sentence Summarize Written Text (5-75 words), a 50-70 word Summarize Spoken Text, and a 200-300 word essay - staying inside the word limits is itself scored.
- For Reading and Listening, practise Fill-in-the-Blanks and the multi-answer MCQs carefully: wrong picks on multiple-answer items and Highlight Incorrect Words lose marks.
- Take full-length, timed mock tests under real conditions to build stamina for the single ~2h 15m sitting and to see your GSE estimate per skill before test day.
Figures about the real exam, as recorded in the Myndaq course. They describe the real sitting, not this free mock paper - check current details with the exam body before you book.
What it opens up
- A GSE 10-90 result accepted by 3,500+ institutions across 70+ countries for university admission.
- A single result usable for both university admission and Australian or New Zealand visa applications.
- Confident, fluent spoken English under exam conditions across Read Aloud, Describe Image, and the summary tasks.
- The ability to write a precise one-sentence summary, a short spoken-text summary, and a structured 200-300 word academic essay within strict word limits.
- Sharp Reading and Listening comprehension across MCQ, fill-in-the-blanks, reordering, and dictation tasks.
- A clear, per-skill picture of your English level so you can target the exact score your destination requires.
Course context for the real PTE Academic.
How this mirrors the real format
- The paper structure is the real format: 3 sections in exam order, 83 questions in total.
- Timing is server-controlled for the full 2 hr 25 min -- closing the tab does not pause the clock, exactly like our paid mock series.
- Marking follows the published paper: the per-section marks shown in the paper map are the marks the scorer applies.
- Sections run strictly in order and a completed section cannot be reopened.
- Break windows fall where the paper schedules them, and each one is shown in the paper map.
"Real format" means the paper shape, timing, marking and navigation above - not the official exam software, its visual identity, or any affiliation with the exam body.
What differs or is limited
- This free mock covers every section of the real exam format. Speaking is trimmed to at most 2 prompts and writing to 1 task; the paid mock includes the full task set. AI-scored sections are estimates and are provided as-is. Audio you record is deleted within 30 days.
One attempt, explicitly
Adding this mock to your account is free and reversible - you can change the exam any time before you begin. Only the confirmed Begin action uses your one attempt. No retake, no reset, no card.