The “Reading Section”, for the PTE examination is followed by the writing section. This section has a few passages and questions to evaluate the candidate’s ability to read and infer meanings. To answer every question, notifications are given on the top of the screen. This section is generally classified into 5 different parts, multiple-choice questions, with single & multiple answers, re-order paragraphs, fill in the blank (drag & drop), and fill in the blank (dropdown). This section allows 32-41 minutes, depending on the number of questions. You are always advised to keep an eye on the time, given on the screen. The reading section does not have an automatic timer. Candidates themselves have to manage their time for this section. In other words, the reading section is not automatically time-bound.
The reading section has 5 different task types. These areas follow:
- READING: MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION, CHOOSE SINGLE ANSWER:
MCQ Single answers have 2-3 questions. There will be a passage given in every question, to which there will be a question along with a set of options. You have to select only one response because the task type demands only one correct answer.
- READING: MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION, CHOOSE MULTIPLE ANSWER:
This task type will have 2-3 questions. Each question will have a passage. To the given passage there will be a question and a set of options. Out of the given options, you have to choose more than one correct response on the basis of your reading skills. This the first task type in PTE that have negative scoring. You have to be sure with the opted answer, otherwise, might lose your score. An aspirant in this task type should not guess or make assumptions.
- RE-ORDER PARAGRAPH:
In this task type generally, 2-3 questions appear. These are basically jumbled statements. You need to re-arrange these statements in the correct sequence. For re-order paragraphs, partial scores are credited. You will be earning scores only if each pair of the correct adjacent text box are correct.
- READING: FILL IN THE BLANKS:
Generally, 4-5 questions will appear in this task type. There will be a paragraph given for each question and certain words will be omitted from the respective paragraph. You have to locate the correct answers for the given blank. The options for answers will be displayed at the bottom of the screen. You just need to drag the answer and drop it into the desired or suitable blank. Each correct response will fetch you a point on the scoreboard.
- READING & WRITING: FILL IN THE BLANKS:
These fill-in-the-blanks are also known as drop-down fill I the blanks. It consists of 5-6 questions. Each question will have a passage with few words missing. The options will be provided in the box for the respective blank. You just need to click on the blank and a list of options will drop down, now select the suitable answer from the box by just clicking on it.
For the entire reading section, candidates are advised to spend only 2 minutes on each question, regardless of the task type.