# PTE Listening Multiple Choice, Single Answer: scoring and examples A 30-90 second recording with one correct option. Scored right or wrong with no penalty for guessing. ## The short answer Listening: Multiple Choice, Single Answer plays a recording of 30 to 90 seconds and asks a question with exactly one correct option. There are 2 to 3 in a test. It is scored correct or incorrect with no deduction, which makes it one of the tasks where you should always answer, even on a guess. ## Key facts - **Items per test:** 2-3 - **Prompt length:** 30-90 seconds - **Skills scored:** Listening - **Scoring:** Correct or incorrect, no penalty Timings and scoring rules come from Pearson's task pages and the July 2025 Score Guide, checked 28 September 2026. ## How it's scored One option, one point, no deduction. The preview time before the audio is the main lever: reading the question and options first tells you whether to listen for a reason, a number, an attitude or a conclusion. Distractors repeat words from the recording in a claim the speaker did not make. That is why matching remembered words is unreliable, and why noting the speaker's point is better than noting their vocabulary. These items sit among the longer listening tasks, so the time you spend here is time taken from Write from Dictation and Summarize Spoken Text, which carry more marks between them. Answer, commit, and move on rather than replaying the recording in your head. > Answer before the audio fades from memory. Moving on quickly also protects the time you need for the tasks that carry more marks. ## Listening: Multiple Choice, Single Answer examples Worked examples written for this page. Answer each one before you open the model response: memorizing a response is scored as an irrelevant answer in the real test. **Example 1 -- listen for the thing that was asked** Recording (played once), transcript: > Her first survey used face-to-face interviews in the market square, which gave a good response rate but a very narrow sample: almost everyone she stopped was retired and lived within a mile. Because of that, she switched to a postal survey in the second year, mailing every fourth address in the district. The response rate halved, but the sample finally looked like the district. Prompt: Why did the researcher change method? - A. Her first sample was not representative of the district - B. The response rate to the interviews was too low - C. Postal surveys were cheaper than interviews - D. The market square was closed in the second year Answer: A. Model response: A. The causal marker is "Because of that", and what it points back to is the narrow sample. Why it scores: Knowing the question before the audio tells you which sentence matters. Listen for because, since, which led her to: the answer is usually in that sentence. **Example 2 -- attitude questions** Recording (played once), transcript: > The proposal is promising, and I say that as someone who argued against the first version. Where I would be careful is the timetable. Eighteen months to rebuild the whole system is, frankly, optimistic, and I have seen what happens to a department that misses that kind of deadline. Prompt: How does the speaker feel about the proposal? - A. Supportive, but doubtful about the timetable - B. Opposed to it, as he was to the first version - C. Enthusiastic about every part of it - D. Indifferent: he has no view either way Answer: A. Model response: A. "Promising" carries the support; "frankly, optimistic" carries the doubt. Why it scores: Attitude lives in a handful of words: hedges and evaluative adjectives. If you are listening for facts you will miss them. **Example 3 -- a guess with structure** Prompt: You missed the key sentence entirely. What do you do? - A. Cut the options that contradict what you did hear, then pick - B. Leave it blank and use the time on the next item - C. Pick the longest option, which is usually right Answer: A. Model response: Eliminate, then pick. No deduction applies here, so a narrowed guess is free. Why it scores: Two options can usually be ruled out by something you did hear. A one-in-two guess beats a blank, which is a guaranteed zero. **Three questions is a warm-up, not practice** 20,000+ PTE practice questions across all 22 task types, 20+ full mocks and 20+ sectional tests, with instant AI scoring on speaking and writing. Practise any task type with AI scoring, then take sectional tests and full mocks in the app. [Start practicing free](https://app.testmigo.com/register) ## Common mistakes | What costs marks | Do this instead | | --- | --- | | Not using the preview time. | Read the question first so you know what to listen for. | | Choosing the option that repeats the recording's words. | Check the claim. Shared vocabulary is how distractors are built. | | Leaving it blank. | Always answer. There is no penalty. | | Lingering after the audio ends. | Decide quickly. The later listening tasks need your remaining time. | **Know the score you are aiming at** Put a target into the PTE score calculator to see the visa band it reaches, the points it is worth, and how far off you are. [Open the PTE score calculator](/pte/score-calculator) ## How to practice 1. Practice classifying the question type before the audio: reason, number, attitude, conclusion. 2. Drill hedging and evaluative language for attitude questions. 3. Answer within ten seconds of the audio ending, while it is still fresh. 4. Review errors for whether you misheard or mismatched an option. ## Common questions ### Is there negative marking on this task? No. It is correct or incorrect with no deduction, so always answer. ### How many are in the test? 2 to 3, with recordings of 30 to 90 seconds. ### Can I replay the audio? No. Every listening recording plays once. ### What kinds of questions are asked? Most ask for the speaker's main point, a reason behind it, or their attitude toward the topic. Reading the question during the preview tells you which of the three to listen for. **Sources** - [Pearson: PTE Academic Listening task types (checked 28 September 2026)](https://www.pearsonpte.com/pte-academic/test-format/listening) - [Pearson: PTE Academic Test Taker Score Guide, July 2025 (PDF)](https://www.pearsonpte.com/ctf-assets/yqwtwibiobs4/WUcBAMkYCC9Dj5vs2HfVA/941d88d07ba7c2a5007f7ce1b18eedbf/Score_Guide__Test_Taker__-_PTE_Academic_-_July_2025__web_.pdf) [Practice Listening: Multiple Choice, Single Answer free](https://testmigo.com/pte)