# PTE Writing: the 4 tasks that decide your score

Four PTE task types feed your Writing score, two in Part 1 and two in Part 3. What each one asks, how content, form, grammar and spelling are marked, and a timed item you can try now.

## Which tasks decide your Writing score

Four of the 22 PTE task types feed your Writing score: Summarize Written Text, Write Essay, Summarize Spoken Text and Write from Dictation. Two sit in Part 1 and two in Part 3, so the score is built on both sides of the test. Only Write Essay is writing in the ordinary sense. The other three ask you to carry someone else's meaning across under a clock, and spelling is a scored trait on three of the four.

Timings and scoring rules come from Pearson's task pages and the July 2025 Score Guide, checked 28 September 2026.

- **Tasks that feed it:** 4 of 22
- **Where they sit:** Parts 1 and 3
- **Timed writing in Part 1:** 40 minutes
- **Scale:** 10-90
- **Essay length:** 200-300 words
- **Traits on Write Essay:** 8, more than any other task

| Task | Items per test | Timing | Scoring |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Summarize Written Text](/pte/task-types/summarize-written-text) | 2 | Prompt length: Text up to 300 words; Time: 10 minutes per item; Response: One single sentence, 5-75 words | Content, form, grammar, vocabulary |
| [Write Essay](/pte/task-types/write-essay) | 1 | Prompt length: 2-3 sentences; Time: 20 minutes | Content, form, development, structure and coherence, grammar, vocabulary, spelling, general linguistic range |
| [Summarize Spoken Text](/pte/task-types/summarize-spoken-text) | 1 | Prompt length: 60-90 seconds; Response: 50-70 words | Content, form, grammar, vocabulary, spelling |
| [Write from Dictation](/pte/task-types/write-from-dictation) | 3-4 | Prompt length: 3-5 seconds | 1 point per correct word spelled correctly |

*Compiled by Testmigo from Pearson's own task pages. Each task links to its own rules.*

## Where the writing time goes

Part 1 gives you 40 minutes of typing, split three ways. The two Part 3 tasks have no clock of their own; their audio sets the pace.

*Writing time in Part 1: 10 minutes for each of the two Summarize Written Text items, then 20 minutes for Write Essay, 40 minutes in total.*

| Stage | Time |
| --- | --- |
| Summarize Written Text 1 | 10 min |
| Summarize Written Text 2 | 10 min |
| Write Essay | 20 min |

*The essay is one item and takes half the writing time. Minutes borrowed from a summary come out of the essay, not the other way around.*

## How the score is built

Form is the trait that ends tests. Summarize Written Text has to be one sentence of 5 to 75 words, and Write Essay has to land between 200 and 300. Miss either boundary and the item scores zero however good the argument is.

The two Part 3 tasks are marked as writing even though you reach them through your ears. Summarize Spoken Text is scored on content, form, grammar, vocabulary and spelling; Write from Dictation gives a point for each word you spell correctly, with nothing taken off for a wrong one.

> Pick one spelling convention and hold it. American and British spellings both score, but mixing them inside a response costs the spelling trait.

## How to spend the clock

Four habits that protect the score more than extra vocabulary does.

1. Give Summarize Written Text seven minutes of its ten, then spend three checking the sentence is still one sentence. The word count is the thing that fails, not the ideas.
2. Spend the essay's first three minutes on a position and three supporting points. An essay that argues both sides without choosing loses on development, not on grammar.
3. Type Write from Dictation during the audio, not after it. The transcript box is open while the sentence plays.
4. Leave the last two minutes of the essay for spelling and a word count. Both are traits; neither needs fresh thinking.

## Practice Writing free

One full PTE mock and one sectional test per skill are free, with question-bank practice and 100 AI scoring coins a month. No card required. A sectional test is the same engine as a full mock, one skill at a time, so you can fix writing without sitting two hours.

- **Questions in the bank:** 20,000+
- **Sectional tests:** 20+
- **Full mocks:** 20+
- **Writing task types:** 4

**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)

## Common questions

### How many PTE tasks count toward the Writing score?

Four: Summarize Written Text, Write Essay, Summarize Spoken Text and Write from Dictation. Summarize Written Text also feeds Reading, and the two Part 3 tasks also feed Listening.

### How long is the PTE writing section?

There is no separate writing section. Part 1, Speaking & Writing, gives you 10 minutes for each Summarize Written Text item and 20 for the essay, so 40 minutes of typing. The other two writing tasks are in Part 3 and are paced by their audio.

### Is PTE Writing scored by a person?

Content on the summary tasks goes through a human expert review before the score is final. The other traits are scored automatically against the same criteria Pearson publishes in its Score Guide.

### Does British or American spelling score higher in PTE?

Neither. Both conventions are accepted, and consistency is what the spelling trait looks at. Writing "behaviour" and "analyze" in the same response is what costs marks.

**Sources**
- [Pearson: PTE Academic Speaking & Writing task types (checked 28 September 2026)](https://www.pearsonpte.com/pte-academic/test-format/speaking-writing)
- [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)