PTE Academic Speaking: structures for each task

01How speaking is marked

• Speaking is scored by machine, on content, oral fluency and pronunciation.
• Fluency counts for a lot: a smooth answer with a small mistake usually beats a correct one full of pauses and restarts.
• Don't go back to correct a word. Keep moving.
• Long silences can end the recording early, so start speaking promptly.

02Describe Image

You get a short time to look, then about 40 seconds to speak.

• Opening: “This [chart/graph/map/diagram] shows [topic].”
• Main point: “The highest is [X], at about [value].”
• Contrast: “By contrast, the lowest is [Y], at [value].”
• One more detail: a trend, a comparison or a notable change.
• Close: “Overall, the image shows that [main takeaway].”