Exam rules, answered from the source

Section A: minimum 80 words. Section B: minimum 200 words. There is no official maximum — but padding past the point you can keep accurate costs you marks, not gains them.

No. In Listening and Reading, a correct answer is +1 and a wrong or blank answer is 0 — there is no penalty for a wrong guess. So always answer every question, even when you are unsure.

Task 1: 60–120 words. Task 2: 120–150 words. Task 3: 120–180 words total. These are RANGES, not minimums — "180" is Task 3's maximum, not a floor.

No. Only correct Listening and Reading answers count; a wrong answer or no answer counts 0. The final 100–699 score is calibrated for question difficulty, so it is not a simple percentage of 39.

The DET changes question difficulty as you respond. Its 10–160 score accounts for both response performance and item difficulty, so receiving harder or easier questions is part of measurement—not a reward or penalty by itself.

Both tasks: 150–200 words. Task 1 is an email; Task 2 responds to survey questions. The on-screen counter shows your count as you type.

No negative marking. A wrong answer costs you nothing beyond the point you didn't earn, so answer every Listening and Reading question and never leave a blank — a guess is always worth it.

Summarize Written Text: 25–50 words (and unlike PTE Academic, it does NOT have to be one sentence). Write Email: 80–120 words (the live test instructs 80–120; 50–120 still earns full "form" credit). PTE Core has no essay.