PTE Academic Practice Test 1
A full practice test in the PTE Academic format. Written by RCF English, free, and with every answer explained.
Unofficial original RCF practice material
This is not an official PTE test and is not a past paper. Every text, transcript, question, answer and model answer in this test was written by RCF English.
It follows the published format of PTE Academic. It is not produced, approved or endorsed by Pearson. PTE and PTE Academic are Pearson's trademarks.
For the official format, fees and booking, see pearsonpte.com. Format checked on 4 October 2026.
What this test can and cannot do
The real test is taken at a centre on a computer that records your voice and marks everything by machine. A website cannot reproduce that, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise. So here is exactly what you get and what you have to arrange yourself.
Reading works fully on this page. Every Reading task type is here, in the real format, and you can mark it yourself from the answer key.
Writing works fully. Both tasks are here with model answers and the marking points, so you can see what a strong response contains.
Speaking gives you the prompts, not a score. No website can score your pronunciation and fluency the way Pearson's system does. Record yourself on your phone, then use the checklist on the Speaking page to judge what you hear.
Listening needs one other person. The transcripts are printed in full so a teacher, parent or study partner can read them aloud. This is the one part you cannot sit alone from this page.
The three parts
| Part | Time | Task types | Open |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1: Speaking and Writing | 76 to 84 minutes | 10 | Speaking and Writing |
| Part 2: Reading | 23 to 30 minutes | 5 | Reading |
| Part 3: Listening | 31 to 39 minutes | 8 | Listening |
| Answer key and model answers | - | - | Answers |
How to sit this test properly
A practice test taken casually tells you almost nothing. The value is in sitting it under the real conditions, because the thing most candidates lose marks to is time, not English.
Set a timer for each part and obey it
Stop when the timer stops, even mid-sentence. Finishing in your own time turns a diagnostic into an exercise, and it will tell you that you are ready when you are not.
Do not look at the answers until the whole part is done
Checking as you go quietly teaches you the answers rather than the skill. Keep the answer page closed.
Record the Speaking tasks on your phone
One recording per task, started before the prompt and stopped after. You will not judge your own fluency from memory - you have to hear it.
Get someone to read the Listening transcripts aloud
Once only, at a normal speaking speed, with no repeats. Print the questions for yourself and let them keep the transcript. Reading it yourself first makes the part worthless.
Mark it honestly, then look at where the marks went
Count the marks by skill, not just the total. PTE reports four skill scores, and the useful information is which one is dragging - not the number itself.
If you are short of time, start with Reading
The Reading part takes under half an hour, works completely on this page without anyone else, and is the quickest honest read on where your English actually sits.
It is also the part where practice pays back fastest, because three of the five task types are unusual enough that simply knowing how they behave is worth marks.
Before you start
PTE Academic overview
What the test is, the three different PTE tests, how the 10 to 90 score works, and PTE compared with IELTS.
IELTS
Full IELTS practice tests and skills guides, if you have not finally settled on which test to take.