PTE Core Question Prediction: What Actually Recurs

“Question prediction” is sold two ways for PTE Core. One is a file of supposedly leaked live questions. The other is a map of what recurs structurally — formats, prompt situations, topic domains — where the formats come from the published test design and the situations and domains are our own grouping of what the tasks have to be.

This page is the second kind. The first kind is not something to plan a test around, for reasons set out below.

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Key Takeaways

• Task formats, timings, word limits and scoring rules are fully predictable and worth memorising.
• Write Email and Respond to a Situation prompts fall into a small number of situation types, which is genuinely useful.
• Topic domains recur — workplace, services, environment, urban life, education, research — even though texts do not.
• Specific live questions are not predictable, and material claiming to list them is not a preparation strategy.
• Predicting a prompt is worth much less than being able to handle an unfamiliar one in the time given.

Fully predictable: the mechanics

These do not change between sittings, and knowing them exactly is worth real marks.

Predictable	Value
The 19 question types and their order within each part	You never lose seconds working out what the task is
Preparation and response times for every speaking task	You pace to the clock instead of guessing
The three word limits: 25-50, 50-120, 20-30	Breaches are pure avoidable loss
Which three tasks carry negative marking	Changes your selection discipline on those items only
Which tasks score two skills	Tells you where practice time returns most
That Personal Introduction is unscored	Removes the nerves from the first thing you do

Strongly predictable: Write Email situations

Write Email prompts are workplace and everyday scenarios with three bullet points to cover. The situations recur.

Situation type	Typical prompt	Points usually required
Request	Ask your manager for leave, an extension or equipment	What, why, how the impact is managed
Complaint	A damaged item, a poor service, a billing error	Order details, the problem, the remedy you want
Enquiry	A course, a service, a membership, a property	What you saw, your questions, your situation
Information	An office move, a schedule change, a new procedure	What and when, what people must do, who to contact
Apology	A missed deadline, an error in a document, a cancelled meeting	What happened, why, what you have done about it
Invitation	An event, a meeting, a social occasion	What and when, why this person, practical details
Declining	An invitation or a request you cannot meet	Thanks, the refusal, the reason, an alternative

Seven situations, and a template for each covers nearly any prompt you will see. That is the useful form of prediction: not knowing the prompt, but having a structure ready for its type.

Strongly predictable: Respond to a Situation

Situation type	Your first sentence
A colleague has done you a favour	Thank them specifically, then say what it meant
You have to cancel on someone	Apologise, state the cancellation, offer an alternative
Someone asks for help you cannot give now	Acknowledge, decline for now, propose a time
A neighbour complains about something you did	Apologise, explain briefly, say what you will change
You need to complain about a service	State the problem, then what you would like done
You have to give someone bad news	Say it in the first sentence, then the reason
Someone has achieved something	Congratulate, name the achievement, add a personal note
You need to make a suggestion	Frame it as a suggestion, then give it, then the benefit

With 20 seconds of preparation, having a first sentence ready for each of these eight is the difference between speaking for 40 seconds and speaking for 25.

Moderately predictable: topic domains

The texts and recordings are new every time, but the domains they come from do not change much.

Domain	Where it appears	Vocabulary to have ready
Workplace and employment	Write Email, Respond to a Situation, Reading texts	retention, cover, appraisal, procedure, deadline
Services and consumer	Write Email, Reading, Listening	refund, warranty, invoice, subscription, deposit
Urban life and transport	Reading, Listening, Describe Image	congestion, capacity, consolidation, zone, permit
Environment	Reading, Listening, Summarize tasks	emissions, sediment, canopy, attenuation, drainage
Education and training	Reading, Listening, Write Email	enrolment, curriculum, assessment, credential
Research and data	Summarize Spoken Text, Listening MC, Reading	sample, correlation, methodology, baseline, proxy
Health and public services	Reading, Listening	referral, provision, eligibility, screening, threshold
Property and facilities	Write Email, Reading	lease, tenant, maintenance, occupancy, access

Eight domains, and the vocabulary column is what to prepare. That is the honest limit of topic prediction: it tells you which words to know, not which text you will get.

Predictable within a task: what Describe Image gives you

Visual type	Your opening sentence	What to cover in 40 seconds
Bar chart	“This bar chart compares [X] across [categories].”	Highest, lowest, one comparison
Line graph	“This line graph shows [X] between [years].”	Overall direction, peak, one crossover
Pie chart	“This pie chart shows the breakdown of [X].”	Largest segment, smallest, one comparison
Table	“This table presents [X] for [categories].”	Highest and lowest figures, one pattern
Process diagram	“This diagram shows the process of [X] in [n] stages.”	Input, two or three stages, output
Map	“This map shows [place] and its [features].”	Orientation, two or three features, one relationship
Photograph	“This photograph shows [scene].”	Setting, main subject, one detail

The image is unpredictable; its type is one of seven. Having an opening sentence per type removes the hesitation that costs fluency marks in the first five seconds.

Not predictable, and why leaked question files are a poor bet

Claim	Problem
“These are the current live questions”	Item banks rotate, and a file that was accurate for one period is not for the next
“Memorise these answers”	A memorised answer that does not fit the prompt scores worse than an unprepared one that does
“This covers 80 percent of the test”	Twelve of the nineteen task types have no memorisable content at all — they respond to material you see for the first time
“Prediction files save study time”	The time goes on memorising instead of on the mechanical tasks where practice reliably raises the score

Beyond accuracy, using material obtained from a live test breaches the test rules, with consequences for your result. The formats on this page come from the published test design; the situation and domain groupings are our own. None of it uses live test material, so it carries none of that risk.

What to do instead of predicting

Instead of…	Do…	Why it works
Memorising Write Email answers	Learn seven templates by situation type	Covers any prompt in the category
Memorising Describe Image scripts	Learn seven opening sentences by visual type	Removes hesitation without misfitting the image
Collecting predicted Summarize texts	Drill the 25-50 and 20-30 word structures	The limit is the hard part, not the content
Hunting Write from Dictation sentence lists	Do ten fresh sentences daily and drill spelling	The skill is mechanical and transfers to any sentence
Looking for Repeat Sentence banks	Practise rhythm reproduction on any audio	Fluency is scored, and it is sentence-independent

A prediction-proof checklist for the week before

1. Recite the three word limits: 25 to 50, 50 to 120, 20 to 30.
2. Name the three tasks with negative marking, where over-clicking costs you.
3. Write one email from each of the seven situation templates, nine minutes each.
4. Speak one opening sentence for each of the seven visual types.
5. Prepare a first sentence for each of the eight Respond to a Situation types.
6. Do ten Write from Dictation sentences a day, from fresh material.
7. Skim the eight topic-domain vocabulary sets. Recognition only.

None of that requires knowing a single live question, and all of it is worth marks on any version of the test.

Write Email: a worked example and how it is scored

Write Email gives you 9 minutes, a short prompt and three bullet points to cover, and the instructions ask for 80 to 120 words. The Pearson Core Score Guide scores it on seven traits, and the first two decide whether the rest count.

Trait	What the Score Guide rewards
Content (0 to 3)	The task is addressed sufficiently. Content 0 means no further scoring, including when the email relies on significant pre-prepared or memorised material
Form (0 to 2)	50 to 120 words scores 2. 30 to 49 or 121 to 140 words scores 1. Fewer than 30 or more than 140 words scores 0
Email conventions (0 to 2)	Obvious, appropriate conventions that fit the prompt, such as a greeting and a sign-off
Organization (0 to 2)	A clear, logical structure with transitions that guide the reader
Vocabulary (0 to 2)	Good command of words suited to the situation
Grammar (0 to 2)	Generally consistent control with only occasional errors
Spelling (0 to 2)	At most two spelling or typing errors for full marks

The practical lesson is the same as in the sections above: all three bullets must be answered, because a Content score of 0 stops the scoring. The word range matters too: Form gives full marks for 50 to 120 words, while the prompt asks for 80 to 120, so staying inside the prompt’s range is the safe target. Here is one example, with our own reading of how it meets the traits (this is an illustration, not an official score).

Prompt: You have recently joined a community sports and fitness centre. Over two weeks you have noticed that some cardio equipment is out of order and the locker rooms are not cleaned regularly. Write an email to the facility manager. In your email, explain why you are writing and describe the problems, suggest two practical solutions, and ask when the repairs and cleaning improvements will be finished. Write 80 to 120 words. You have 9 minutes.

Dear Center Manager,

I am writing to express my concern regarding the current condition of the fitness facilities at the community center. During my recent visits, I observed that three treadmill units have been out of order for two weeks, and the shower areas in the locker rooms require more frequent sanitation.

To address these concerns, I suggest scheduling an urgent technician visit to service the damaged machines and establishing a mid-day cleaning schedule for the locker rooms.

Could you please inform me when the equipment repairs will be finished and if updated cleaning procedures will be implemented?

Thank you for your assistance.

Sincerely,
Alex Morgan

The email is 106 words including the greeting and sign-off (103 before the sign-off), inside both the prompt’s 80 to 120 range and the 50 to 120 band for full Form marks. Each bullet has its own paragraph: the problems (broken treadmills and unclean showers), two solutions (a technician visit and a mid-day cleaning schedule), and a direct question about timing. That layout supports Content and Organization. The greeting, closing line and sign-off cover email conventions, and phrases such as “I am writing to express my concern” and “urgent technician visit” show vocabulary suited to the situation. To practise the same structure on fresh prompts, use our PTE Core Write Email templates and the free PTE Core Write Email practice.

A note on the situation types and topic domains in this article: they are our own groupings of common everyday and workplace scenarios. Pearson does not publish a list of topics or situation types, so treat them as practice structure, not as a forecast.

PTE Core timing and limits at a glance

These figures come from the Pearson PTE Core test format pages and the Core Score Guide (January 2026 edition), checked on 26 October 2026. Pearson updates its pages from time to time, so confirm them on pearsonpte.com before your test.

Task	Time and limits
Respond to a Situation	Prompt up to 60 words, 20 seconds to prepare, 40 seconds to speak, 2 to 4 items
Answer Short Question	Audio of 3 to 9 seconds, 10 seconds to respond, 5 to 6 items
Summarize Written Text	10 minutes, text up to 200 words, response of 25 to 50 words, 1 to 2 items
Write Email	9 minutes, prompt up to 100 words, response of 80 to 120 words, 2 to 3 items
Summarize Spoken Text	8 minutes, audio of 45 to 75 seconds, response of 20 to 30 words
Write from Dictation	Audio of 3 to 5 seconds, type the sentence you hear, 3 to 4 items

Part 1 (Speaking and Writing) runs 50 to 65 minutes, Part 2 (Reading) 27 to 37 minutes and Part 3 (Listening) 22 to 37 minutes. Reading limits on the Pearson page are: Reading and Writing Fill in the Blanks up to 200 words, Multiple Choice Multiple Answers up to 275 words, Re-order Paragraphs up to 110 words, Reading Fill in the Blanks up to 80 words and Multiple Choice Single Answer up to 110 words.

A 7-day plan for the final week

With a week left, the aim is to rehearse the mechanics you can predict, not to collect questions. This plan uses the points above and keeps every day short enough to repeat.

• Day 7, check the rules: Re-read the Core Score Guide for the task formats, word ranges and timings. Write down the three limits to remember: 25 to 50 words for Summarize Written Text, 50 to 120 for Write Email (the prompt asks for 80 to 120, so aim there) and 20 to 30 for Summarize Spoken Text. Stop reading prediction lists.
• Day 6, Write Email: Write five emails from different situation types (apology, complaint, information request, schedule change, suggestion), each in 9 minutes. A simple split is 2 minutes to plan the three bullets, 5 to write and 2 to check grammar, punctuation and spelling. Keep each one inside the word range.
• Day 5, Respond to a Situation: Practise ten situations with the real clock: 20 seconds to prepare and 40 seconds of continuous speaking. Use a three-part shape: greet and give context, give the reason and a proposed solution, then close politely. Do not stop to correct small slips. For more prompts see our Respond to a Situation tips.
• Day 4, Listening and dictation: Do a set of Write from Dictation sentences and drill spelling of common work and everyday words such as maintenance, accommodation, committee, convenient and schedule. Add a few Summarize Spoken Text answers of 20 to 30 words.
• Day 3, full mock test: Sit one complete practice test in a single sitting with no pauses, and time yourself. One full test gives you the diagnostic data you need, so do not take several in a day.
• Day 2, review: Sort your mock test errors into careless mistakes, timing problems and vocabulary gaps. Re-check your Write Email editing for subject and verb agreement, tenses and plural endings. Confirm the test centre location, travel time, your confirmation email and that your ID is a valid passport.
• Day 1, light review: Do not learn new material. Spend an hour on linking phrases such as in addition, as a result and in response to your question, pack your passport and water, and sleep well.
• Test day: Arrive 30 minutes early, since check-in includes an ID check and a palm scan. Read some English aloud over breakfast to warm up, then trust your preparation.

For a longer schedule, see our PTE Core study plan, and for sample practice material browse the PTE Core question bank.

FAQ

Can PTE Core questions be predicted?

Formats, timings, word limits and scoring rules are fixed, and our own grouping of common prompt situations is a useful practice structure. Those are worth memorising. Specific live questions cannot be reliably predicted, and material claiming to list them is a poor use of preparation time.

Are PTE question prediction files worth using?

They are a bad bet on two counts. Item banks rotate, so accuracy decays, and using material taken from a live test breaches the test rules with consequences for your result. Learning the published formats, limits and scoring rules, plus our own situation groupings, gives you most of the practical benefit with none of that.

What is genuinely predictable about Write Email?

The situation types. Requests, complaints, enquiries, information announcements, apologies, invitations and declines cover almost every prompt, and having a template for each means you spend your nine minutes on content rather than structure.

How many topic domains does PTE Core use?

Around eight recur: workplace, consumer services, urban transport, environment, education, research and data, health and public services, and property. The texts are new every time, so the useful preparation is the vocabulary rather than the content.

Should I memorise Describe Image answers?

No, but memorise an opening sentence for each of the seven visual types. That removes the hesitation in the first five seconds, which is where fluency marks are most easily lost, without producing an answer that misfits the actual image.

What is the best use of preparation time if prediction does not work?

The mechanical tasks. Write from Dictation, Repeat Sentence and Read Aloud respond directly to volume of practice and are entirely independent of which items you get, which makes them the most reliable place to gain marks.

Related practice resources

• PTE Core cheat sheet
• PTE Core study plan
• PTE Core Write Email templates

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