PTE Academic Essay Bank — 38 Most Repeated Topics with Band 9 Answers

The PTE Academic Writing task gives you 20 minutes to write a 200–300 word essay. While the question pool is large, certain topics appear repeatedly across test centres worldwide. This page collects the 38 most frequently reported PTE essay topics from real test-takers, each paired with a high-scoring sample answer that demonstrates the structure, vocabulary, and reasoning that consistently earns Band 79–90.

Filter by essay type (Agree/Disagree, Discuss, Problem/Solution) or topic category to focus your preparation. Click any card to reveal the full sample essay, a vocabulary breakdown, examiner tips, and key connectors.

38 essay topics

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How to Score High on PTE Essay Writing

PTE Academic scores the Write Essay task across four criteria: Content (relevance and development of ideas), Form (word count between 200–300), Grammar (accuracy and sentence variety), and Vocabulary (range and precision of word choice). Each criterion is worth up to 2 marks, for a maximum total of 2 points per task — but Writing also contributes to the Enabling Skills sections, affecting your overall Writing score significantly.

PTE Essay Types Explained

✅ Agree / Disagree
State a clear position in the introduction and defend it with two separate arguments and evidence. Avoid switching sides.
⚖️ Discuss Both Views
Dedicate one body paragraph to each view with equal depth. Give your own opinion — usually in the conclusion.
🔧 Problem / Solution
Identify specific causes in one body paragraph, then propose matching solutions in the next. Pair each cause with a concrete remedy.

Most Repeated PTE Essay Topics by Category

Work & Economy (High Frequency)

Essay topics about working from home, shorter working weeks, and youth unemployment appear consistently across PTE test centres in Australia, India, the UK, and Canada. These topics are popular because they allow examiners to assess awareness of current economic trends.

Education (Very High Frequency)

Technology in education, formal examinations, gap year before university, and university degrees vs skills are among the highest-frequency PTE essay topics. Educational essays consistently appear in the top 10 most reported topics.

Technology & AI (Growing Frequency)

Since 2023, topics on artificial intelligence in education, AI language learning tools, and social media impacts have risen sharply in reported frequency. Prepare one AI-specific example for each essay type to cover this category efficiently.

Environment & Society (Stable Frequency)

Climate change, globalisation and culture, single-use plastic bans, and historic building preservation appear regularly. Global policy topics like these require you to know named examples — country names, statistics, and policy titles like Germany's Energiewende or Kenya's plastic ban.

Top Vocabulary for PTE Essay Writing

High-scoring PTE essays use precise, academic vocabulary rather than everyday language. Phrases that consistently appear in Band 88+ essays include: substantiate, mitigate, exacerbate, anthropogenic, ubiquitous, corroborated by research, demonstrable impact, and empirical evidence suggests. The Vocabulary tab inside each essay card above lists the specific high-value words used in that sample.

Common PTE Essay Mistakes to Avoid

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