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You hear a short sentence, once. You then type it into the answer box exactly as you heard it, spelling included. Pearson describes the task as your "ability to understand and remember a sentence you hear, and then write it exactly as you hear it, using correct spelling".
In the real test the recording plays a single time, and you may take notes on the erasable noteboard while it plays. This practice tool deliberately allows unlimited replays, so you can build accuracy first and one-listen recall later.
Pearson lists Write From Dictation as affecting the scoring of listening and writing, so every word you type correctly earns credit toward two skill scores rather than one. Of the listening tasks, only Summarize Spoken Text shares that property.
It is also marked generously: Pearson states that you "score points for every correct word that you write in the response box". A half-heard sentence therefore still earns real marks, while giving up earns nothing.
We have not printed a percentage weighting here, because the figures quoted online vary between sources.
Chunking means holding three or four meaningful groups instead of nine separate words. Here is the same sentence both ways.
Word by word: The | bank | requires | two | forms | of | identification | for | verification
In chunks: The bank requires / two forms of identification / for verification
Chunks survive because they carry meaning. A word list does not. Four habits make chunking stick:
Pearson's PTE Core Score Guide lists the task as partial credit, awarding one point "for each word spelled correctly" and zero for each incorrect or misspelled word. Pearson's test-format page adds: "If all the words are right and spelled correctly, you receive the maximum score points for this question type. If one or more words are incorrect, partial credit scoring applies."
Two consequences follow:
Pearson recognises English spelling conventions from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Canada, but one convention should be used consistently. This tool treats a number written as a digit and as a word as identical — "9" and "nine" score the same — and it lowercases your answer and ignores punctuation when it aligns it against the sentence.
The sentence: "The bank requires two forms of identification for verification." Nine words, topic: banking.
What you hold in memory — three chunks, not nine words:
Chunk 1: The bank requires
Chunk 2: two forms of identification
Chunk 3: for verification
What you type, exactly:
The bank requires two forms of identification for verification.
Now count the marks: nine words means nine points available.
| What you typed | Points kept | Why |
|---|---|---|
| The bank require two forms of identification for verification | 8 of 9 | One word wrong — the -s in "requires". |
| The bank requires two forms of identification for varification | 8 of 9 | One word misspelled — "verification". |
| The bank requires two forms of identification | 6 of 9 | The last chunk was lost, but every word written counted. |
| (nothing typed) | 0 of 9 | No response earns no credit. |
The third row is the lesson. Two-thirds of a sentence is a good result; an empty box is not. The task pays per word, so salvage everything you caught.
One trait: Content. Pearson asks whether your response includes all the words in the sentence and only these words, and scores it by counting the number of correct words. Spelling is built into that count, so there is no separate spelling trait to hide behind.
The task affects listening and writing. Your speaking is not tested, so a careless spelling habit here shows up in your Writing score too.
In the real test you hear the sentence once. In this practice tool you can replay the audio as many times as you like while you are learning.
Yes. Pearson scores the task with partial credit, awarding one point for each word spelled correctly and zero for each incorrect or misspelled word.
Both Listening and Writing. Pearson lists the task as affecting the scoring of listening and writing, and states that your speaking skills are not tested by it.
All of them, spelled correctly. Pearson states that if all the words are right and spelled correctly you receive the maximum score points; if one or more words are incorrect, partial credit applies.
No. The tool lowercases your answer and ignores punctuation when it aligns it against the sentence, and it accepts a number written as a digit or as a word.
Fifty, grouped into batches of five so you can work through them in short sessions.