PTE Write from Dictation practice

You hear a short sentence once and type it exactly. Each word spelled correctly earns a point in both listening and writing.

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By Thanh Tran, PTE and IELTS coach
Updated September 2026

A Write from Dictation question in a PTE Academic mock test on Leap Exam, shown on a laptop

Key facts

Recording

3 to 5 seconds

Plays

Once

Time to answer

No timer of its own, inside the 31 to 39 minute listening part

In a test

3 or 4 sentences

Skills scored

Listening and writing

Marking

1 point per word, spelled correctly

Questions to practise

Over 1,700, from real tests and Pearson's practice tests

What it is worth

5%of your overall score

Writing: 23% of the skill score
Listening: 13% of the skill score

How it's scored

Leap Exam marks every word as soon as you submit, and shows your sentence with each missing word marked.

Listening, Write from Dictation

Question 4 of 10

Graded

8 / 10

Words correct: 8 / 10

An example: a 10-word sentence with one word missed and one misspelled scores 8.

Words correct
One point for each word of the sentence, spelled correctly.

Practise Write from Dictation

How to answer

You hear the sentence once, so you need to remember it long enough to type it.

Pearson's advice is to type as many correct words as you can, in the right order.

Leap Exam turns spell check off.

Listen to the whole sentence and say it silently to yourself as you hear it.
While it plays, note the key words or their first letters on the noteboard.
Type the sentence as soon as it ends, starting with the words you remember best.
If you're unsure where a word goes, use grammar to place it: a verb usually comes after its subject.
Read it back and check each word's spelling, plurals and verb endings.

How one sentence scores

You hear: The library will close early on Friday for staff training. You type: The library will close early on Friday for staff trainning. That's 9 of 10 words, because training is misspelled.

Common mistakes

Misspelling a word you heard
Dropping word endings
Leaving words out
Adding words that weren't said

Practise next

常见问题

Does spelling matter in Write from Dictation?

Yes. Pearson gives a point only for a correct word spelled correctly, so a misspelled word scores zero even if you heard it right.

How many Write from Dictation questions are in PTE?

Three or four in each test. Each one is a short sentence of 3 to 5 seconds, and you hear it once.

How many marks is Write from Dictation worth?

Each sentence is worth one point per word. On average, Write from Dictation is about 5 per cent of your overall score, 23 per cent of your writing score and 13 per cent of your listening score.

Can you replay the audio in Write from Dictation?

No. The recording plays once, and you can take notes on the noteboard while it plays. Leap Exam plays it once too, with only a volume control.

Does word order matter in Write from Dictation?

Pearson's advice is to type the words in the correct order, and to use grammar to place a word you're unsure of. Leap Exam gives a point only for words in the right order, so a word in the wrong place earns nothing.

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