PTE 65 Plan Week 5: Dictation and Reading Precision

This week's sessions

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Day 1 · 🎧 Listening · about 20 minWrite from Dictation: chunks and endingsRead this week's lesson, then do ten dictation sentences. After each one, check the small words and the word endings.
Day 2 · 🎧 Listening · about 30 minListening precision practiceDo the listening set below. In Highlight Incorrect Words, click only when you clearly hear a different word. Count your summary's words.
Day 3 · 📖 Reading · about 30 minReading at the Proficient levelDo the reading set below. For each gap, check grammar first and then collocation, and add any phrase you missed to your list.
Day 4 · 🎧 Listening · about 20 minHighlight Incorrect WordsDo three Highlight Incorrect Words items. Follow the text with your cursor, and count any wrong clicks.
Day 5 · 🗣️ Speaking · about 25 minSpeaking: discussion and lectureRecord two Summarize Group Discussion and two Retell Lecture answers. Check: topic, every speaker or main point, and the outcome.

This week's lesson: precision in listening and reading

Your Listening and Reading targets (58 and 59) are lower than Speaking and Writing, but they still need precision. At this level, marks are usually lost to small things: a missing plural in dictation, a wrong click in Highlight Incorrect Words, or a word that looks right but doesn't collocate.

Write from Dictation: every word, spelled correctly

You'll hear a sentence once and type it. Sentences at this level are often 11 to 14 words long.

Listen for chunks, as in Repeat Sentence: Late submissions / will only be accepted / if you have applied / for an extension.
Type immediately, while the sentence is fresh. Get the whole sentence down first, then fix spelling.
Check the small words: a, the, of, to, for. They're easy to miss and easy to check.
Check endings: submissions (plural), applied (past), participants (plural).

If you miss a word, write your best guess. A sensible guess can earn the mark; a blank never will.

Highlight Incorrect Words: follow, then click

You'll read a text while you hear it, and click the words that are different from the recording. Wrong clicks lose marks, so:

Follow the text with your cursor, one word at a time, as the speaker reads.
Click only when you clearly hear a different word. If you aren't sure, don't click.
Watch for similar meanings: the text may say week while the speaker says fortnight, or comfortable while the speaker says confident. Both make sense, but only one matches.

Listening: Fill in the Blanks

Type the missing word as soon as you hear it. Spelling counts, so check each word when the recording ends: guidelines, sturdy, waterproof.

Summarize Spoken Text: 50 to 70 words

Take keyword notes as in Retell Lecture, then write three or four full sentences:

The topic and main point.
Two or three supporting points.
The speaker's conclusion.

Count your words, and check spelling carefully. This task counts towards your Writing score too, so the same error check from week 4 applies.

Reading: collocations and careful choices

Reading: Fill in the Blanks and Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks test whether you know which words belong together. Learn phrases, not single words:

contribute to, opt for, address a problem, an important first step
a small fraction of, a wide variety of, under pressure, have an impact on

Check two things for every gap: the grammar (noun, verb, adjective? singular or plural?) and the collocation (does this word naturally go with the words around it?).

Multiple-answer questions

In Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers, wrong choices cost a point. Choose only options the passage clearly supports. An option that is partly right, or uses words like always, only or all when the passage doesn't, is usually wrong.

Reorder Paragraph

Find the sentence that introduces the topic and doesn't refer back to anything. Then link the rest by reference words (this, these, they, such) and connectors (however, as a result).

This week

Do the two practice sets, then build a list of the words and collocations you missed. Keep one speaking session to stay in practice.

Practice for this week

Listening precision practice

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Reading at the Proficient level

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Weekly check: Quick PTE practice test

Ten mixed questions in about 15 minutes. Look closely at dictation, Highlight Incorrect Words and the reading gaps.

Start the weekly check

When you finish, come back to your plan home: your dashboard updates with the new score.

Answers, explanations and transcripts

Finish the test first, then open each section to check your answers. Every answer has an explanation.

Listening precision practice

Transcript: Highlight Incorrect Words

Our peer mentoring program matches first-year students with experienced students from the same degree. Mentors meet their group once a fortnight during the first semester, and they can help with practical questions about timetables, assessments and campus services. Students who joined last year said the program helped them feel more confident and connected.

Transcript: Listening: Fill in the Blanks

Before the field trip, please read the safety guidelines carefully. You'll need sturdy footwear, a waterproof jacket and enough water for the whole day. The bus will depart from the main entrance at a quarter past eight, and we expect to return by late afternoon.

Transcript: Summarize Spoken Text (10 minutes)

Today I'd like to look at whether students should take lecture notes by hand or on a laptop. Typing is faster, so laptop users often record more of what the lecturer says, sometimes almost word for word. Some studies suggest, however, that students who write by hand have to choose what is important and put it in their own words, and that this extra processing can help understanding. Other research has found smaller differences, so the evidence is mixed. What most researchers agree on is that summarising ideas, rather than copying them, is the habit that matters most.

Model answer: Summarize Spoken Text (10 minutes)

Listen, then write a summary of 50–70 words.

The speaker compares taking lecture notes by hand and on a laptop. Typing is faster and records more, often word for word, while some studies suggest handwriting forces students to select and rephrase ideas, which may improve understanding. However, the evidence is mixed. Most researchers agree that summarising ideas in your own words, rather than copying, is the most important habit.

Answer key (8 answers)

#	Question	Answer	Why
1	Write the sentence you hear	Late submissions will only be accepted if you have applied for an extension.	Every correctly spelled word scores a point.
2	Write the sentence you hear	The guest speaker will discuss recent developments in renewable energy storage.	Every correctly spelled word scores a point.
3	Write the sentence you hear	Participants were asked to complete a short questionnaire before and after the program.	Every correctly spelled word scores a point.
4	Highlight the words that differ from the recording	connects (said: matches), course (said: degree), week (said: fortnight), assignments (said: assessments), comfortable (said: confident)	Each correct click earns a point; each wrong click loses one.
5	Before the field trip, please read the safety ___	guidelines	Spelling counts: each word must be spelled correctly.
6	carefully. You'll need ___	sturdy	Spelling counts: each word must be spelled correctly.
7	footwear, a ___	waterproof	Spelling counts: each word must be spelled correctly.
8	jacket and enough water for the whole day. The bus will ___	depart	Spelling counts: each word must be spelled correctly.

Reading at the Proficient level

Text for question 17: Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers

Many councils in Australia now collect food scraps together with garden waste, using a bin with a green lid. The collected material is taken to large composting facilities and turned into compost for farms, parks and gardens. Councils say this reduces the amount of rubbish sent to landfill, where food breaks down without oxygen and releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. However, the system works only if residents sort their waste carefully: plastic bags and packaging in the green bin can contaminate a whole truckload of material.

Text for question 18: Multiple Choice, Single Answer

For decades, many museums asked visitors not to touch anything and to stay quiet. In recent years, however, a growing number have added hands-on displays, interactive screens and spaces where visitors can make their own objects. Museum staff say these changes are not intended to replace traditional exhibitions, but to help visitors, especially children and first-time visitors, connect more personally with the collections.

Answer key (10 answers)

#	Question	Answer	Why
9	Regular exercise can ___	contribute	'Contribute to' is the collocation for helping to cause something; 'attribute to' means to say something is caused by something else. 'Opt for' means to choose; 'adopt' and 'operate' don't fit with 'for' here, and you don't 'vote for' a walk.
10	…activity late in the evening makes it harder to fall asleep, so they ___	opt	'Contribute to' is the collocation for helping to cause something; 'attribute to' means to say something is caused by something else. 'Opt for' means to choose; 'adopt' and 'operate' don't fit with 'for' here, and you don't 'vote for' a walk.
11	The new policy is designed to ___	address	You 'address a problem' or shortage (deal with it). 'An important first step' is a fixed expression.
12	…not go far enough, but supporters argue that it is an important first ___	step	You 'address a problem' or shortage (deal with it). 'An important first step' is a fixed expression.
13	Coral reefs cover only a small ___	fraction	'A small fraction of' (a small part); 'faction' is a look-alike. 'A remarkable variety of' needs a noun, not the adjective 'various'. 'Under pressure' is the fixed phrase.
14	of the ocean floor, yet they provide a home for a remarkable ___	variety	'A small fraction of' (a small part); 'faction' is a look-alike. 'A remarkable variety of' needs a noun, not the adjective 'various'. 'Under pressure' is the fixed phrase.
15	…that rising sea temperatures are placing many reefs under increasing ___	pressure	'A small fraction of' (a small part); 'faction' is a look-alike. 'A remarkable variety of' needs a noun, not the adjective 'various'. 'Under pressure' is the fixed phrase.
16	Reorder Paragraph	(1) Many people assume that creativity is a talent that some peo… → (2) Research on creative professionals suggests a different pict… → (3) Most of them describe long periods of practice, failed attem… → (4) This indicates that creativity, like other skills, can be de…	The common belief comes first; 'a different picture' challenges it; 'Most of them' refers back to the creative professionals; 'This indicates' draws the conclusion.
17	According to the passage, which of the following are true?	Food scraps are collected together with garden waste. · Food in landfill releases methane as it breaks down. · Poor sorting by residents can contaminate collected material.	A, C and E are stated. The compost goes to farms, parks and gardens (so B is wrong), and plastic bags contaminate the material (D).
18	What is the main purpose of the changes described in the passage?	To help visitors engage more personally with collections	Staff say the changes help visitors 'connect more personally with the collections' and are not intended to replace traditional exhibitions.

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