The highlight incorrect words PTE part may sound easy at first, but it’s a fast-paced task that requires your knowledge of English stress patterns and phonemes. Plus, you need to have good time management skills to complete it well.

This article by PTE Magic will give you an understanding of this section and provide useful tips for your successful performance.

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Key Takeaways

• The highlight incorrect words PTE part is fast-paced and requires knowledge of English stress patterns and phonemes.
• The section usually contains 2 to 3 questions; each audio lasts 30 to 90 seconds.
• To complete the task perfectly, follow the three strategic steps below.

Related:

• PTE Academic test format & modules
• PTE Listening modules
• PTE exam preparation guide

Understand the PTE Highlight Incorrect Words Task

What Is It?

The highlight incorrect words part in the PTE assesses your listening and reading skills at the same time. There will be an audio transcript on the screen. When the audio plays, the examinees need to listen and highlight the words that differ from what they hear.

The section usually contains 2 to 3 questions; each audio lasts 30 to 90 seconds. You’ll have 10 seconds before the speakers start speaking.

Note that the audio recording plays automatically and only once.

And the part is of negative marks, so you can’t do random clicks. If you score around 65 or 75, it’s considered a good passing score.

Sample: You will hear a recording. Below is a transcription of the recording. Some words in the transcription differ from what the speaker(s) said. Please click on the words that are different.

The debt today is so high. It’s 200,000 rupees, 300,000 rupees of presents who have no money, and they, who know, within a year or two, when they stimulate that kind of debt, they will never be able to pay back. Where is the debt coming from? It’s coming from a seed that is costing 100,000 to 200,000 rupees per kilogram, depending on what you’ve got. Seed that used to be free used to be theirs. Pesticides every time, the more they use, the more they have to use . 12 sprays, 15 sprays, 20 sprays. Pesticides used in just the last 5 years in huge areas of India have shown up by 2000% .

 

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3 Strategic Steps To Complete The Task

As mentioned above, the PTE highlight incorrect words is a fast-paced task (the time spent on each question is approximately 2 minutes). Thus, you should follow the strategic process to complete it perfectly.

Step 1. Skim the provided text and try to remember keywords or words that are difficult to pronounce. It’s better to understand the general topic, as you can eliminate irrelevant words, if any.

Step 2. When the recording is playing, focus on the keywords. They can be verbs, nouns, adjectives, and adverbs. Besides, pay attention to the stress as well. 

Step 3. Choose your answer based on what you hear. You need to point out the correct words that differ from the audio. 

7 Useful Tips For This Highlight Incorrect Words Task

To achieve high scores in the PTE highlight incorrect words section, you should smartly use your first 10 seconds before the audio begins by skimming through the transcript. 

Make sure you can catch the speaker’s pace while listening and don’t make random guesses, as your points will be decreased.

Quickly Glance Through The Text

Use your precious 10 seconds before the recording to understand the content. You can get familiar with the topic by just a quick glance through the text. It will assist you in picking the correct answer.

The Cursor’s Place And Your Hand Movement

Since the task requires speed, you should focus on where you put your hands and the cursor. 

Always keep your hands on the mouse and ensure the cursor is placed at the first word. You should prepare for this step well before the test starts.

While listening, move your hands along the text to point to each word the audio mentions. Click on the incorrect ones immediately when you hear the difference. 

Don’t skip or think you can come back to the word later. It’s important to keep moving on while doing this task, as there’s no chance and time to stop and think.

Don’t Fall Behind The Audio

Falling behind the audio is the most unwanted situation. It can’t recover the missing information and may affect your chance to understand the rest of the speech.

If you think you’re following slower than the audio, jump to the part the speaker is talking about and forget what you’ve missed. Continue to move your cursor till the end of the content. 

Don’t Take Note

In this PTE highlight incorrect words section, taking notes skill is not required. It’s useless! You just need to move the mouse along the transcript to find the incorrect words. 

There also will not be any questions after the audio ends. Thus, just pay attention to every word while listening. 

Try To Stick To Your Answer

Reviewing your answer is a helpful tactic in most tasks, yet it’s not the case for this part. Re-checking this task will likely make you confused. You’d better trust your first answer.

The only case you should change your selection is when you’re sure about the mistake. Otherwise, don’t do that if you want to catch up with the audio.

Note that a single click is enough to highlight your desired answer. Don’t double-click to avoid wasting your time. 

Don’t Make Random Guesses

It’s a crucial tip, as this section has negative marks. The computer can understand if you make random guesses and give you negative scores, leading to a zero score in this part. 

So, ensure you stay focused and choose the correct answer without random guesses. 

However, there are cases when you can make a guess, but it should be logical. If the speech is too hard for you to listen to and you can only point out 1 or 2 answers, you can make some logical guesses. 

Reading the transcript and trying to understand the content will assist you in finding words that make no sense in the context. 

Practice Makes Perfect

Above are useful tips, but it’s almost impossible to master them on the first try. Therefore, practicing the task is highly recommended. 

It will help you familiarize yourself with the question types and understand what you do well and what needs improvement to achieve better scores.

Finding a trustworthy and rich source of practice is important. PTE Magic is an online platform where you can access hundreds of mock tests and get detailed feedback. Plus, there are many tips and tricks to improve your results that are worth trying.

5 Mistakes To Avoid

Missing Small Details

One mistake many people make in this task is overlooking little differences in words. 

It might be something as small as an -ed or -s at the end, or a word that sounds almost the same but means something else. 

These small details can lower your points, so it’s necessary to train your ears to pick up on them. 

The more you practice, the better you’ll get at catching these subtle changes.

Getting Distracted

Sometimes, extra sounds in the audio, like coughing, echo, or chatter, can throw you off. 

If you’re not used to it, you might miss the important words. 

That’s why it helps to practice with audio clips that include background noise, so you can train your brain to focus only on the speaker’s voice.

Rushing Through The Task

If you rush through the task, you’re more likely to overlook mistakes in the transcript. 

Even though there is a time limit, it’s important to stay calm and focused. 

You should listen carefully and match the audio with the text at a steady pace. 

Slowing down just a little can help you catch those small but important errors.

Overthinking Synonyms Or Similar Meanings

This task is not about finding words that could have been used or mean the same thing. 

It’s about exact matches. 

Don’t get caught up trying to decide if another word would’ve worked better. 

Only mark it when the word spoken is not the same as what’s written.

Focusing Too Much On Sound, Not Meaning

Many test-takers focus too closely on matching each word to what they hear. 

It can distract you from the bigger picture. 

Some incorrect words in the transcript may sound very similar to the correct ones (like ‘accept’ vs ‘except’ or ‘affect’ vs ‘effect’). 

However, even a small shift in meaning can make the sentence incorrect. 

If you’re only listening for sound, you might not notice that the sentence doesn’t quite make sense anymore.

Instead, you should understand what the speaker is trying to say overall. 

If something sounds off in the flow or logic of the sentence, there’s a good chance a word is wrong, even if it sounds close.

FAQs

How Is The PTE Highlight Incorrect Words Task Scored?

In this task, you’ll get 1 point by correctly choosing a word in the transcript that doesn’t match what you hear in the audio. 

However, when you pick a word that is correct by mistake, you will lose 1 point.

So, it’s really important to be careful and only choose words you’re sure are incorrect. 

If you find all the mistakes without any wrong picks, you will get the full score. 

The minimum score will be zero. 

How Long Is The Audio In The PTE Highlight Incorrect Words Task?

The audio clip you listen to in this task lasts from 15 to 50 seconds. 

It’s short but packed with information, so you need to listen carefully and quickly spot any differences between the audio and the transcript on the screen.

How To Improve Your Score In This Section?

If you want to boost your score in this PTE Listening task, you can start by practicing listening carefully for little differences in how words sound, like endings of similar words. 

Try listening to audio with some background noise too, so you will get used to focusing even when it’s a bit tricky. 

It also helps to know your vocabulary well, so you can quickly spot words that don’t fit.

Should I Take Notes On This Task?

No. 

Unlike other listening questions, you really shouldn’t take notes on this task. 

If you stop to write things down, you’ll probably miss the differences you’re supposed to catch. 

There’s no follow-up question, so just keep your eyes on the transcript and your ears on the speaker.

What Kind Of Words Are Usually Incorrect?

Most mistakes are small but tricky. 

You’ll often hear changes in verb tense (like ‘run’ vs ‘ran’), singular or plural forms (‘idea’ vs ‘ideas’), or word forms (‘decide’ vs ‘decision’). 

Sometimes it’s a similar-sounding word or the one that’s added or missing. 

These slight differences can easily slip by, so try to listen closely!

Conclusion

The highlight incorrect words PTE part will assess your listening and reading in a short time, requiring you to stay focused during the audio time to find out the incorrect words.

Remember to apply the useful tips above to get a good score. Plus, practicing is key to improving your results.