Write Essay Scoring Criteria Explained
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PTE Academic requires its test takers to write at least one and a maximum of two essays on a topic ranging from education to space travel. The essay writing assesses your ability to present ideas clearly and make logical arguments with grammatical accuracy. By understanding the scoring criteria and using a structured approach—like the PTE 90 score essay template—you can ensure maximum scores in all seven traits listed below.
1. How the PTE Write Essay Task Is Scored
PTE Academic divides essay writing skills into two skill types: Communicative Skills and Enabling Skills
Under Communicative Skills you have Content, Form, Development, structure & Coherence and Grammar
Under Enabling Skills you have General Linguistic Range, Vocabulary Range & Spelling
1.1 Content: Relevance is Key
The BAD News First: If content is 0 the PTE AI will not score any other traits further.
Rules of the game first
Your Content Score
3 Adequately deals with the prompt2 Deals with the prompt but does not deal with one minor aspect
1 Deals with the prompt but omits a major aspect or more than one minor aspect
0 Does not deal properly with the prompt
The first step to a high content score is staying on topic. Your essay must directly address the prompt and support your arguments with relevant examples.
Example Prompt:
“Do you agree or disagree that social media has a positive impact on education?”
High-Scoring Response:
- “Social media offers new opportunities for learning by connecting students globally. At the same time, it also requires guidelines to prevent distractions. Nevertheless, I agree that social media broadly impacts education positively.
- Include examples like online study groups or platforms like Khan Academy.
1.2 Form: Hitting the Word Count
BAD News Again: If Form is 0, no further scoring is done on these traits: Development, Structure & Coherence, General Linguistic Range, Vocabulary, Spelling and Grammar.
Form Score
2 marks if your essay is between 200 and 300 words.1 mark if it is between 120 and 199 words or between 301 and 380 words
0 if it is essay is <120 or more than >380 words
Tips:
- Aim for 210–250 words to stay safe. Writing more not only attracts a penalty but also increases the risk of typos and other grammatical. Writing less than 200 words would mean you are likely to get a low score in the Content trait and not just Form alone.
- Keep your writing concise and avoid unnecessary repetition.
1.3 Development, Structure and Coherence: Keeping It Logical
Let’s start with the scoring requirements
Coherence Scores
2 Shows good development and logical structure
1 Is incidentally less well structured, and some elements or paragraphs are poorly linked
0 Lacks coherence and mainly consists of lists or loose elements(All traits are marked 0 if content is 0)
Make sure you have a clear structure and your ideas flow logically and are easy to follow. Use a simple format to organize your essay.
1.3.1 Template for Agree-Disagree Essays
- Introduction: Start with a universal sentence about the topic. Then, paraphrase the task statement. Finally, give your position on whether you agree or disagree.
- Example: “Education plays an important role in the overall development of an individual. Online education has become equally popular as the traditional classroom approach and, in some cases, replacing the latter. Therefore, I agree that online education is more effective than traditional classrooms due to its flexibility and accessibility.”
- Body Paragraph 1: Present your main argument with an example.
- “Online platforms like Coursera, Udemy & Khan Academy allow professionals to learn at their own pace while balancing work commitments.”
- Body Paragraph 2: Address a counterargument or a second reason.
- “On the other hand, some people argue that online learning lacks face-to-face interaction, tools like Zoom bridge this gap effectively.”
- Conclusion: Summarize your position and give brief keywords from your first and second body paragraphs.
2.4 Grammar and Spelling: The Basics That Matter
Even though Grammar and Spelling are two different traits, we have combined them here to keep this guide brief.
Grammatical accuracy (max 2 marks) and correct spelling (2 marks again) are essential for a strong overall essay score. Here’s a quick review of key rules.
Grammar Score
2 Shows consistent grammatical control of complex language. Errors arerare and difficult to spot
1 Shows a relatively high degree of grammatical control. No mistakes which would lead to misunderstandings
0 Contains mainly simple structures and/or several basic mistakes
As you can see it’s all about writing sentences which are free from grammatical errors. The error types mainly pertain to subject-verb agreement, tenses and punctuations.
2.4.1 Subject-Verb Agreement
- Singular subjects take singular verbs, and plural subjects take plural verbs.
- Correct: “The student writes essays.”
- Incorrect: “The student write essays.”
- Collective nouns can be singular or plural based on context.
- Singular: “The team is winning.”
- Plural: “The team are discussing their strategies.”
2.4.2 Tenses
Consistency is key. Use tenses that match the context.
- Present Simple: For facts or general truths.
- “Education shapes society.”
- Past Simple: For completed actions.
- “Students submitted their essays yesterday.”
- Future Simple: For predictions or future actions.
- “Online learning will continue to grow.”
2.4.3 Punctuation
- Periods: End complete sentences.
- “Education is essential for success.”
- Commas: Separate clauses or items in a list.
- “Flexibility, affordability, and accessibility are key benefits of online education.”
- Apostrophes: Indicate possession or contractions.
- “The student’s performance was excellent.”
- Semi-colons: Connect related ideas.
- “Online education is effective; however, it requires self-discipline.”
Spelling Score
2 Correct spelling1 One spelling error
0 More than one spelling error
From the above scoring, it’s pretty clear that making 2 spelling mistakes means you get 0 in the spelling traits. So, there is little scope of error here. AI is quite effective in identifying such spelling mistakes. We don’t think it differentiates between typos or actual spelling mistakes. So, be careful!
2.4 Linguistic Range & Vocabulary – Word Choice & Collocations
A wide range of vocabulary (max 2 marks) demonstrates proficiency. Avoid repetition and use precise words.
Scores
2 Good command of a broad lexical repertoire, idiomatic expressions andcolloquialisms
1 Shows a good range of vocabulary for matters connected to general
academic topics. Lexical shortcomings lead to circumlocution or some imprecision
0 Contains mainly basic vocabulary insufficient to deal with the topic at the required level
Examples:
- Instead of “good,” use “beneficial,” “advantageous,” or “constructive.”
- Instead of “important,” try “essential,” “critical,” or “significant.”
2. Brief Tips to Meet Scoring Criteria
- Content: Cover the writing topic completely and avoid leaving out major points. If the prompt asks you to agree or disagree, then mention your stand. If it is about problems and solutions, then list the issues and their possible solutions. Don’t forget to conclude!
- Form: Ensure your essay is between 200 and 300 words. Writing more or writing less would attract a penalty – don’t forget!
- Development, Structure, and Coherence: Write your arguments/ideas logically with clear connections between sentences and paragraphs.
- Grammar: Use accurate and a variety of sentence structures with minimal grammatical errors to enhance clarity. Remember – you’ll lose marks for grammar mistakes!
- General Linguistic Range: Add a diverse set of vocabulary words and sentence structures to convey your ideas precisely and effectively.
- Vocabulary: Choose appropriate words and phrases relevant to the topic. Avoid repetition, poor word choice and using advanced collocations that don’t fit in the context.
- Spelling: Check for and correct spelling mistakes to ensure error-free writing. NO TYPOS!
3. PTE Write Essay Scoring FAQs
Q: How are the scores across different criteria combined to calculate the overall write essay score?
A: Scores for each of the seven criteria are calculated individually and combined, contributing to the Writing communicative skills score and enabling skills to calculate your essay score.
Trait-Specific FAQs:
1. Content
Q: What happens if I score 0 in Content, but write a good essay?
- The AI stops scoring if the Content is 0.
Q: Would using a template affect my score?
- As long as your ideas are relevant and address the topic directly, use of a template shouldn’t affect your content score. However, it always pays to be more original than using memorised phrases that don’t fit in the essay well.
Q: What happens if I miss addressing part of the essay prompt?
- Missing key aspects of the prompt will lower your content score, as all parts of the task must be addressed adequately.
2. Form
Q: Does word count affect my score?
- Yes, essays outside the 200-300 word limit will score zero for form. The rest of the traits will be marked as 0 if the Form score is 0.
3. Development, Structure, and Coherence
Q: How important is paragraph structure in a PTE essay?
- Clear paragraphing is crucial for logical development and coherence, significantly influencing your score.
Q: Can I write my essay in one paragraph alone?
- You can but make sure your essay meets all the criteria. However, following a 4-paragraph approach is still recommended.
4. Grammar
Q: Can minor grammatical mistakes affect my score?
- As per the official PTE criteria, frequent minor errors or major grammatical mistakes can reduce your grammar score, even if they don’t impede communication.
5. General Linguistic Range
Q: Should I use complex sentence structures throughout the essay?
- Using a variety of sentence structures effectively enhances your linguistic range, but clarity should not be compromised.
6. Vocabulary
Q: Would using advanced vocabulary words increase my vocabulary score?
- Not necessarily! If your words don’t fit in the sentences well and only confuse the reader, the AI will penalise your essay.
7. Spelling
Q: Should I use British or American spelling?
- Both are acceptable, but consistency is important. If you are using British English, avoid adding American English and vice-versa.
4. Conclusion
Knowing how the PTE Write Essay is scored is an important part of preparing well. Focus on the main areas—content, form, structure, grammar, and vocabulary—to write a high-scoring essay. Use helpful tools like PTE Sample Essays, the PTE Score Calculator, and Benchmark PTE Login to practice and see how you’re improving. With regular practice, careful checking, and the right resources, getting a high score is definitely possible.