Scoring For PTE Answer Short Question
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Table of Contents
1. Introduction
The “Answer Short Question” section in the PTE Academic test may look simple, but it’s designed to test your ability to understand and respond correctly to spoken questions. While the question type seems easy, many PTE test-takers miss important details about how it’s scored. Knowing how this section is evaluated can help you improve your performance and boost your overall PTE score.
The ASQ is a key question type of the speaking section in the PTE Academic exam. During this task, you’ll hear a short audio clip (3–9 seconds) and must respond to a direct question with no more than one or two words.
For example:
- Audio: “What is the capital of Japan?”
- Answer: Tokyo.
This task may appear simple, but it tests your listening comprehension, vocabulary, and speaking clarity, making it an important part of the test.
For a comprehensive list of common questions and preparation tips, refer to our
1.1 Why Knowing the Scoring Is Important
Understanding how Answer Short Questions are scored helps you focus on what matters. Knowing the scoring criteria:
- Guides your preparation toward precision and relevance.
- Helps you avoid mistakes that could cost valuable points.
- Boosts your confidence during the test by clarifying what’s expected
Above all, it allows you to strategically plan your PTE preparation, focusing on high-impact question types like Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, and Write From Dictation, which significantly contribute to your overall score. 
2. Understanding the Question Type
2.1 What Is the PTE Answer Short Question?
This task evaluates your ability to:
- Understand spoken English accurately.
- Respond clearly and concisely using the correct word(s).
You’ll encounter 10-12 Short Answer Questions in the exam. These are direct questions requiring brief, precise answers based on the information in the audio.
2.2 Why Is This Task in the PTE Test?
This type of question is designed to assess real-world skills like:
- Active listening during lectures, meetings, or conversations.
- Quick thinking and clear responses in academic or professional settings.
2.3 Examples of Typical Questions
- Audio: “What do bees produce?”
Answer: Honey. - Audio: “Which planet is known as the Red Planet?”
Answer: Mars. - Audio: “What is the chemical symbol for water?”
Answer: H2O.
3. Understanding the PTE Scoring System
The Pearson PTE uses advanced AI PTE Scoring technology to ensure your answers are scored fairly and consistently. Each tasks is scored using one of the methods: Correct or Incorrect Scoring and Partial Credit Scoring. Knowing how these methods work will help you prepare better and score higher.
4. Correct or Incorrect Scoring
This scoring method is simple: you either get it right or you don’t. For PTE questions like Answer Short Questions, here’s how it works:
- You’ll earn 1 point for a correct and relevant answer.
- You’ll get 0 points for an incorrect, incomplete, or irrelevant response.
What this means for you:
- Your answers must be short, clear, and accurate. Adding extra words or making your answer too complex will result in zero points, even if part of your response is correct.
- For example, if the question asks, “What do bees produce?” the correct answer is “Honey”, not “Bees produce honey” or “Sweet honey.”
Tasks that use this PTE scoring method include:
- Multiple-choice questions (Listening, Reading & Speaking)
- Fill-in-the-blanks (Reading and Listening)
- Selecting missing words (Listening)
- Short Answer Question (Speaking)
What you should do:
- Focus on being precise. Practice answering questions in one or two words only.
- Don’t overthink or try to explain. Just give the exact answer the question asks for.
5. Partial Credit Scoring
Some tasks, like Essay Writing or Describing Images, involve more complex responses and use a Partial Credit Scoring system. However, partial scoring is not available in case of PTE Answer Short Question.
Tasks that use this scoring method include:
- Repeating sentence (Speaking)
- Summarizing written text (Speaking)
- Describing image (Speaking)
- Writing essay (Writing)
What this means for you:
- For these tasks, your score depends on how complete and well-structured your response is. While this method doesn’t apply to Short Answer Questions, it’s good to know for the rest of your PTE test.
5.1 How This Applies to Answer Short Questions
Short Answer Questions are scored using the Correct or Incorrect Scoring system. This means:
- No partial credit is given. If your answer is only partially correct, you’ll score zero. For example, if the correct answer is “Pacific” and you respond with “Pacific Ocean is the largest,” you won’t earn any points.
- Every question matters because each correct answer contributes to your Listening and Speaking
What you should do:
- Practice precision: Listen to a question and train yourself to respond with the exact word or phrase.
- Stay focused: Pay attention to the audio and make sure you’re answering what’s asked.
- Improve clarity: Practice speaking clearly so the scoring system recognizes your response.
5.2 Your Strategy to Ace the PTE Scoring System
- For Answer Short QuestionsShort Answer Questions: Always stick to one or two words. Avoid overthinking and focus on delivering the correct answer. Prepare well in advance by improving your General Knowledge and vocabulary.
- For Other Tasks: Be aware of whether the task uses Correct or Partial Credit scoring. Tailor your approach accordingly—concise for Correct Scoring tasks and detailed for Partial Credit tasks.
6. Scoring Criteria
6.1 What Impacts Your Score?
Your performance in Short Answer Questions is judged based on:
- Accuracy: Does your answer match the correct response exactly?
- Relevance: Is your answer directly related to the question?
- Pronunciation and Fluency: Was your answer spoken clearly and at a natural pace?
6.2 Common Mistakes That Lose Marks in ASQ
- Adding Extra Words: Overexplaining (e.g., “The capital of Japan is Tokyo”) can result in zero marks.
- Spelling Errors: In typed responses, misspelled words (e.g., “Hony” instead of “Honey”) lose points.
- Mispronunciation: If the AI system cannot understand your spoken answer, it won’t be scored.
7. Marking Process
7.1 Number of Questions in the PTE Exam
You will answer 10-12 Short Answer Questions in the Listening section of the PTE exam. Each question contributes to both your Listening and Speaking scores.
7.2 Total Marks and Their Distribution
This is where things get tricky a little bit. 1 Correction answer does not mean you get 1 mark in listening out of 90. Answer Short Questions contribute 7.2 marks to your overall score, distributed as follows:
- 2 marks for Listening (out of 90)
- 4 marks for Speaking (out of 90)
Each question carries approximately 0.6–0.7 marks, depending on the total number of questions.
Related : PTE Score Chart
7.3 Why There’s No Partial Credit
Scoring for this task is binary:
- 1 Point: For a completely correct and relevant answer.
- 0 Points: For an incorrect, incomplete, or unclear answer.
For example:
- Audio: “What is the tallest mountain in the world?”
- Answer: “Everest” – 1 Point.
- Answer: “Mount Everest” – 1 Point.
- Answer: “Everest is tall” – 0 Points.
7.4 What Happens If You Get It Wrong or Don’t Answer?
If you give no response or an irrelevant answer, you’ll score zero for that question. It’s always better to attempt an answer than leave it blank. There is NO NEGATIVE MARKING in PTE Answer Short Question.
For more information on score distribution, refer to the PTE Score Chart, which details how each task contributes to your Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing scores.
8. Frequently Asked Questions
8.1 What Happens If the Response Is Partially Correct?
In Answer Short Question, your answer is either right or wrong. This means you will not get any marks if your answer is partially correct.
8.2 Are Grammar Mistakes Penalized?
Minor grammar errors are typically overlooked as long as the answer is accurate and relevant. For example, “kitten” and “a kitten” would both be accepted if they are the correct response.
8.3 How Much Weight Does This Task Carry in the Overall Score?
The task contributes 7.2 marks to your overall score, divided as follows:
- 2 marks for Listening (out of 90)
- 4 marks for Speaking (out of 90)
While this task has less impact than larger tasks like Re-tell Lecture or Describe Image, every mark counts, and doing well here can improve your overall Listening and Speaking scores.
9. Quick recap
Short Answer Questions test your ability to respond accurately and concisely to simple spoken prompts. With 10-12 questions contributing a total of 7.2 marks, this task plays a crucial role in your overall Listening and Speaking scores.
10. Final Advice
- Listen carefully to the audio and focus on the key details.
- Keep your answers short and precise.
- Practice regularly with mock tests to improve your speed, fluency, and confidence.
For a detailed breakdown of PTE score contributions, refer to the PTE Score Chart. With the right preparation, you’ll excel in this task and achieve your desired PTE results. Good luck!
References
- PTE Answer Short Questions List.
- Pearson PTE Academic. PTE Score Chart.
