PTE Reading: five item types, and the one that penalises guessing
PTE Reading runs five item types, and one feature governs how you should answer two of them: negative marking. On the "choose multiple answers" items, a wrong selection cancels out a correct one, so answering everything — the right advice on IELTS — is the wrong advice here.
The five item types
| Item type | Contributes to | Negative marking |
|---|---|---|
| Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks | Reading and Writing | No |
| Multiple Choice, Choose Multiple Answers | Reading | Yes |
| Re-order Paragraphs | Reading | No |
| Reading: Fill in the Blanks | Reading | No |
| Multiple Choice, Choose Single Answer | Reading | No |
Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks feeds two skill scores, which makes it the highest-value item in this part. It is also the one most often rushed, because it looks like an ordinary gap-fill.
How to guess, given the marking
- Multiple answers — select only what you can justify. Two confident choices beat four hopeful ones.
- Single answer — no penalty, so never leave it blank.
- Fill in the blanks — no penalty, so fill every gap.
- Re-order — partial credit for each correctly adjacent pair, so always submit an order.
Every Reading question type
PTE Academic Reading — FAQs
2 questions
On the multiple-choice items that allow several answers, yes — an incorrect selection cancels a correct one. The other item types do not penalise a wrong answer.
Reading & Writing: Fill in the Blanks, because it contributes to two skill scores.
Reading on the other exams
Sources
Written from the test board's own published material and checked on 1 October 2026.