Speaking and Writing - PTE Academic / UKVI, PTE Core
Answer Short Question is the quickest item in the test: a spoken question of a few seconds, ten seconds to answer, one point for the right word. It is scored on Vocabulary alone, so the whole task is knowing the word and saying it before the recorder closes.
Answer Short Question comes after Retell Lecture in PTE Academic and after Respond to a Situation in PTE Core. Five or six items run back to back, each over in about fifteen seconds.
| Appears in | PTE Academic / UKVI and PTE Core — Speaking & Writing part |
|---|---|
| Items per test | 5–6 |
| Audio length | 3–9 seconds, plays once |
| Time to answer | 10 seconds — one word or a few words |
| Scoring | Correct or incorrect, 1 point per item (Vocabulary) |
| Negative marking | None |
| Skills credited | Listening (PTE Academic / UKVI); Listening and Speaking (PTE Core) |
The audio is 3–9 seconds and plays automatically. Some items also show a small image the question refers to. There is no replay.
You have 10 seconds, but the recorder closes if you wait more than three seconds before speaking. Answer the moment you know it.
Say the answer once. A full sentence is not needed and a second guess after the first does not help: the item is scored on whether the response contains an appropriate word.
There is no gap. If you did not know one, let it go; the next question is worth exactly the same one point.
You hear: “What organ controls your speech, feelings, body movement and thoughts?” (Real bank question — shown in the player below.)
Brain (also accepted: cerebrum).
One word is all the task needs — the item is scored correct or incorrect for 1 point.
The question asks which organ controls speech, feelings and movement. The response is “um… the part of your body which… I think it is the head, or the mind.” It arrives after a two-second pause, wraps the answer in a sentence, and the words it lands on, “head” and “mind”, are not the organ. Scored 0, where “brain” alone in the first second would have scored 1.
The item is scored correct or incorrect for one point on a single trait, Vocabulary. In PTE Academic the point goes to your Listening score. In PTE Core it counts towards Listening and Speaking.
The scorer checks whether the response contains an appropriate word for the question. Synonyms and equivalent forms count, so “cerebrum” is as correct as “brain”. A correct word inside a short sentence still scores; a wrong word said confidently scores 0.
There is no separate Content mark, but the question tests listening comprehension: the words it uses are ordinary, and the concept it asks about is general knowledge. If you misheard the key word, no amount of vocabulary saves the item.
No 0–5 scale applies. The only pronunciation requirement is that the word is clear enough to be recognised as the word you mean, so say it slowly and in full.
Because each item is a single point and there is no negative marking, always answer. A guess costs nothing and silence scores the same as a wrong answer.
There is nothing to prepare and nothing to plan, so the method is a set of reflexes: hear the question type, find the word, say it.
What, which, how many, where. It tells you the shape of the answer before the question finishes: a thing, a category, a number, a place.
Most questions are a definition turned around: “What organ controls…”, “What do we call a person who…”. The last few words carry the clue, so keep listening to the end even when you think you know.
The first appropriate word wins. Adding “I think it is…” delays the answer and gives you room to talk yourself out of it.
“Brain” over “cerebrum”, “thermometer” over the technical name. Both usually score, but the common word is the one the question was written around.
A related word sometimes scores and a blank never does. Do not spend the ten seconds thinking; the question after this one needs your attention more.
| Mistake | Why it costs marks | What to do instead |
|---|---|---|
| Answering in a full sentence | Why it costs marksIt delays the answer, risks the three-second silence limit at the start, and adds words that can obscure the one that scores. | What to do insteadOne word or a short phrase. Then stop. |
| Waiting to be sure | Why it costs marksThree seconds of silence closes the recorder, and the item scores 0 whether you knew the answer or not. | What to do insteadSay your best word within a second of the audio ending. |
| Answering the first half of the question | Why it costs marksMany questions narrow at the end: “…that is used at night”, “…in a hospital”. Answering early gives the general word when a specific one was asked for. | What to do insteadListen to the last word before you speak. Ten seconds is plenty. |
| Staying silent when unsure | Why it costs marksThere is no penalty for a wrong answer, so silence is the only way to guarantee 0. | What to do insteadSay the closest word you have. Related words sometimes score. |
| Changing the answer mid-response | Why it costs marks“Brain… no, heart” contains a wrong word and a hesitation. The scorer is looking for an appropriate word; giving two makes the response ambiguous. | What to do insteadCommit to the first word. |
Answer Short Question rewards breadth of everyday and general-academic vocabulary. The routine is short daily sets, with the misses sorted by topic so the gaps close rather than repeat.
One play, immediate answer, no replay, no thinking time between items. Twenty items take about five minutes and the pace matters as much as the words.
Science, geography, jobs, tools, units, everyday objects, body, time. Almost everyone has two or three weak themes and the rest is fine. Note the theme of every miss in a list; the pattern is visible after a few sets.
Run the missed questions again the next day until the answer arrives in the first second. Do not re-run the whole set; you are training recall of specific words, not the task.
The questions are definitions in disguise, so practise recognising a word from its description. Reading dictionary definitions of common nouns and naming the word is direct training.
Once the weak themes have closed, mixed sets under the timer confirm the reflex works when you cannot predict the topic.
Practice set
30 questions with answers
Items from the EdKnot bank, each with its answer, on one page. Every item opens in the practice player with its timer, recording and scoring.
Every item is one point, so this task is about the hit rate across the set rather than the quality of any single answer.
Four out of five or six answered correctly, with the miss usually on a technical or less common word. Answers arrive within a second or two, as single words.
All items correct, answered in the first second, including the ones that narrow at the end of the question. The vocabulary covers general science, geography, occupations, everyday objects and units without hesitation.
The question audio lasts 3–9 seconds and plays once. You then have 10 seconds to answer, but the recorder closes if you stay silent for more than three seconds, so answer straight away.
Each item is scored correct or incorrect for 1 point on a single trait, Vocabulary: whether the response contains an appropriate word for the question. In PTE Academic the point goes to your Listening score; in PTE Core it counts towards Listening and Speaking.
No. The task asks for one word or a few words, so a full sentence is unnecessary and delays the answer. There are 5–6 items in both PTE Academic and PTE Core.
Yes, when it is an appropriate word for the question. “Cerebrum” scores the same as “brain”. Choose the common word when two come to mind, because the question was written around it.
Nothing. There is no negative marking, so a wrong answer scores the same as silence. Always say your best word.
No. Since the 2025 update, Answer Short Question in PTE Academic contributes to the Listening score only. It still contributes to Speaking in PTE Core.
The one right word, said clearly, inside three seconds.
Practise Answer Short Question with the real clock and see the answer the moment you submit.
