Lesson 6 of 146 min read
Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers
Select every option supported by one recording. Learn the negative-marking rule, Academic/Core format and a reliable checking routine.
What does the task look like?
A recording plays automatically and only once, there's no replay control in the test. The question uses checkboxes rather than radio buttons, since more than one option can be correct. The options may be visible during playback; if so, skim them first. There's no separate on-screen countdown for this item; only the overall Listening section clock runs.
PTE Academic
PTE Academic includes 2–3 items of this task, each built on a recording of 80–120 seconds. It's one of eight Listening task types in this section.
PTE Core
PTE Core includes 1–2 items of this task, each built on a shorter recording of 50–90 seconds. It's one of seven Listening task types in this section; Core doesn't include Highlight Correct Summary.
Neither exam calls out note-taking specifically for this task in its on-screen instructions, but the general noteboard policy that applies across the whole test means you can jot notes on the erasable board while the recording plays.
Options here tend to be longer and more detailed than in single-answer multiple choice, because each one has to stand as a complete, checkable claim about the recording rather than a short label. Give each option a proper read rather than scanning for a word you remember hearing; a plausible-looking option can still be wrong in a detail you only catch by reading the whole sentence.
How does negative marking work here?
This task is scored with partial credit and negative marking, and the rule is identical in both exams. It contributes to your Listening score only, unlike the Fill in the Blanks task later in this course, which counts toward Writing as well in one of the two exams.
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Each correct option you select | +1 point |
| Each incorrect option you select | −1 point |
| A correct option you leave unselected | 0 points |
| Item total | Never falls below 0 |
Worked scoring example
Say a question has two correct options, A and C, out of four choices. Selecting A and C earns 2 of 2. Selecting A, B and C earns 1 of 2: +1 for A, +1 for C, −1 for B. Selecting only A earns 1 of 2. Selecting all four options earns 0 of 2, since two correct selections are cancelled out by two incorrect ones.
Because wrong selections subtract points, selecting an option should always come from something you can point to in the recording, not from a word that merely sounded familiar.
Highlight Incorrect Words, covered later in this course, also uses negative marking, but it's a very different mechanic, you mark individual words inside an on-screen transcript as you listen, rather than selecting from a list of statements once the recording ends. Sharing the same scoring principle doesn't mean sharing the same technique, so keep the two tasks separate in your practice.
Full scoring tables are published in the PTE Academic Score Guide (p.44) and the PTE Core Score Guide (p.38).
A step-by-step approach for this task
- Skim the question and options if they're already visible: Depending on the task screen, the question and options may be visible while the audio plays; if they are, skim them first, and if not, focus on the audio and your notes and read the options once the recording ends.
- Note down claims as you hear them, in shorthand: You don't need full sentences on the noteboard, a keyword per claim is usually enough to check each option against once the recording ends.
- Judge every option independently: Treat each option as its own true-or-false judgement against what you heard, rather than stopping as soon as one option feels right.
- Watch for reversed or absolute claims: A distractor option often reverses something the speaker actually said, or adds a word like always, never or completely that the recording never supports, the same trap catalogue Reading distractors use.
- Only select what you can justify: Since an unsupported selection costs a point, leave an option unticked if you can't recall the recording actually supporting it.
- Listen once, decide once: There's no second playback to check a claim you're unsure about, so treat the single listen as the moment to gather evidence for every option, not just the ones that seem obviously right or wrong at first read.
A worked multiple-answers example
Practice item: artificial reef restoration (original audio script, not a real exam recording)
Transcript: imagine this is read aloud once; you cannot replay it:
"Marine biologists in several coastal regions have begun installing artificial reef structures to help damaged coral ecosystems recover faster than they would on their own. The structures, often made from steel frames or recycled concrete, give coral larvae a stable surface to attach to, which is normally in short supply after a reef has been damaged by storms or bleaching events. Early results have been mixed: sites with strong currents show noticeably faster coral growth, while more sheltered sites take much longer to show any improvement. Researchers caution that artificial reefs are not a replacement for reducing the pollution and warming that damaged the coral in the first place, but say the structures can buy time for a reef to recover while those underlying problems are addressed. Several tourism operators have also begun including these sites in guided dive trips, partly to fund further installations and partly to raise public awareness of reef damage."
Question: which statements does the recording support? Select all that apply.
- a)A. Artificial reefs are meant to replace efforts to reduce pollution and warming.
- b)B. Artificial reefs give coral larvae a stable surface to attach to.
- c)C. Sites with strong currents have shown faster coral growth than sheltered sites.
- d)D. Tourism operators have stopped visiting damaged reef sites entirely.
Answer: B and C
B is stated directly: the structures give coral larvae a stable surface to attach to. C is also supported: sites with strong currents show faster growth than sheltered sites.
A reverses the recording, researchers explicitly say artificial reefs are not a replacement for reducing pollution and warming, only something that can buy time. D also reverses the recording: tourism operators have started, not stopped, including these sites in dive trips. Selecting either A or D would cost a point even though both reuse vocabulary from the recording.
How do you avoid losing points to negative marking?
Selecting everything is not a safe strategy
Because incorrect selections subtract points, ticking every option to be safe usually scores worse than ticking only the ones you can justify from the recording. If you're unsure about an option and can't recall the speaker addressing it, leave it unselected.
- Reversed claims, the option states the opposite of what the speaker actually said, often using the same vocabulary to sound familiar.
- Overreach, the option adds a word like always, completely or entirely that the recording never actually supports.
- Half-right claims, the option is accurate about part of the recording but wrong about the rest, which makes it easy to select without noticing the error.
When you review a practice attempt, look at any option you selected incorrectly and ask what made it tempting, a repeated word, a plausible-sounding claim, or a reversal you missed while listening. Naming the pattern makes it easier to catch on the next recording.
Continue learning
Related lessons and more practice
Try a full set in Listening practice. Next in this course: Fill in the Blanks, where Academic and Core score the same task against different skills.
For the Reading section's negative-marking task, which follows an identical scoring rule on written passages; see Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers in the Reading course.