Select an option only when the passage supports the whole statement. Shared keywords are not enough, and unnecessary selections can reduce your score.
Current scoring rule
Academic and Core include Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers in Reading. Pearson states that each correct selection earns one point and each incorrect selection deducts one point, with a minimum of zero for the item. Pearson Academic Reading format Pearson Core Reading format
This does not mean “select only one”. It means require positive evidence for every option.
Use three tests
- Scope: Does the option make a broader claim than the passage?
- Polarity: Does it reverse a benefit, limitation or cause?
- Completeness: Is one half correct but the other unsupported?
Original exercise
Passage: A city trial replaced some overnight street lighting with motion-sensitive lamps. Electricity use fell, and residents on quieter streets reported less light entering bedroom windows. However, installation costs were higher than for standard lamps, and cyclists said sudden changes in brightness were distracting. The council will continue the trial while testing a slower transition between light levels.
Question: Which statements are supported? Select all that apply.
A. The trial reduced electricity use.
B. Every resident preferred the new lamps.
C. The council has permanently adopted the lamps citywide.
D. Some cyclists objected to abrupt brightness changes.
E. Motion-sensitive lamps were cheaper to install.
Correct answers: A and D.
A directly matches the reported reduction. D accurately paraphrases the cyclists’ concern. B uses the unsupported absolute every. C changes an ongoing trial into a permanent decision. E reverses the cost comparison.
Practical selection process
Read the question before the passage so you know whether it asks for facts, purpose, tone or inference. Evaluate each option independently. Mark evidence in the passage, then select only the options whose complete meaning survives comparison.
Avoid selecting all options when uncertain. Pearson explicitly warns that incorrect choices can lose points. Also avoid a rigid “always choose two” rule because the number of correct answers depends on the item.
For single-answer elimination, read PTE Reading Single Answer. Continue with Reading Multiple Answers practice.
Test the complete claim
For each option, point to a sentence or defensible paraphrase in the passage. Test the complete claim, not its strongest clause. For example, “The lights saved energy and residents unanimously supported them” must be rejected if only the energy saving is supported. Topic overlap or one true clause cannot rescue an unsupported qualifier. Because wrong selections lose a point, select only with positive evidence.
