Practise Write Email for PTE Core. Open a question and work on your response at your own pace.
PTE Core version of this page176 questions · PTE Core
Write Email asks you to respond to a real-world scenario with a complete, appropriately toned email. Identify the recipient, the purpose and every point the prompt asks you to cover, then choose a tone that fits the relationship.
Write Email is unique to PTE Core - PTE Academic has no equivalent task. Pearson's own instruction tells you to write 80 to 120 words, but the Score Guide's actual scoring band is more forgiving: full credit runs from 50 to 120 words, with partial credit either side of it.
You read a real-world scenario, up to 100 words with three bullet points to cover, and write a complete email responding to it within 9 minutes.
PTE Core includes two to three Write Email items, and the task is scored purely on Writing.
Pearson does not publish a list of scenario topics. The practice prompts in this guide use everyday situations such as a complaint, a request or a booking change; whatever the topic, read the prompt for who you are writing to, because that decides the tone of your greeting and sign-off.
Pearson's task instruction on screen tells you to write 80 to 120 words. The Score Guide's Form trait, which sets your Form score, is more forgiving than that instruction: it gives full credit for 50 to 120 words, and partial credit for 30 to 49 or 121 to 140 words.
| Detail | PTE Core |
|---|---|
| Items per test | 2-3 |
| Prompt length | Up to 100 words, three bullet points |
| Time allowed | 9 minutes |
| Task instruction | 80-120 words |
Write Email is scored on seven traits: Content (maximum 3), Email conventions (maximum 2), Form (maximum 2), Organization (maximum 2), Vocabulary (maximum 2), Grammar (maximum 2) and Spelling (maximum 2), 15 points in total. If Content or Form scores 0, the rest of the response is not scored.
Form's bands, as printed in Pearson's Core Score Guide: 2 points for 50 to 120 words, 1 point for 30 to 49 or 121 to 140 words, and 0 points for under 30 or over 140 words, for a response in all capitals, or with no punctuation.
Spelling allows up to two errors for full credit, three or four for partial credit, and loses all credit beyond that.
Write Email is scored purely on Writing, so it is one of the more direct ways to move that single skill toward an IRCC threshold. Pearson's PTE Core to CLB tables place Canadian Language Benchmark 7, required by several Express Entry programmes, at 69 or higher in Writing.
A reusable email shape: greeting, purpose stated in the first sentence, the required points grouped logically, a clear action or request, and a closing that matches the tone.
Example (written by LexiPTE) - prompt: your gym has closed the pool for renovations for a month without prior notice. Write to the manager explaining the inconvenience, asking about alternative facilities nearby, and requesting a partial refund for the closure period.
"Dear Gym Manager, I am writing regarding the pool closure that began this week without prior notice. As I use the pool several times a week for training, this has caused a real inconvenience. Could you let me know whether the gym has arranged access to a nearby pool for members during the closure? If no alternative is available, I would appreciate a partial refund covering the closed period. I would be grateful for a reply by the end of this week. Kind regards, Tom Reid"
This response states the purpose immediately, explains the effect without over-explaining, and covers both requested outcomes with a clear, polite tone. At 86 words, it sits inside both Pearson's 80-to-120-word instruction and the Score Guide's full-credit Form band.
Practise a mix of formal, semi-formal and informal email prompts, checking after each attempt that every required point is covered, the word count sits comfortably inside 80 to 120 words, and the tone matches the described relationship.
