PTE Listening: 7 Tips For Acing Highlight Incorrect Words Easily
Highlight Incorrect Words is a task from the Listening Module of the PTE academic test. This question type assesses your listening and reading skills. You have to listen, identify the differences between a recording and its transcription. The task requires the full concentration of the test-taker. It also demands the ability to listen with purpose in a noisy environment. It is advised to build this habit during the PTE study & practice phase itself. The test-taker also needs to be familiar with different English accents.
In this blog, we will cover the following:
- Task basics and summary
- Highlight Incorrect Words task scoring
- How to avoid negative marking
- PTE listening Tips and practice
strategies to ace the task
- Sample questions for quick practice
Let's get started.
Task Basics: What do I have to do in Highlight Incorrect Words?
You will get an audio recording and its transcript. You will have to listen to the audio and read the transcript at
the same time. The task needs you to click on the words that differ from what the speaker in the recording says.
Watch the video below to find out how.
How do I select the incorrect words?
Follow the transcript with the cursor, reading in rhythm with the audio. As you follow the text, scan for incorrect
words. When you spot such a word, select it by clicking the left button on the mouse.
Once you have selected a word, it will be highlighted in yellow. In case you decide against your choice, left-click
on the word once again to deselect it.
Highlight Incorrect Words Scoring and Negative Marking
This is one of three question types in PTE Academic that has negative marking. For the right response, you will receive 1 point. For a wrong answer, you will lose 1 point. To avoid negative marking, click on a word only when you are confident. The least you can score in this task is zero.
7 PTE listening Tips for Acing Highlight Incorrect Words
- Prepare yourself for different accents, speaking speeds. You can achieve this by practising with a variety of
sample questions.
- Start practising in the backdrop of a slightly noisy environment. Such an ambience will be like the test
environment you will experience.
- Even if you miss hearing a few words, don't stop. Keep moving the cursor with the audio.
- Select/highlight the
incorrect word only when you are sure.
- Once the audio ends, avoid changing the highlighted words unless you are sure that you have made an error.
- Don't take notes for this task as it won't be helpful. Just follow the transcript with your cursor as the audio
plays and pay attention.
- A single click is enough to highlight the words. Avoid wasting time by clicking repeatedly.
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