PTE Negative Marking Explained: Which Questions to Attempt & Skip

PTE negative marking applies to only a few item types, but understanding which ones — and adjusting your strategy accordingly — can prevent unnecessary point losses. Unlike IELTS (no negative marking), PTE penalises incorrect selections in certain multiple-answer and word-identification tasks. This guide explains exactly which items have negative marking and the optimal strategy for each.

Which PTE Items Have Negative Marking?

Only 3 out of 20 item types have negative marking. The other 17 items give partial credit for partially correct answers with no penalty for wrong answers. This means: for 85% of PTE, you should always attempt every item and make your best guess.

How Negative Marking Works

For negative-marked items, the scoring works like this: +1 for each correct selection, -1 for each incorrect selection. The minimum score for any single item is 0 — you cannot go below zero on a single question. This means a wrong selection cancels out a correct selection, but it cannot make your overall item score negative.

Example: If a MCQ Multiple Answer item has 3 correct options and you select 2 correct + 1 incorrect, your score is: +2 (correct) - 1 (incorrect) = 1 out of 3. If you had only selected the 2 correct ones, your score would be 2 out of 3.

MCQ Multiple Answer Strategy

MCQ Multiple Answer appears in both Reading and Listening. Multiple options (usually 5-7) are presented and 2-3 are correct. For each correct option selected: +1. For each incorrect option selected: -1.

Strategy:

1. Read/listen carefully and identify options you are highly confident about.

2. Select only those confident options. If you are 80%+ sure, select. If 50-50, leave it.

3. Never select all options — this is a common mistake that guarantees negative points.

4. Selecting 1-2 confident correct options scores better than selecting 3 correct + 2 incorrect.

Highlight Incorrect Words Strategy

In Highlight Incorrect Words, you follow along a transcript while listening to audio and click on words in the transcript that differ from what the speaker says. Each correctly identified incorrect word: +1. Each click on a correct word: -1.

Strategy:

1. Read ahead in the transcript while listening. Stay 2-3 words ahead of the audio.

2. When you hear a word that is different from the transcript, click the transcript word immediately.

3. Only click words you are certain about. If the audio sounds slightly different but you are not sure, do NOT click.

4. Typically 2-5 words per item are incorrect. If you have clicked 6+, you may be over-clicking.

Items WITHOUT Negative Marking — Always Attempt

The following items give partial credit with no penalty for errors: Read Aloud, Repeat Sentence, Describe Image, Re-tell Lecture, Answer Short Question, Summarize Written Text, Write Essay, R&W Fill in Blanks, Re-order Paragraphs, Reading Fill in Blanks, MCQ Single Answer (Reading & Listening), Summarize Spoken Text, Listening Fill in Blanks, Highlight Correct Summary, Select Missing Word, and Write from Dictation.

Overall Scoring Strategy

For 17 items (no negative marking): Always attempt. Always guess if unsure. Partial credit is better than zero.

For 3 items (negative marking): Only select/click when you are confident. Conservative is better than aggressive. Selecting 2 correct options is better than selecting 3 correct + 2 incorrect. When to skip: If you are less than 60% sure about an option in MCQ Multiple Answer, skip it. In HIW, if a word sounds "slightly off" but you cannot pinpoint the difference, do not click — the penalty for a wrong click outweighs the potential gain. The golden rule: when in doubt, leave it out.

EEC Negative Marking Training

EEC's coaching covers negative marking strategy as part of test-taking technique training. Students practise MCQ and HIW items with real-time feedback on their selection accuracy. See our Reading Tips and Listening Tips for complete section strategies.

“Negative marking only applies to 3 out of 20 PTE item types. Understanding which items penalise wrong answers and which do not is worth 5-10 points on your overall score.”

— EEC PTE Strategy Team, Scoring Algorithm Specialist

Related Resources & Further Reading

Ready to begin? Register for a free demo class. PTE is also accepted for study in New Zealand. Planning Canada? See our study in Canada options. Read our PTE Academic complete guide. Read our PTE fee structure in India. Read our PTE Academic vs PTE Core. Read our PTE scores for Australia PR. Read our PTE vs IELTS comparison. Read our PTE preparation tips for 79+. Also explore our IELTS complete guide. Also explore our IELTS vs PTE comparison. Also explore our IELTS Band 7 tips.

Frequently Asked Questions

Negative marking questions: