PEC Education Consultants
PTE Academic
Lecture – 20
Listening
➢ WRITE FROM DICTATION
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Write From Dictation
Question Type Overview
Write From Dictation is a writing task type question that tests your Listening and Writing
skills. You will be given a short audio recording of a sentence that is 3 – 5 seconds long.
You have to type the exact sentence in proper sequence with proper spelling. There will
be 2 – 3 of this item types each with a different audio recording and transcript.
The purpose of this task is to assess your ability to write down a sentence that you hear.
The individual tasks for this segment are not timed. You have to finish completing your
answer for each question as early as you can. The total time allocated for all the questions
in this segment is 30 – 43 minutes (approximately). Once you have selected your options,
you will have to click “Next” to move on to the next item.
Things to Keep in Mind
❖ The audio will play only once
❖ Take note of the spelling of your words
❖ You have to ensure proper sequence of the sentence
❖ There will not be any negative markings for wrong words
❖ Click “Next” to proceed to the next one after you are done writing and revising.
Task type No. of Task Skills Preparation Text/Recording
items Description Assessed Time Length
Write From 3–4 After listening to a Listening 7 seconds Recording
Dictation recording of a and 3 – 5 seconds
short sentence, Writing
type it in proper
sequence.
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Scoring Criteria
You will get 1 Mark for every correctly spelled word mentioned in the sentence ensuring
proper sequence.
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TIPS AND STRATEGY
Preparation Step (7 Seconds)
• Be focused as you need to listen to the sentence completely and retain it.
• If you prefer to write the sentence by hand first, be ready to write on your Erasable
Noteboard Booklet.
• If you prefer to type directly on the screen. place your cursor in the box on the
screen.
Listening Step (Up to 5 seconds)
• When the audio begins, focus on the meaning of the sentence. This will help you
to remember it.
• Write or type the content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs). Leave the
minor words (prepositions, articles) for now.
• Write or type as quickly as you can. Don't worry about spelling at this point. Start
writing as soon as the dictation begins and don't stop to check your writing yet.
Answering Step
• Immediately after the recording stops, write or type as much of the sentence as
you can.
• Go over the sentence and use your knowledge of grammar, word form and word
order to add any words you missed out (e.g., prepositions, articles).
• Check the spelling of every word.
• Check for verb endings and plurals.
• If you face confusion with the spelling or form of any word, type both of them side
by side as there isn’t any negative marking for wrong answers.
• Click 'Next' when you are ready to go on to the next task.
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PRACTICE EXAMPLE
In the test, there are 3-4 tasks. For each task, you listen and type the sentence you hear
into the box on the screen. The wording in the instructions below is the same as you will
see in the actual test.
You will hear a sentence. Type the sentence in the box below exactly as you hear
it. Write as much of the sentence as you can. You will hear the sentence only once.
1. ___________________________________________________________________
2. ___________________________________________________________________
3. ___________________________________________________________________
4. ___________________________________________________________________
5. ___________________________________________________________________
6. ___________________________________________________________________
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