Select an option only when you can connect it to the passage’s meaning. This task has more than one correct answer, and Pearson warns that incorrect selections lose points, so broad guessing is risky.
Current task format
You read a passage and answer a question about its content or tone by selecting multiple responses. PTE Academic/UKVI passages can be up to 350 words; PTE Core passages can be up to 275 words. Pearson lists Reading as the assessed skill and gives no separate per-item answer time.
How scoring changes your approach
The task uses partial credit. Correct options earn credit, while incorrect selections can deduct points. Pearson’s Core page states one point for a correct option and a one-point deduction for a wrong option. Pearson’s Academic advice likewise warns that wrong selections lose score points.
The practical consequence is simple: count evidence, not how many boxes you have ticked. Do not assume that every item has a particular number of correct choices unless the on-screen instructions say so.
Both current score guides specify +1 for each correct selection, −1 for each incorrect selection and a minimum item score of 0. The deduction operates within this item; it does not make the item negative or remove earned points from another item. These are raw task points, not a direct 10–90 Reading conversion.
Read the question before the passage
Identify the target: main idea, supporting fact, answer based on clues, purpose or tone. A choice can be factually mentioned yet fail to answer the particular question. Then read the passage with that target in mind.
For each option, assign one of three labels:
- Supported: the passage clearly states or entails it.
- Contradicted: the passage says something incompatible.
- Not established: it sounds possible but goes beyond the text.
Select only supported options.
Original practice example
Passage: “A city trialled later library closing times at two branches. Evening attendance rose. But electricity costs also increased. The council will review a full year of data before expanding the trial.”
Question: Which statements are supported?
- Evening attendance increased. Supported.
- Every branch stayed open later. Contradicted. Only two did.
- Expansion has already been approved. Contradicted. A review comes first.
- The trial had a financial drawback. Supported. Electricity costs rose.
This is original practice material, not a recalled Pearson question.
Worked passage with mixed evidence
Try this original exercise before checking the explanations. It is not a Pearson question.
A community repair event requires visitors to book a place and describe their broken item in advance. This helps organisers assign volunteers with relevant skills. Volunteers can examine small household objects, but they cannot guarantee a repair or accept every type of equipment. Visitors remain with their items during the session so they can learn from the process. The event is free to attend, although replacement parts, if needed, must be paid for separately.
Question: Which statements are supported by the passage?
| Option | Statement |
|---|---|
| A | Advance information helps organisers match work to volunteers’ skills. |
| B | Every item brought to the event will be repaired. |
| C | Visitors can observe the repair process during their session. |
| D | All replacement parts are included free of charge. |
| E | Most visitors return to several later events. |
Select A and C. A paraphrases the purpose of the advance description. C follows from visitors remaining with their items to learn from the process. B contradicts the absence of a repair guarantee. D confuses free attendance with separately paid parts. E is not established: repeat attendance is never discussed.
Supported is not the same as possible
E could be true at some real event, but the passage gives no evidence for it. An option does not become correct merely because it is reasonable or not explicitly denied. For this exercise, “visitors remain with their items” supports observation; it does not establish how often they return.
See how the deduction works
With A and C as the two correct choices, selecting both earns two raw points. Adding D reduces that to one. Selecting A alone earns one; selecting A, B, D and E reaches the item floor of zero, not a negative score.
The lesson is not to choose a fixed number of options. It is to review the evidence for every proposed selection. If an option contains two claims, both must be supported; one correct half does not cancel an invented second half.
A disciplined option-checking strategy
Underline limiting words such as some, all, may, mainly, and only. Many wrong options keep the passage’s nouns but change scope, cause, timing or certainty. Restate the option in plain language, locate the relevant sentence, and compare those details.
If the answer is unclear, check the question again. An answer based on clues must follow from the passage. Do not use outside knowledge.
After a practice set, classify each extra selection: contradicted, not established, partly supported or outside the question focus. This separates weak comprehension from over-selection. If an unselected correct answer was a paraphrase you did not recognise, save the two equivalent phrases in your vocabulary notes.
The single-answer Reading task uses a different selection rule. The Listening multiple-answer task shares the deduction principle but adds a once-only recording. Use official resources for Academic or Core and review the shared timer with the time-management guide.
Common mistakes
- Selecting an option because it repeats passage vocabulary.
- Treating “not contradicted” as the same as “supported.”
- Missing limiting words that alter scope.
- Selecting all options to maximise chance despite the penalty.
- Spending too long proving a clearly contradicted wrong option wrong.
Frequently asked questions
Can I select every option in PTE Reading multiple answers?
The interface allows multiple selections. But Pearson warns that incorrect selections lose points and specifically advises against selecting every option when you do not know.
Is there a separate timer for this question?
Pearson lists no separate time to answer. Manage it within the shared Reading section time.
Conclusion
PTE Reading Multiple Choice, Multiple Answers rewards controlled evidence matching. Establish the question’s target, check every selected claim, and let the incorrect-selection penalty make you selective rather than fearful.
Useful Resources & References
- Pearson PTE Academic and UKVI Reading format — Academic task format and Pearson’s warning about incorrect selections (accessed 28 October 2026).
- Pearson PTE Core Reading format — Core prompt length and option-level scoring explanation (accessed 28 October 2026).
- Current Academic Score Guide
- 2026 Core Score Guide
