How is PTE Write from Dictation scored?

The guide gives a point for each word from the sentence that is right and spelled right, and 0 for each word that is wrong or misspelled. A wrong word is worth 0, not minus 1. Pearson's page adds that full marks need every word correct and correctly spelled; anything less is partial credit.

Pearson's page describes the target as the sentence's words and only those words, but neither source describes a deduction for extra words. Pearson's Highlight Incorrect Words page says only three question types take points away for wrong choices, and Write from Dictation is not one of them. Pearson also does not say how word order is checked.

This is our advice, not Pearson's rules. Get the words down while the sentence is still in your head, either on the noteboard or straight into the box. Pearson's own tip is to type every correct word you remember, in order, and to use grammar to decide where an uncertain word belongs.

Check word endings before moving on. Plurals, past tenses and verb agreement are where a heard word most often turns into a different, scoreless word.

Never leave the box empty. A guess that turns out wrong scores the same 0 as a blank, so a sensible attempt can only help.

Practise with short academic sentences and mark yourself word by word. BandLadder's PTE mock tests mark Write from Dictation automatically, though only Pearson's score is official.